Acquiring the Equipment and Tools to Grow Your Business

Below are 27 items I’ve accrued or chosen to keep “in stock” as I’ve grown from subscription photographer to subscription photographer and photo stylist.

Although you definitely don’t need all of them to get started, you may find that just knowing what options exist can expedite your journey to becoming the self-sufficient, self-sustaining photographer you want to be.

A little further down, I also share all the programs and subscriptions I use to keep my business sailing smooth!

#1 - REFLECTOR

This is a must-have item. I have a 36”, circular, 3-way reflector that I bought on Amazon for $10.99. The 3 colors it includes are white, silver, and gold, which I use depending on the effect I want to enhance or create—gold works great for sunset portraits, silver for morning light portraits, and white for product shots.

#2 - GRAY CARDS

Indoor lighting situations can be tricky, so in order to be sure I can set my white balance after the session is over, using the eye-dropper tool in Lightroom, I carry 3 gray cards with me in my camera bag—a white, a black, and a literal gray. If you don’t know how to use gray cards, check out this video.

#3 - SAFETY PINS & CLOTHES PINS

Safety pins and clothes pins are great for multiple situations. They can be used to add a waist to a shirt or dress that photographs frumpy; they can be used to tuck away stains and rips or tears; and occasionally, as in the photo above, they can be used to add weight to something so that it settles differently, like this model’s necklace.

#4 - TIDE-TO-GO

More often than you can imagine, my clients or models discover stains on their clothing after they’re already on location—at which point there’s not much that can be done… unless you carry Tide to Go pens with you!

Sometimes the stain will be too in-set to repair, in which case Photoshop or a quick outfit change will be your best friend, but many times, these pens are a handy solution.

#5 - WINDEX AND PAPER TOWELS

If you ever shoot in restaurants or looking through windows, you’ll want these two items on-hand. Tabletops and windows always have handprints on them, and restaurants often have coffee rings or other residue that could be edited out in post-processing, but is so much easier handled with Windex and quality paper towels long before you ever upload the images to your computer!

#6 - LINT ROLLER

I can’t stress this one enough! Your models or clients will, at some point, come to a shoot with pet dander all over themselves, and the only way to clear it up in a jiff is with a lint-roller. They’re super cheap, there’s no excuse not to keep one in your car or camera bag!

#7 - IRON & TOP SHEET

When you don’t have a backdrop on hand or the one you have needs to be cleaned, a white or off-white top sheet will do the trick… so long as you have an iron to smooth out the wrinkles 15 minutes before your shoot!

A sheet can also be used to lay on the ground to protect a model’s clothing, or serve as a large floor backdrop when needed.

#8 - SUPER GLUE AND/OR CLEAR NAIL POLISH

These are items that any wedding photographer knows to keep on hand for emergency repairs of delicate items, such as lace. Although it’s not the first item I’d buy to keep on hand, it can’t hurt to keep it in the door of your car just in case.

#9 - WHITE FOAM BOARD

I use white foam boards as reflectors in a pinch, and also as backdrops when I don’t have a lot of light or the alternative background is distracting. On overcast days, white foam boards come in handy for product shoots where I’m using only natural light, whether it’s so I can bounce light into the shadows of the subject or place the neutral color behind it.

#10 - FLATIRON (AND/OR CURLING IRON)

My clients are predominantly women, and they like to get dolled up before their shoots—but there’s nothing like shooting in the muggy days of summer, on a windy beach, or even just over several hours and watching all those bouncy curls go completely flat.

Having hair tools on hand for quick fixes—or even 10-minute refreshes—is something your clients will thank you for, if they’re anything like mine!

#11 - TWINE & BROWN PACKAGING PAPER

I’ve used these items to re-wrap floral arrangements that came in bright, tacky colors; to wrap empty boxes to look like shipping packages or Christmas gifts; to create unique-looking backdrops and more. Another set of item so cheap, you have to ask—why not?

#12 - BURT'S BEE'S FACIAL WIPES

I love this product. It’s great for wiping away sweat, whether that’s right before applying some fresh matte powder or it’s to clean sensitive areas on hot, uncomfortable shoots, so that everyone feels fresh and not self-conscious. Cannot recommend enough! You can order them online here.

#13 - MASCARA, MEDIUM CONCEALER, LIPSTICK

I learned early on in my photography journey that subjects of photos, if they normally wear makeup, should apply 15% more than they’d wear in every day life—whether that means a little extra rouge, wearing false lashes, or dabbing lips with lipstick instead of lipgloss, it’s usually something your clients won’t plan to do on their own… or if they do, they won’t think to bring makeup to the shoot to refresh after an hour. So be prepared—bring some for them!

