Resources
Ever wonder what all the best tools are that I use in my business and life? You're in luck! I've compiled a list of all the top resources I use and trust for photographers and business owners. Everything from my client management software, to how I cull, edit, and deliver my galleries, to how I make my delicious smoothies. It's all here!
Disclaimer: A few of these links are affiliate links which means that when you buy some of these products I may earn a small commission. This doesn't change the cost for you at all (in fact, most will have a discount for you), and I only recommend products that I actually use and trust. Thanks so much for your support :)
For Business Owners
Dubsado
Flodesk
Audible
The best client management tool out there. Save time by creating workflows to streamline your projects from start to finish. Customize and send contracts, invoices, questionnaires, pdf guides, and emails. Schedule appointments, get paid, and set up reminders so you never forget to complete a task. I have saved so much time by using Dubsado and honestly don't know where I'd be without it.
Email marketing doesn't have to be confusing. Flodesk helps you set up beautifully designed email campaigns. You can customize your colours, fonts, and images to match your brand perfectly (yay to on-brand marketing!). It's all click and drag so no coding necessary! Unlike the competitors, there's only one monthly price with unlimited subscribers (which is only $19/month with my 50% off code "livhettinga")!
Us entrepreneurs don't have a whole lot of free time for reading, that's why I love Audible! You can easily listen to books while on the go. Continual business education is so important, in fact, the average CEO reads 60 books a year. Think about how many more books you could read if you didn't have to actually read them... I'm always listening to my audio books while cooking, driving, or getting ready for bed. Click the photo on the left to start your free trail (which gives you 1 free book!!)
Showit
Showit has been the best website building platform I've used (and I've used a lot)! It's easy to figure out, gives you the freedom to create the website of your dreams (completely drag and drop so you don't need to learn coding), great for SEO so your website will rank well on Google, and they have an incredible support team who are happy to answer any questions as you set up your website!
Creative Market
Want a beautiful brand but can't afford a graphic designer? Creative market is a great option to purchase website templates, social media templates, magazine templates, designs, mock-ups, stock photography, and so much more. It's super affordable and supports small businesses.
Tailwind
Free trial (100 free pins)
Batch upload and schedule photos from your website or blog to automatically post to Pinterest. It will schedule to post at the best times for engagement and save you soooo much time! Pinterest is a great tool to utilize for our businesses but can feel like too much of a hassle if we aren't doing it right.
My Office setup
View on Amazon
Check out everything I use to keep my workspace organized and keep me productive. From my standing desk, to my walking pad, to my keyboard and mouse, you'll find all my favourite finds on this list.
My Photography Gear
For Photographers
I use this for alllll my editing, it's so easy to use and can do everything I need!! Best editing software out there in my opinion. I have the whole creative cloud suite, but if you just want to edit photos, you can get both Lightroom and Photoshop for only $10 a month which is a great deal!
Adobe Lightroom
Check out all the top gear I use including camera bodies, lenses, sd cards, cf cards, hard drives, and more! And it can all be purchased on Amazon for fast and free shipping, YAY!
Pic-time
Create client photo galleries. You can showcase your client's work in a beautiful way so they can download their images at full quality and create your own shop to sell prints through the site! Your clients can even create and order their own album in their gallery!
Crashplan
I use this to backup all my work on the cloud so I never lose a client's images. It runs automatically and never deletes anything (even if you accidentally delete it from your computer). Only $10 a month and unlimited storage, worth it to be safe.
Jpeg Mini
Do your photos take up way too much space and take FOREVER to load on your website? It used to for me.... until I started using Jpeg Mini! You can easily and quickly shrink your image sizes without altering the quality of the image, it will save you up so much space and help your website to load at super speeds!
Photo Mechanic
If you're still culling through Lightroom, you're making a huge mistake. Once I started using Photo Mechanic, I was able to cut my whole culling process in half! Your images load at super speeds and it will also save your Lightroom Catalogues because you won't need to upload every single image. Trust me, using photo mechanic will save you a TON of time, and make culling a lot more fun.
Extra
Vitamix
Your super foods
Gopro
If you know me, you know how much I love my smoothies, and how much I love my Vitamix blender. It is my favourite thing ever! I understand they are a bit pricey, but if you make smoothies as much as I do, it's worth the investment. I use it almost every single day, which a normal blender would not be able to handle... Their blenders come with full warranties because they stand by the fact that they are meant to last.
I love everything that this business stands for. They make superfood blends to make improving your health easy. All their products are plant based, certified organic, non GMO, gluten free, and glyphosate free. They also believe in giving back which is something I strongly believe it. For every blend purchased, they donate one superfood bar to someone in need to improve the health of people all over the globe.
The best action camera on the market! I bring my GoPro with me on all my travels and use it to create my travel videos. It's so versatile, small, and light so I can bring it anywhere! Plus it's waterproof and shock proof and sharp 4K resolution! I'm very impressed with what this little guy can create, and that's coming from a photographer!
Coconut Bowls
First of all, these coconut bowls are beautiful and the perfect accessory to your smoothie bowl. And also they are super sustainable! I mean it's a bowl made from the earth, that's pretty neat!! Every bowl is unique and has it's own story to tell, it comes from nature, and is crafted by hand. These bowls are honestly the coolest thing I have and every time I use them I know I am making a difference on the environment.