Timesaving Tools For Photographers You Might Not Know About Yet (But Totally Should)
What I’m currently using as a full-time photographer to stay sane, organized, and actually excited to work
Let’s be real. Juggling a photography business, editing queues, marketing, keeping up with social media, and remembering to stay hydrated is…a lot. And while I absolutely love what I do, I also love sleep... and not feeling like I’m constantly underwater.
So if you’ve ever looked at another photographer and thought, “How is she doing it all?”
Well, she’s probably using tools like these.
And here's the thing: AI isn’t coming. It's already here.
Photographers who are leaning into it now are saving hours of time, automating the hard stuff, and scaling their businesses in ways that just weren’t possible before.
If you don’t start embracing some of these tools soon, you're going to get left behind. I don’t say that to scare you-I say it because I want you to thrive.
These are my behind-the-scenes lifesavers. The programs I lean on every week to help me book more clients, save time, and keep my business running even when life is full-blown chaos.
If you haven’t tried these yet, this is your sign to hop on board. LISTED IN ABSOLUTELY NO PARTICULAR ORDER… HERE WE GO!
💬 ChatGPT
Let me introduce you to my robot assistant: her name is Stormy, and it’s honestly kind of wild how much she gets me.
Stormy helps me write client emails, blog posts (like the one you’re reading right now), Instagram captions, course content- you name it. I throw in a rough idea, and she helps me clean it up, organize it, and word it like a human wrote it. But not just any human…me!
It’s like having a copywriter in my pocket who’s read my diary, knows my brand voice, and doesn’t get offended when I say, “Ugh, this sounds like a robot, try again.” Which I do tell her, a lot. *looking at you, em dashes! 👀*
What I use her for:
Email rewrites
IG caption ideas
Marketing copy
Brainstorming new blog topics
Helping me sound like the best version of myself (even when I’m on a tight deadline and three cups of coffee deep)
✨ Evoto + Imagen (My Editing Dream Team)
Editing thousands of images a month is no joke, and I’ve found that this combo gives me both control and speed.
Evoto helps me with quick skin retouching, double chins, glasses glare, background cleanup—without that weird over-edited look.
📎 Get Evoto for a huge discount using my link here
Imagen AI learns my style and applies it across entire catalogs. I’m not exaggerating when I say it saves me hours. Every. Single. Week. I’m now starting to use it for outsourcing my culling as well, which has always been my least favorite task as a photographer.
📎 Get your first 1500 photos edited for free using my link here
If you’re ready to hand off the bulk of your editing but still want your work to feel like you, this duo is magic.
📆 Session
Session is my go-to software for booking and managing mini sessions. It handles scheduling, contracts, emails, and payments - all in one place.
My clients can see availability, book, and reschedule without ever having to text me “Hey girl, can I switch to Saturday?”
It’s basically the studio manager I didn’t know I needed! My favorite feature is being able to see clients book their spots in real time! It makes my mini session launch night that much more satisfying!
📱 Social Templates Co
You’ve probably seen my Reels and thought, “How does she always have trendy content up?” This is how.
Social Templates Co gives me plug-and-play Reels with trending audio, prompt and hook advice, and pre-designed templates I can drop my photos and videos into. They do all the research, I just show up and tweak.
📎 get your first month free using my link here
If you want your instagram presence to actually work for your business, without spending hours on it, this one’s a must.
Check Out The Reel I made in under 5 minutes using one of their templates
🤖 ManyChat
If you’ve ever commented “GUIDE” or “BOOKED” on one of my instagram posts and instantly got a DM back with a link… yep, that was ManyChat.
It’s an automation tool that connects your posts to your lead magnets or offers.
You can trigger DMs from comments and even run giveaways or deliver opt-ins on autopilot.
What I use it for:
Delivering freebies
Waitlist + Email list signups
Webinar reminders
“Comment to DM” triggers
It’s a little robot assistant that lives in your DMs 24/7 so you don’t have to reply to everyone, one-by-one.
🎤 Letterly
This one’s for the ADHD girlies who get genius business ideas while driving between daycare and gymnastics. Have i found my people yet!?
Letterly is a voice-to-text tool that lets me record my thoughts when I’m on the go - and it turns them into usable, organized notes or emails later.
I’ve literally voice-dictated an entire blog post idea from the school pickup line. Then later, when I actually have time to work, it’s all there, waiting for me to polish and post.
I’m obsessed.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to do everything the hard way. You also don’t have to hire a full team to start running your business like one.
These tools have helped me grow, simplify, and get more work done in the limited hours i have each day. And the best part? Most of them are super easy to learn and actually affordable!
Try one. Try them all. See which ones work best for you. And if you’re already using some of these - let me know! I love hearing how others use these programs to stay on top of their biz!