Some say that photographers are only as good as their tools, but no one said that those tools need to be expensive.



We know how expensive it can be to organize the *perfect* photo shoot, but it doesn’t have to be! As part of Kitsplit’s mission, we want to help democratize the photography industry so that everyone has the capability to make incredible work, regardless of budget. Our free & inexpensive resources for filmmakers post was a big hit, so we’ve made one for photographers, too!

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Apps for Photographers

The 8 best free or inexpensive apps for photographers!

Light metering is essential for photographers and this light meter app is just about as accurate as the real thing. The app measures reflected light, and allows reciprocity calculations.

This app is an incredibly helpful tool for cataloging complicated lighting set-ups. Sylights allows you to create comprehensive lighting diagrams so that you can be sure to always remember how to capture your perfect lighting.

Focal length is key for ensuring that there’s no surprise in the outcome of your photograph. This app makes calculating focal length quick and easy to remove the risk of distortion that could ruin your capture.

Tired of having to wait for golden hour? Sun Surveyor light is an app that tracks the sun’s path each day so that you know in advance exacty when the natural lighting conditions that you’re looking for will occur.

This powerful and free photo editor takes care of almost any editing needs you may have on the go. It’s great for everyday photo editing, including exposure, color, cropping and sharpening.

VSCO is another powerful photo editing tool available on iOS and Android. But VSCO isn’t only an editing app. It also has an integrated photo sharing platform. Here you can publish your images and discover the work of other photographers.

TouchRetouch is an app dedicated to removing unwanted elements from your photos. For $1.99, it’s a cheap and dead-simple way to remove something from an otherwise perfect shot.

Camera+ 2 is a powerful camera app with an integrated photo editing suite. The camera offers manual controls including shutter speed, ISO, white balance and focus.

Work Forms, Finance & Legal Help

The 8 best free or inexpensive work form, finance & legal help resources for photographers!

FreshBooks is accounting software that makes billing for freelancing easy, fast and secure. Spend less time on accounting and more time doing the work you love.

Stop stressing over how to format your invoice, just use these free templates! FilmContracts also has an invaluable collection of sample Entertainment contracts, Production Forms, Deal Memos, Union Agreements, Insurance Forms and other industry agreements.

From Deal memos, equipment checklists, camera reports, and even film can labels–David Elkins provides a huge selection forms for you to use and exploit.

It can feel awkward for a new filmmaker to ask “What’s a decent day rate for a [crew position]?”, but this day rate survey will give you a good idea about where to start.

We compiled these tips on our very own blog to help guide you through the not so fun world of taxes for freelance filmmakers, videographers and photographers.

Part of the struggle of freelancing is being your own accountant– the free money management tools at Mint.com are a big help!

Know your rights! Being a photographer, especially those of the street or documentary variety, can get you into some tricky legal situations. This comprehensive list details legal rights for photographers so that you know exactly what you should and shouldn’t photograph.

Rachel Brenke is a lawyer and a photographer that combined both aspects of her career, in an effort to help other photographers with their legal documents and often shares advice on her blog. If you subscribe to her site, she sends you free legal documents to your email. You can see her article: 5 Things to Consider Before Starting Your Photography Business right here on dPS.

Advice, Coaching & Tutorials

The 8 best free or inexpensive advice, coaching & tutorial resources for photographers!

Coaching for Women In Film – Powered by KitSplit!

We know how important mentorship can be to achieving professional success, yet it can be hard to come by for women in our industry. That’s why we created this site. Friends and community members of KitSplit have volunteered their time to offer these free sessions for women in the industry.

Trying to up your technical skills? Cambridge in Color produced an incredibly detailed series of digital photography tutorials that will help you up your technical understanding.

If you haven’t heard of F-Stoppers, you’re missing out on an incredible resource for all-things photography related! Detailed tutorials on all aspects of photography and retouching are updated daily.

Described as “The Photographer’s Knowledge Resource” , Luminous Landscape is a great site that provides opinion-pieces in addition to the standard technica tutorials so you can be sure to get a full understanding of what’s going on in the photographic-realm.

CreativeLive has free online seminars and classes. They list each class and you can sign up for as many as you want for free!

No matter where you are in your photography career, you’re bound to find something useful here. Photography and posing tips and info, information about wall displays and how to maximize them and all sorts of ideas are on this site.

A lot of technical advice for Canon users and inspiration from Canon’s Ambassadors – pro photographers using Canon equipment.

While nothing can replace using a real camera, this DSLR simulator aims to teach you about still photography, it’s an easy way to learn about the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO — among other settings

Marketing Yourself

The 8 best free or inexpensive marketing resources for photographers!

Canva offers helpful designs that you can tweak within just minutes, including those for social media, resumes, posters, business cards, logos, gift certificates, and more. Basically, anything that helps you with the business side of your photography endeavors!

Share your work with your fans in a weekly newsletter! With MailChimp you can create email marketing campaigns and send up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers free of charge.

JotForm lets your clients complete their registration for sessions online! They have templates that you can customize or you can create your own. Clients can complete the forms and send them over to you completely online.

StudioCloud is a free online software that can help you organize your business. Part of the free features are scheduling appointments, event reminders, generating invoices, and a lot more.

Defrozo is a new platform that allows photographers to create a website, manage their workflow, create galleries for clients, and more from one account.

Pinterest is very popular with photographers. Many have created boards showcasing their images and provided links to galleries and have used it not only to display the image, but to drive traffic to their websites.It’s not only a place to find inspiration, but you can use it as a marketing tool for your own business.

Actions, Presets & Templates

The 8 best free or inexpensive actions, presets & template resources for photographers!

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, created these actions that continue to be very popular for photographers. You can download the actions HERE.

MCP Actions hosts some free actions for Photoshop and Elements, as well as some Lightroom Presets. Bookmark these and forget you have them until you need them.

A one-stop source for templates, marketing sets, and so much more. If you decide you want more than the freebies, $10/month gets you access to everything in their shop.

Paint the Moon freebies include actions, digital frames, a collage template, and more.

Brusheezy offers free Photoshop brushes, textures, patterns, and actions. Sort through their wide range to find elements that’ll bring your photos to the next level!

Take advantage of the generous community offering free resources for photographers on DeviantArt, such as elements for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator. You’ll also find a never-ending list of stock images, overlays, textures, and so much more.

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