#14 - BUSINESS CARDS

You never know when you’ll have the opportunity to hand out your card or hang it up somewhere. When I shoot in a café and we take up more time or space than we planned when we called ahead, I’ll leave a card and say, “I’m happy to do a complimentary session for you guys at no cost,” to apologize for the inconvenience. (If they take you up on it, guess what? That’s a potential permanent client, and it’s usually also more exposure on social media. Boom!)

#15 - FRESH FLOWERS

This really depends on the client and the location of the shoot, but fresh flowers or another form of plant life can instantly add a level of vitality to a photo that just otherwise wouldn’t exist.

#16 - HAIR SPRAY & BOBBY PINS

These go hand-in-hand with makeup and heated hair tools—they’re just there in case you need to get those fly-aways to stay where you want them to and minimize frizz. But use the spray sparingly, or your subjects’ hair will look greasy in the final images!

#17 - BOTTLED WATER (MULTIPLE), IBUPROFEN, AND SNACKS

Taking care of yourself and your clients can be as easy as thinking of what you’d bring in your carry-on if you were headed out for a long flight. For me, that means water to stay hydrated, pain reliever for stress headaches (or cramps), and light snacks. Particularly for half-day and full-day shoots, these sorts of items can be a real life-saver—sometimes for more than just you!

#18 - DECORATIVE SCARVES

These can be added to the handle of a purse, used as a belt, wrapped around a ponytail or topknot, added to a desktop or picnic scene, and used in so many ways you’ll want to collect a handful that work for all your clients’ different brands!

#19 - RUBBING ALCOHOL AND COTTON BALLS

Sometimes I have models wear jewelry that doesn’t belong to them, and in this case, I like to wipe down the earrings hooks before and after use. There are actually many ways that considering sanitation is a good idea, so just having a small bottle of disinfectant and some sort of applicator on hand is a good idea.

#20 - SHINY LIP MOISTURIZER/BALM

While you don’t want a model or client’s forehead or chin to be shiny, a little lip moisturizer never hurts! Similarly, having saline on hand as an option for clients or models to use to keep their eyes hydrated can reduce your time in the editing room.

#21 - Q-TIPS

These can be used to make quick makeup adjustments, such as too much eyeliner or lipstick. They’re also handy for removing loose lashes from a model’s eye without touching the eye and contaminating it—and, if you’re particularly concerned with sanitary practices, these can also be used to apply that aforementioned shiny lip balm in lieu of using a finger or wand!

#22 - MINI SEWING KIT (NEEDLES AND THREAD)

For quick fixes—buttons that pop off, that sort of thing!

#23 - SWEATER-PILL REMOVER

This is the most handy invention I’ve ever seen. If your client wants to wear a cozy old sweater but it’s looking a little ragged, you give it new life with this device—and it only takes a few minutes! You can get one on Amazon here.

#24 - GLASSES FIBER CLOTH/LENS WIPES

For both glasses smudges and removing dust particles from your camera lens!

#25 - GRADUATED LENS FILTERS

Ever been shooting outdoors when the sky is a vivid blue you just love—but then when you get into Lightroom, it’s totally blown out? A graduated lens filter is great for that! With an adaptor, you place something that graduates from sunglass-tint to transparent, darkening the sky but keeping your down-to-earth subject the light balance it needs to be.

#26: TRASH BAGS

You’ll be astounded how quickly waste accumulates at a shoot! Paper towels, packaging and tags from props, Q-tips, snack wrappers—bring small trash bags and even a small bin for quick and easy cleanup!

#27: AN ASSORTMENT OF ALL-WHITE DISHES

You can get these cheaply from Target. I use these in probably half my shoots—food from local food hot spots rarely comes in cute containers, so replating them becomes essential for cute photos. Since the food is usually part of the story we’re trying to tell, I want the plate, bowl, or mug to be as minimally noticeable as possible—zero distracting, basically. An all-white option is usually the most invisible!

… and here are the programs and subscriptions I use currently!

Squarespace—to host my website and blog
G-Suite—for my customized email address
Canva—to create the PDFs I send to inquirers and clients
Zoom.us—to coordinate video chats with clients
Pinterest—for “secret boards” used to collaborate with clients
Lightroom Creative Cloud—for the majority of my photo edits
Photoshop Creative Cloud—for overlays and text, and more in-depth edits
Ribbet—for quick resizing and to preview my images in web colors
Pixieset—for photo delivery! (Use my affiliate link to get an extra 250 MB of storage when you sign up!)
Google Docs, Forms, and Drive—for non-photo file sharing with clients (shot lists, experience surveys, presets, etcetera)
DropBox—I upload images I want to use on Instagram to my DropBox, and then download them to my phone using the DropBox app so I can edit them using the next app on the list
A Color Story (app)—for last-minute edits to client photos I’m sharing on my own Instagram account! I can also use this to plan my grid (other options include Planoly, Buffer, or Plann)