camera gear, photography
5 Productivity Tools For Photographers
Are you a photographer constantly looking for ways to enhance your productivity and streamline your workflow? Look no further! In this blog, we will introduce you to five incredible productivity tools that are specifically designed to help photographers like you optimize your time and boost your efficiency. By utilizing these tools, you can focus more on your craft and less on administrative tasks, ensuring that you spend your valuable time capturing breathtaking images instead of getting lost in mundane tasks. From organizing and editing your photos to managing your client bookings, these tools will revolutionize the way you work, allowing you to achieve your fullest potential as a photographer.
If you’re anything like me…
You probably feel like there are never enough hours in the day. I could relate to this back when I was just shooting for fun, just trying to make the most of my free time. But definitely when I became a freelance photographer, having that seemingly endless to-do list. So let’s get into the list of my favorite productivity tools that help me get things done. By the way, this video is not sponsored by any of the apps or companies that I am about to mention, and I do have a strict policy of not working with or even recommending tools that I don’t actually use myself. However, using any of the affiliate links in the description below does help to support my channel.
1. Narrative Select
First up is Narrative Select, and this is number one for a very good reason. Essentially, Select is a culling tool. You import a folder of raw images, doesn’t matter how many could be multiple thousands, it doesn’t matter what megapixels they are either, could be 60 megapixel files or 12 megapixel files, and they load in almost instantly. And from here, you can just begin to pick your favorite photos. So Lightroom is not exactly a fast app, especially when you have more than 1500 to 2000 images in a catalog. It really starts to bog down and get really slow. So, the software actually automatically detects faces and then it will give you a 100% crop on the side. So as you’re flicking through the images, you can also see critical focus, whether you got them in focus. If there are multiple people in the frame, it’ll show you those multiple faces. You can also see if people are blinking or mid-blink as well, because you usually don’t want to include those photos, especially if it’s a wedding. It also gives you a sharpness rating and a bunch of other AI features that I myself find really, really helpful. So, when you’ve sorted the cream of the crop out of your gallery, you just hit that ship button in the top right-hand corner, and this will actually set up a new Lightroom catalog with all the images that you’ve chosen, and only those photos will get imported into Lightroom. It’s so good. It opens Lightroom automatically for you, so you don’t have to do any of that stuff. I love that it gives you the option to create a new catalog as well, because that’s something I do with every photo shoot. I make a brand new catalog, and then you can just start editing straight away. And the best thing about it is that it’s actually free, and all the features that I mentioned just now are included in the free version as well. I think they’re also doing a free trial of the Pro version, so if you need even more culling power, you can always upgrade to that as well. And they just released the Windows version, so that’s awesome news for anyone who’s on Windows. I know last time that I mentioned Select in a video, all of the Windows users were a bit bummed out because at that time it was for Mac only, but it’s awesome to know that they’ve been working on a Windows version and now it’s finally available.
2. Using the Photos App on iPhone
Next up is using the Photos app on my iPhone to organize my Instagram feed. I think that planning out your feed and having it look really aesthetic and nice is still an underrated tactic that photographers can use in this social media-dominated world. If you’re on an iPhone, simply open your Photos app and create a new folder. Now what you want to do is select all of your insta-worthy images from your main gallery and then add them to this folder. And now you have a simulated Instagram feed. So all you need to do is just hold and drag the photos to reorder them like how you see fit and create that feed. Because the photos have that square preview, it’s just like Instagram where you can get a really good idea of how the photos are going to look laid out in a grid. And best of all, if you already have an iPhone, it’s completely free. You don’t have to pay for an app just to plan out your Instagram feed.
