[so i can close my laptop and spend more time being a mom]

when i first started my photography business, i thought the hardest part would be learning how to use my camera. it turns out, the camera was the easy part. the harder part was everything that happened around it.

the emails. the contracts. the scheduling. the bookkeeping. the editing. the reminders and follow-ups. the tiny details that no one sees, but somehow hold everything together.

and because i’m a mom first, i’ve become a littleeeeee protective of my time.

not in a “maximize every minute of the day” kind of way, but in an “i want to close my laptop and put down instagram when i say i will” kind of way.

i want to be outside with my family without mentally drafting emails. i want to be present for bedtime. i want to have room for the ordinary moments i spend so much of my career documenting for other people.

so over the years, i’ve slowly built and refined a collection of photography business tools, systems, and people that help carry some of the weight behind the scenes. not because i want my business to feel automated or impersonal (quite the opposite, actually)… but because i want my time and energy to go toward the parts that matter most.

these are the resources that help me spend less time managing my business and more time living my life as a full-time family photographer in vermont.

the most important photography business tools for client experience + workflows

dubsado

dubsado is the quiet little big assistant behind my client experience.

it helps me keep track of inquiries, contracts, invoices, questionnaires, and all of the little steps that happen between someone reaching out, receiving their final gallery, and beyond.

the thing i love most about systems like this is that they allow me to be more present, not less.

i don’t have to keep every tiny detail floating around in my brain. i can trust that the important things are organized and accounted for, which leaves me more room to focus on the actual human on the other side of the email.

because the goal isn’t to automate the relationship. the goal is to automate the things that get in the way of the relationship.

dubsado is also where i plan to move all my bookkeeping in the near(ish) future.

website + online home

showit

your website is often the very first hello someone receives from your business.

before they send an inquiry. before they read your emails. before they ever step in front of your camera.

it’s the place where people begin to understand not just what you photograph, but how you see the world.

i built my website on showit because it gives me the freedom to create something that feels like an extension of my work — warm, personal, a little imperfect, and completely my own.

i love that i can update it as my business grows, share stories through my blog, and create a space that feels less like a storefront and more like an invitation in.

because for me, my website isn’t just a place to list my services.

it’s the front porch.

it’s where people get a little glimpse of what it might feel like to work together.

email + newsletters

flodesk + zapier

i’ve always loved writing, and i never want my emails to feel like just another marketing task.

my newsletter, sincerely, a., is one of my favorite ways to stay connected — sharing little pieces of life, things i’m noticing, and what’s happening behind the scenes. flodesk makes that process feel simple and beautiful.

zapier helps my systems talk to each other — specifically letting dubsado and flodesk communicate so that the right people receive the right things without me having to manually move information around.

a little bit of behind-the-scenes magic that saves me a whole lot of behind-the-scenes time.

editing + galleries

culling, presets & Pic-Time

editing is probably the part of my workflow that has changed the most over the years, mostly because i’ve learned to trust my own eye.

for culling, i use Photo Mechanic — and i intentionally do not use AI culling.

not because i think AI is bad (if you use it, love it, and trust it, you do you!), but because i know myself. i know i’m going to love the imperfect image. the slightly blurry one. the weird crop. the photo where someone is half hidden behind a doorway. the frame that doesn’t look “technically perfect” but somehow feels like a memory.

i also know that sometimes i’ll notice something tiny — a hand placement, a look, a little interaction — that a computer might not understand the significance of. so for now, i still trust my own weird little photographer brain.

for editing, i use a preset i’ve been building and tweaking for years. it’s a starting point, not a magic button. every session gets its own adjustments depending on the light, the location, and the feeling of the day. [because a rainy afternoon at home should not look exactly like a golden summer evening in a field.]

once everything is ready, Pic-Time is where the final story comes together — delivering galleries in a way that feels thoughtful and intentional.

appointments, sessions and ideas

the honest answer?

a (gorgeous, personalized, buy-one-now-and-thank-me-later) notebook and a paper planner. i love a good digital system, but there will always be something special about writing things down.

blog ideas. little observations. things i want to remember. phrases that pop into my head while i’m driving.

my notebook is where the messy ideas live before they become anything else. my planner is where i color code sessions, kitchen table and story building calls with clients, and personal events and appointments.

for actual project tracking, client notes, and keeping all the important details organized, i use dubsado.

some things belong in a system. some things belong on paper. i’ve learned i need both.

outsourcing + collaboration

one of the biggest lessons i’ve learned while building this business is that we cannot do everything by ourselves.

and honestly? i don’t think we’re meant to.

there is so much beauty in letting other people bring their gifts into the things we create.

my initial branding was created with M&T Co., and having someone else help translate the feeling of my business into a visual identity gave me a foundation i never could have created alone. i’m fully convinced that my business wouldn’t be half as successful as it is without her guidance, ongoing support, and the friendship we’ve built along the way.

i also love collaborating with Vanessa through my optional styling add-on. she brings such a thoughtful eye to helping families choose pieces that feel like them — not costumes, not trends, just an elevated version of their everyday.

asking for help doesn’t make the work less personal.

i actually think it makes it more personal, because it allows me to stay focused on the parts only i can do.

the photography business tools that have nothing to do with business

this might be the most important section.

because the things that make me a better photographer usually aren’t just literal photography business tools. they’re walks outside. they’re noticing the way the light changes through the seasons. they’re reading books, paying attention to birds, collecting little moments, letting myself be curious.

they’re closing the computer. they’re remembering that my own life is the thing i’m always trying to preserve for my clients.

i think it’s easy, especially as creatives, to believe that inspiration comes from constantly consuming more, learning more, doing more. but sometimes the best thing we can do for our work is step away from it. go outside. make dinner. watch our kids grow.

pay attention.

because the same presence we bring to our clients’ stories is the presence we deserve to bring to our own. the goal has never been to build a business that takes over my life. the goal has always been to build a business that gives me a life i love.

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if you’re a photographer navigating the beautiful, messy overlap between motherhood and business ownership, i’m quietly working on something for you.

a mentorship space built specifically for photographers who want to grow sustainable businesses without sacrificing the life they’re working so hard to support.

because i don’t think mom photographers need another productivity hack. i think they need permission to build a business that works for their actual life—and practical tools to make that possible.

if that sounds like your kind of thing, i’d love to invite you to join the waitlist. you’ll be the first to hear when doors open.