Right now there are many new photographers who are struggling as they try to get their businesses off the ground and photographers who have been in business for a while who are trying to maintain their existing business. Even industry pros who have been around for a long time have decided to cut corners where they can just to make their businesses more profitable in this economy. Finding resources,especially free ones, can make all the difference in the world to photographers. I assembled a small list of free resources for photographers that I think are definitely worth checking out.
Educational Opportunities:
- CreativeLive– CreativeLive offers free online seminars and classes. If you decided you want to purchase the class afterwards for future reference, you can do that from their site as well. They list each class and you can sign up for as many as you want for free.
- Click it Up a Notch– What is really great about this website is that no matter what level you are in your photography career that you will 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.
- Digital Photography School– We pride ourselves on making tutorials, tips, and reviews of equipment and gear available to all photographers free of charge.
Business and Marketing:
- The Law Tog – Rachel Brenke is a lawyer and a photographer. She combines both aspects of her career, helps 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.
- MailChimp– With MailChimp you can create email marketing campaigns and send up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers free of charge.
- JotForm– If you want to be able to let your clients complete their registration for sessions online, you should look at JotForm. 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– 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– 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– 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:
- Pioneer Woman– Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, created these actions that continue to be very popular for photographers. You can download the actions HERE.
- MCP Actions– MCP Actions hosts some free actions for Photoshop and Elements, as well as some Lightroom Presets. You can browse the freebies HERE.
- Squijoo– A one-stop source for templates, marketing sets, and so much more. If you decide you want more than just the freebies, you can access everything in their shop for $10 a month. DPS subscribers can use the code BD5C6 and get 50% off the monthly membership.
- Paint the Moon– Paint the Moon freebies include actions, digital frames, a collage template, and more.
Online Gallery Proofing:
- PASS– With PASS you can upload 100 images for free. After the 100 free ones, you have to pay $29 to upload more. You can create password protected galleries and you can allow clients to digitally download images as well.
- Pixieset– If you know you will be uploading more than 100 images, then you should give Pixieset a try. The free account allows for uploading around 1,500 photos. You can create password protected galleries and allow digital downloads of either high resolution or web sized images.
This is just a small sample of the free resources that are available to photographers. I hope that you will find them useful. Finding resources is valuable in the photography industry. You can find everything from new techniques to new ways to showcase images for your clients. Utilizing your resources, especially those out there that are free, can help your business to save money and continue to grow. Feel free to leave any free resources that you know of in the comments section.
Disclaimer: neither the author nor dPS were paid or compensated in any way to add businesses to this list.