3. Milanote
For me, planning out photo shoots, jotting down ideas, and gathering inspiration from all over the internet is pretty much half of my job as a photographer. And especially if you add in writing the scripts and coming up with the ideas for these videos as well, Milanote is a do-it-all cloud-based note-taking app, and I absolutely love it. I’ve been using it for years now. I use the web clipper extension in Chrome to quickly add inspiration photos from Instagram, Pinterest, and literally anywhere else on the internet instantly to any of my boards. And I arrange all those photos in an aesthetic way on the board, add notes, Google Map pins, links, literally anything you can think of. And I routinely use it as a mood board to communicate ideas to anybody that I’m collaborating with, whether it’s other photographers, hair and makeup artists, or models. And when you need to bring in those collaborators, just share the link and now everybody’s in the loop, super easy. And they can even leave comments and feedback, which is pretty cool. So Milanote does have a free version, but in my opinion, the paid version is totally worth it. It’s only $10 a month, and you basically get unlimited access to all the features that Milanote has to offer. And recently, they actually added an AI feature, which I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the beta testing program. I think soon they’re going to roll it out into a full version, but that’s been super fun to play with, especially coming up with ideas for videos on this YouTube channel and condensing and simplifying my scripts or even taking notes and writing fully fleshed out paragraphs from just my notes themselves.
4. Dropbox
Dropbox has actually been huge for me, and I know a lot of people have some kind of online cloud storage, but I also know a lot of people who don’t have a Dropbox account. And after I upgraded to a two terabyte account, it has enabled me to keep pretty much all of my completed, finished, edited photos online. So no matter where I am in the world, if I’m traveling or if I’m interstate, I can always pull up basically my entire catalog on my phone. Download an image, whether it’s to show a potential client or even just to post on my Instagram. I honestly can’t recommend having a Dropbox account or something like it enough because it serves also as a backup for your work. It saves you from carrying hard drives around with you all the time. And better yet, if something were to happen to one of those hard drives, your work isn’t completely lost because there is a backup in the cloud. It’s also a great way to deliver work to my clients and also to models and modeling agencies and whoever needs to see the full catalog of photos. I can just provide them a link.
One thing, however…
I honestly hate about Dropbox, and I wish they would change this, but I understand why they do it, is the email sharing. Like, if you want to share a folder or a file or something, sharing with the email and then it forces that other person to have an account on Dropbox and forces them to sign up. And then if the email doesn’t correspond with their Dropbox account, it makes you request access manually. It’s just the most convoluted process. So what I do is I just share the link, and that seems to just send the folder where you can download and view the images or videos.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are productivity tools for photographers?
Productivity tools for photographers are software or applications designed specifically to help photographers streamline their workflow, improve efficiency, and enhance productivity in their photography business. These tools often include features like editing software, file management systems, task management tools, and more.
2. How can productivity tools benefit photographers?
Productivity tools can significantly benefit photographers by saving time, simplifying repetitive tasks, organizing their work efficiently, and enhancing the overall quality of their images. They allow photographers to focus more on their passion for photography and less on mundane administrative tasks.
3. What are some popular productivity tools for photographers?
There are several popular productivity tools available for photographers that can greatly enhance their workflow. Some of the popular ones are:
- Adobe Lightroom: This editing software offers an extensive range of editing tools, batch editing options, and efficient organization capabilities.
- Dropbox: It allows photographers to store, share, and sync their photos across different devices, enabling easy collaboration with clients and team members.
- Asana: This project management tool helps photographers manage tasks, deadlines, and collaborate with clients or team members effectively.
- Evernote: It allows photographers to capture and organize notes, ideas, and inspirations in one place, making it easy to access and refer to them later.
- Trello: This visual organization tool helps photographers manage their projects, create checklists, and keep track of their progress easily.
4. Are these productivity tools free to use?
Some of the productivity tools mentioned above offer free versions with limited features, while others have paid subscriptions that unlock additional functionalities. It’s recommended to explore the specific pricing models of each tool to determine which best suits your needs and budget.
5. Can photographers use multiple productivity tools simultaneously?
Absolutely! Many photographers find it beneficial to use a combination of productivity tools to cater to their specific workflow needs. The key is to integrate and utilize these tools effectively to achieve maximum productivity and efficiency in your photography business.
I hope you find useful my article 5 Productivity Tools For Photographers, I also recommend you to read my other posts in my blog at this link.
If you need help with anything join the community or do not hesitate to contact me.
Best of luck! and follow your passion.
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