Google Chromecast

Key Highlights

• With the third-generation Chromecast connected to your TV’s HDMI connection, you can stream the contents of your laptop, smartphone or tablet to a larger display.
• The Chromecast is sized to discretely mount behind your TV, unlike clunkier media boxes.
• You can “cast” video at up to full HD/60p resolution from your computer, phone or tablet.
• An Ultra version supports 4K streaming.

Hidden Gem

If you add a Google Home digital assistant, you can use voice commands to control certain Chromecast functions and see Nest security camera footage on your TV.

Prices: $35, $69 (ultra)
google.com

Fundy Designer

Key Highlights

• The album-building software has been steadily expanding its functionality to support new features, including a client view screen where users can project images of how a client’s wall art will look on their walls (spoiler alert: amazing).
• A Design Library is packed with a number of stock rooms that will quickly let you show off a client’s image on a wall in any number of room types and styles.

Hidden Gem

You can add wall art presentations to a slideshow, complete with music, album pages and individual photos. The HD slideshows have $1,000-worth of royalty-free music tracks to choose from. This feature requires a Pro Enhancement add-on for $179 a year.

Photographer’s Take

Jason Marino of Arizona’s Imagine Photography cut his teeth on Fundy Designer back when it was a plugin for Photoshop and he says he has been able to grow right along with it. “We use Fundy to run our entire in-person sales business. We always like to start with a custom slideshow for the clients, then we use the ratings and favoriting options to help clients select their favorite photos. From there, we jump right into design. We’ll use the auto- design feature of the album module to create incredible album spreads, then create custom wall art in the gallery design module.”

Prices: starting at $249
fundydesigner.com

Airtame 2

Key Highlights

• Airtame 2 connects to your Wi-Fi network and large-screen display via HDMI. Once it’s connected, you can share the contents from any screen or device running the Airtame app.
• You’ll have the choice to share your entire screen or simply a window within it.
• When not in active use, you can have Airtame display screensaver-like content on your TV—great for showcasing your recent sessions, price list, inspirational messages, news headlines or (the clear choice) the Rangefinder homepage.

Hidden Gem

Since the Airtame device is connected to your network, you can access it remotely to change settings and what’s displayed on the screen without having to be in your studio (great for sick days or scaring studio staff).

Price: $399
airtame.com

Studio Pro

Key Highlights

• This iPad app delivers photo proofing, room previews and custom wall layouts in a single, streamlined package.
• Images can be non-destructively cropped and resized.
• The app can also process client orders and is integrated with several payment services to process credit cards.

Hidden Gem

A Collections feature allows a photographer to create a preset grouping of items, either with a fixed list or by assigning point values. That collection can then be added to a price list for a fixed price, which allows it to act as a single entry for the purposes of calculating a total price. It can also coexist with à la carte purchases.

Price: $40
studioproapp.com

Shoot & Sell

Key Highlights

• This iPad app lets you sell wall art with simple touch gestures using stock rooms or your client’s room.
• Designs can be watermarked and the program supports circular-shaped products, too.
• The program can be paired with the companion ProofShare app to create slideshows and proofing galleries for clients.

Hidden Gem

You can change the color of the walls and the furniture in the app’s stock rooms—great for matching it to your personal branding.

Photographer’s Take

Brent Watkins of Ohio-based Sylvart Studios uses both Shoot & Sell and the companion Proof Share for projecting sales presentations. “The app gives us a very organic experience with our customers—very much like showing physical proofs used to,” Watkins says. “The size of the images on the iPad makes selection easy, especially with the heart rating system. Clients intuitively know which are their favorites and mark them. It lets us cull down the proofs so quickly and start making real decisions.” Watkins shares the iPad’s screen to his TV using an Apple TV. In a customer’s home, Watkins says that showing clients the correct dimensions of wall art frequently spurs upsells, and the integration with Dropbox is “a huge time-saver for uploading client images to the iPad.”

