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2014 Best For Business Awards – Improve Your Photography Business

2014 best for business awards
2014 best for business awards
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In previous years I have shared the most popular photography business articles on my website for the year.

This year I wanted to do something different.

So what I decided to do was create a list of what I consider the best companies for your photography business.

These are websites and products that I highly recommend you visit, purchase from and subscribe to.

Please be sure to share this post with your social channels so others can benefit from the 2014 Best For Business Awards.

2014 Best For Business Awards

Each of these companies has helped my freelance photography business and many others, in 2013. So now it’s your turn to learn, improve and streamline your photography business.

Legal Tools

The LawTog – Whenever I have a legal question or need a contract I do not already have, I go here. Rachel Brenke is not just a photographer. She is actually a lawyer who decided to pursue photography in addition to providing legal services. She is a master educator on all things legal for photographers and her products and advice will help get your business in order.

Marketing

The Modern Tog – If there is one person in the world who is on top the latest marketing trends and tactics for photographers, it’s Jamie Swanson. She has the highest standards of any other marketing website out there and has recently put together a virtual course that only accepts limited amounts of students at once. Her education is in such high demand and if you can get in on it then you’re better off. Your photography business will thank you.

Steel Toe Images – I could talk about Angela Pointon for a long time. Her passion for business and marketing education is out of this world. Angela runs a newborn photography business, and her business education website Steel Toe Images. She teaches and consults for many photographers and creatives of all kinds. Visit her website and start with her pay-what-you-wish product.

Photographer’s SEO Community – Some readers might say I am biased but so what. I am an educator at the Photographer’s SEO Community, but I’m not alone. The search engine optimization knowledge you will gain from the community will kickstart your website’s ranking success. For $99 a year members have access to a huge amount of resources, eBooks, videos and a private forum. If you never focused any effort on SEO then 2014 might be the perfect time to do so.

Blogging

Psychology for Photographers – Jenika McDavitt is a photographer who teaches the psychology of the photography business. On a weekly basis Jenika is publishing blog content that will inspire you to do more and in a much better way. Her eBooks expand on her blog content, helping you to also improve on your overall photography business persona.

Equipment

Borrow Lenses – Photographers do not need to own the best and latest cameras or lenses. They do not need to own the most powerful lighting equipment either. That is where Borrow Lenses comes in. The company, now owned by Snapfish, allows you to rent practically any photography equipment at amazing rates. So stop having that internal debate whether to purchase the latest Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc and start renting more.

Outdoor Photo Gear – When I’m not buying cameras from Amazon or B&H Photo I am usually buying my accessories from Outdoor Photo Gear. This is because of a few reasons. For one, Chris (the owner) is an amazing person and is so open and honest about the products he sells. Their prices are very difficult to beat, even for B&H Photo and they always have the most unique accessories before other stores get their hands on them.

Websites

Photocrati – Ok, so the company I work for has to make this list. I spend every day working my butt off to create educational content for your photography business. In addition, Photocrati is a WordPress photography theme that has unlimited potential. It comes with many designs built-in and has features to easily customize it to your brand, without knowing a bit of code. The built-in gallery management system and eCommerce makes it an easy choice for your photography business.

WP Engine – If you are only running a WordPress website for your photography business then there is no better choice than WP Engine. Hosting with them isn’t the cheapest plan around, but for prices starting at $29 a month you get what you pay for. 99% uptime, the highest level of security available, amazing support and super fast speeds means your website will not only look good, but it will run amazing and rank well in search engines.

NextGEN Gallery – If you already have a WordPress theme that you love and do not want to switch then Photocrati’s NextGEN Gallery and NextGEN Pro ($39/mo) have your galleries covered. The galleries are all responsive and ready for desktop, tablets or mobile. NextGEN Gallery has nearly 10 million downloads and is one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time. The gallery management system, exclusive Pro Lightbox and many gallery display types make it the best choice for your photographs. eCommerce, proofing and lab integration are on the roadmap which will make it even easier to sell, connect and print for you and your customers.

Selling

Preveal – Chris Scott is a very smart guy out of Colorado. He put his photography business on hold to hire a team and create the Preveal app. This app is not cheap, at $75, but it has the ability to pay itself off with one sale. Basically how it works is this… You temporarily tape a white piece of paper on your customers wall and then photograph the room. You then remove the paper of course. Put the photo into Dropbox and import it into the Preveal app. Once there you can visually demonstrate to your customers how a print will look on their wall. Because of the white paper, a 24×36 print will be at the exact size. Neat, huh?

Artistic Photo Canvas – When printing canvas prints there is no better choice that Artistic Photo Canvas.  Every print that leaves their facility is professionally touched, adjusted and approved.  APC is my choice for canvas prints and I look forward to ordering more from them in 2014.

Actions & Presets Software

Get Totally Rad – Totally Rad makes presets and actions that many (and I mean many) photographers use. They also have an app to improve a workflow, and iOS apps to top that off. The company has a team of clever and creative designers to help make the editing experience enjoyable for anyone.

MCP Actions – Jodi offers a powerhouse of Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets that are well worth looking at. In addition to your typical processing style presets and actions, she provides templates for books, prints and social media. Last, but not least, Jodi’s blog is filled with educational content for your photography business.

Colorvale Actions – Stacie also offers a powerhouse of Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets. In addition to offering awesome products, Stacie’s blog is filled with inspirational and informative content.

Processing Software

onOne Software – By far the best photo editing software available and my favorite above the rest. My entire photography workflow consists of Adobe Lightroom and the onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite. Sometimes I throw Adobe Photoshop into the mix, but very rarely. The suite is available at difference price points depending on your needs. For example, the standalone version is a different price than the Lightroom plugin version. I have blogged and shared a lot about onOne Software in the past, so please be sure to search my site for more on it.

Topaz Labs – Definitely the underdog in the post processing category. Topaz Labs makes incredible products to edit your photographs. If you do not want to use Adobe products and do not want a full package of software, Topaz Labs sells each of their products individually for fantastic prices.

MacPhun Software – These guys are the underdog of the photo processing industry.  They started with iOS apps and have since branched out into Mac apps and eventually they will create Windows apps.  MacPhun is dedicated to creating simple and affordable software for photographers.  Their flagship, Snapheal, has since been expanded to Intensify, Focus and more.

Variety

Tiffinbox – Seshu is a fantastic photographer from Connecticut, and he also runs Tiffinbox.  The website started out as his personal blog and has grown to a full suite of education on all things photography.  On Seshu’s blog you will often find video interviews with industry leaders, company CEOs and many others.

So there you have it – the 2014 Best For Business Awards. What do these companies get for making the list? That fancy badge of honor at the top right of this page.

If you have any questions about these products, or have a suggestion of your own feel free to comment below.

Thanks for reading and have an amazing year,

Scott

(camera icon by Pierre Borodin on Dribbble)

By Scott

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