Specifications

You will download, review, store, edit, print or send to print, and share your photos. You will build your

website, join forums, create online profiles on photography sites, upload your photos to social networks,

and enter photography contests to win free equipment. You will apply for photography gigs, post

advertisements of your service, sell your photographs or prints of your photographs, and create

promotional pieces of your work. You will cast models, hire make-up artists, hair stylists, and clothing

stylists for shoots, and find release forms to cover your bases. (see Resources section at the end of this

eBook for a couple example release forms available online)

I could go on and on about all the ways in which you can and will use a computer for your photography

business, but I won’t.

You need a computer.

Photo Editing Software

I use and recommend Adobe Photoshop for photo editing. It’s the only program I use to retouch all my

photos and design all my graphic needs including web banners, postcards, and logos. I also do use

Adobe’s Lightroom program to look at a whole shoot and bulk edit photos. Lightroom is also great for

exporting a gallery for your website or as an online album for clients. There are great customization

options and some awesome features such as watermarks, meta tags, and really simple photo filter

effects.

Word Processing, Database, and/or Google Docs

You may need word processing software for writing letters, generating invoices, or to draft the content

of your website. You might need to print out your photo resume or print addresses onto adhesive labels

for easier mailings. A database program such as Microsoft Excel is useful for contact management,

Printer

A printer is an obvious business tool and necessity for a great number of reasons. Nowadays, you can

find a great printer for less than $100 and it can be an all-in-one printer/copier/scanner. Plus, similar to

many newer laptops, a lot of printer models come with built-in memory card slots so you could go from

camera to printer without ever touching your computer! (Hey, maybe you don’t need a computer! No,

no. You DO.)

Another great feature that many printers have is wireless networking capabilities. This allows not only

you, but anyone who is connected to your wireless connection to send items to print directly from their

computers or their smartphones and tablets.

OEM Ink

Now, ink is somewhere you should NOT skimp on cost in favor of non-OEM (original manufacturer) aka

“compatible” inks or ghastly ink-refilling systems. I bought some “compatible” ink for my Epson printer

years ago and the blacks became greens, the colors were not as bright, nor not nearly as accurate as

genuine Epson ink installed in an Epson printer.

I had an Epson 1280 photo stylus printer which was an excellent printer that I loved – but I ruined it with

non-OEM ink. 

Photo Paper