Price: $75
shootandsellapp.com

N-Vu

Key Highlights

• The in-person sales tools of N-Vu include slideshows, customer culling and Room-Vu, for viewing finalized photos on a client’s walls. The IPS workflow is customizable so you can arrange the components to suit your style.
• It has robust analytics for order tracking so you know the types of products that are performing well for you.
• A Dual-Vu feature lets you conduct a sales session virtually by sharing your screen. Your client will only see a tailored window, though, not your incriminating Chrome tabs. Dual-Vu also lets you display an N-Vu window on a larger monitor or TV.

Hidden Gem

A Re-Vu feature allows a photographer to schedule a relaunch of an expired gallery with an email marketing campaign. Promote images to a couple before their wedding anniversary or to portrait clients around the holidays.

Photographer’s Take

Melissa Kelly of Andover, Kansas-based Melissa Kelly Imagery opted for N-Vu thanks to its easy interface and customizability. “We have questions built into the products,” she says. “Any time a wall portrait is purchased, there is an automatic question to add framing,” which also serves as a reminder to her employees to “add on to the sale.” Kelly likes to add mobile albums-as-apps as add-ons to her print sales, which she sells after clients have purchased tangible products. “Our mobile apps sell 90 percent of the time because everyone wants a digital album on their mobile device,” Kelly explains. “I can manage the number of downloads and clients can purchase prints or products from the app…  I also utilize the mobile app to share my marketing and pricing menus, which allows me to share information with potential clients when I am on the go.”

Prices: starting at $149/year
power.n-vu.com

TimeExposure ProSelect

Key Highlights

• In addition to displaying a client’s images on their wall, ProSelect also supports designing and displaying photo books and albums. Using the SendMyRooms tool, clients can photograph their wall with their smartphone so you can build a presentation from their actual room.
• There’s a vast library of music tracks that you can add to your slideshows, and the music volume adjusts dynamically along with the slideshow.
• You can create a main sales presentation and then four different slideshows for that main job to use as movies for clients or promo videos for social media.

Hidden Gem

You can set up and use up to 100 Photoshop Actions within ProSelect if you opt for the Pro tier (you’ll get five in the Basic tier).

Photographer’s Take

Allison Jones of Mesa, Arizona-based Allison Tyler Jones Photography says ProSelect’s Room Views module has been essential to her client appointments. “Because the Room View images are to scale, the client can see the size of the image that is most appropriate for their space. It takes out the guesswork and the ‘I need to go home and measure’ delays,” she says. “We are so convinced of the value of this feature that we will reschedule a client’s viewing appointment if they haven’t sent us their wall images.”

Prices: $429 (basic), $749 (pro)
timeexposure.com

Swift Galleries

Key Highlights

• With Swift, you can display a customer’s image on their walls or one of the stock room photos that come with the service. You can build your own wall art template or use those provided by Swift.
• Swift is cloud-based, so it runs on any internet-connected device, with no software to install.
• When you sign up for the service, you’ll receive a free in-person sales course comprising 17 video lessons and a 50-page workbook, plus monthly coaching through a members-only Facebook group dedicated to in-person sales. In fact, the software sits at the tail end of what is actually an extensive in-person sales training regime that prepares you to use the program most effectively.

Hidden Gem

While Swift has an extensive selection of wall art and print products from various partner labs, you’re not restricted to what’s on offer out of the box—you can add your own to the list as well.

Photographer’s Take

Kaitlin Roten, a portrait photographer based in Dallas, Texas, says she leverages Swift “to show my potential clients that I am serious about getting their photos off their phones and onto the walls of their home.” She starts by using it in her pre-session meetings. “The program gives me the ability to show my families a wall layout of their favorite products before we even go to shoot,” Roten explains. “If my clients love a specific design before a shoot, I can actually shoot with that layout in mind. The session is not only more organized, but it sets both me and my clients up for success. Stock photos of walls are great, but what my families and I really love using more is the feature to show their own wall design.”

Prices: $24/month or $180 annually
swiftgalleries.com

Related: The Print Products to Keep on Your Radar for 2019

How To Construct a Process That Will Help You Upsell to Clients

15 Trendy Presentation Products For your Wedding and Portrait Business

10 Ways to Improve How Potential Clients See Your Photo Business