For the longest time I thought that I could run my business with as few programs as possible. As time went on I realized that I was just making things harder on myself. Investing in these programs and software changed my business dramatically! They have sped up my workflow, helped me stay organized, and help me save so much time! I’ve compiled a list of my favorite programs for photographers and why I like them.



Cloud Back-up: Backblaze

This is one program I felt was an absolute necessity from the very beginning. One of my biggest fears is losing a clients photos and Crash Plan gives me peace of mind.

Website Themes: Flothemes

A Flothemes theme was the next thing I invested in. I absolutely love Flothemes. They make it so easy to design a beautiful website. Flothemes themes are very simple to customize.

Client Management: Honeybook

I don’t know how I ever survived without Honeybook. I used to just use a Google spreadsheet to keep track up my inquiries and bookings. At first that was fine but over time that became way too difficult. Honeybook keeps track of everything I need to do in one place. I love it!

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Photomechanic was one of the programs that I really didn’t see the need of at first. I thought I was pretty fast at culling already. Another photographer recommended I at least try the 30 day trial to see what I thought and now I am never going back! It is seriously so much faster than culling in Lightroom.

Blog Posts: Blog Stomp

I love blog stomp. It is so much easier than blogging in WordPress. It is super quick and it optimizes the images for you so you don’t have to work about exporting them at a certain size from Lightroom.

Instagram Planning: UNUM

I use UNUM to plan out all my posts. I typically try to plan out my posts at least a week in advance with captions and hashtags. Posting on Instagram is honestly one of my least favorite things to do so if I didn’t plan my posts out in advance I probably would post at all.

I love QuickBooks. QuickBooks makes it so easy to track your expenses and spending. I have it attached to my business bank account and then I use that account only for business expenses. Having QuickBooks makes it so much easier come tax time. My favorite thing is that it automatically tracks my mileage. I would recommend it to anyone who is a small business owner like me. Follow my link for a 50% off discount! https://quickbooks.grsm.io/sarahbarnes1159