Your Inbox Is about to turn into a Black Friday war Zone.
Every brand you’ve ever bought a lens cap from wants you to know about their biggest sale ever. Not all Black Friday deals for photographers are created equal. Some will pay you back by February. Others will sit in a closet with the tripod you swore you’d use.
On Episode 119 of the Get Booked Podcast, Melissa and I shared exactly what’s on our Black Friday lists. Here’s what’s worth buying, what to skip, and the one question to ask before you click “add to cart.”
Heads up: some links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share tools I actually use.
That’s me, Alison, on the right with the camera. I’m a six-figure IPS photographer who has rebuilt my business seven times. On the left is my co-host Melissa, the SEO expert for photographers.
Across 100+ episodes of Get Booked, we’ve answered hundreds of the questions photographers actually ask: how to get found on Google, what to charge, how to fill a slow season, and so much more
Start with this episode. Then hit Follow so you never miss a Monday.
In this Article
Before You Shop Black Friday Deals for Photographers, Ask This
Here’s the question:
- Will this help me get booked, or keep me booked?
- Will it solve a problem I’m currently working on?
- Will it elevate my client experience?
That’s it. That’s the filter.
A new lens is fun. I get it. But if your calendar is empty, a sharper 85mm won’t fill it. Nobody books you because of your bokeh. They book you because they found you, trusted you, and you made it easy to say yes.
So before you buy anything, look at where your business is actually stuck:
- Not enough people finding you? That’s SEO, blogging, and visibility.
- People find you but don’t book? That’s your website, your email follow-up, and your offer.
- People book but the backend is chaos? That’s workflow and client experience.
Whatever’s stuck is where your Black Friday dollars should go. Everything else is a want. Wants are allowed, just know which one you’re buying.
Business Tools: The Best Black Friday Deals for Photographers
The deals that move the needle are rarely the shiny ones. They’re the behind-the-scenes subscriptions that do the work while you’re out shooting.
Start with the subscriptions you already pay for
Melissa’s tip from the episode is the smartest place to start. Write down every monthly subscription you pay for. Then star the ones you can’t live without: website platform, email platform, CRM, gallery software, social scheduler.
Those stars are your Black Friday shopping list. Switching them from monthly to annual on sale is where the real savings live.
Two caveats we learned the hard way:
- Tiny savings? Stay monthly. If you’d only save a few bucks a month, keep the freedom to switch platforms.
- Everything renews on the same day next year. Five annual plans this November means five bills next November, probably without the discount. Add them up, divide by 12, and set that aside every month. (In a separate business account. Please.)
Your CRM
Black Friday is exactly how I got sucked into Tave, and then I had a giant bill every year after. No regrets, but plan for it. Usession and Picktime are worth watching this week too.
Flodesk for email marketing
Your email list is the only audience you actually own. I use Flodesk for both businesses, and honestly, I don’t know why people use anything else.
Tailwind for Pinterest
I tried scheduling pins in Pinterest’s own scheduler. You can only schedule 10 at a time, and it was clunky, slow and awful. So I dusted off my old Tailwind account (which still had unscheduled pins in it from 2019 in Quantico). Now I have over 150 pins scheduled for the next six months. They’ve got me hook, line and sinker.
PPA: Business, Indemnification, & Gear Insurance
A Professional Photographers of America membership rolls gear insurance, indemnification and business liability coverage into one. I’ve used the indemnification twice with clients who skipped the contract and regretted it on reveal day. Join through the member referral page and list Alison Bell as your referring member to get a $25 Visa gift card and $35 off your first year.
The Contract Club
The Contract Club with Braden Drake is a one-time purchase that walks you through why every line of your contract is there. Your business will change: add-ons, new packages, new memberships. Your contracts need to keep up.
Wispr Flow
Wispr Flow is talk to text that actually cleans up your run-on sentences, adds punctuation and makes its own bullet points. I run out of free credits every week and then I’m back to typing like a peasant. Use my link for a free month of Pro.
Website templates
Thinking about a website refresh? Buy the template on sale now, install it in January when life slows down. Popular templates sometimes cap sales, so shop early. Building on Showit? Watch their template shops this week.
A few more on our list
Iconic Edits — outsourced editing; use code ABP-IC011 for 10% off 2 orders
- Planoly — Instagram scheduling
- Backblaze — automatic computer backup, with a free month through my link
- Fundy Designer — album design software; use code 4n4jh8
- Iconic Edits — outsourced editing; use code ABP-IC011 for 10% off 2 orders
Free Download: Tax Deductions You Might Be Missing
Here’s the part nobody puts in their Black Friday email: a lot of what you buy for your business this week may be deductible.
Software, education, equipment, props, even part of your phone bill. If it’s ordinary and necessary for your business, it’s worth asking your CPA about. (I’m not a CPA, so run it by yours before you count on it.)
Before you shop, grab my free list so you know what to track and save receipts for.
Black Friday Gear Deals: When Buying Actually Makes Sense
I’m not anti-gear. I’m anti-buying-gear-to-fix-a-marketing-problem. Here’s when a gear deal is a smart buy.
Rotate batteries and SD cards before they fail
Every Black Friday I buy one or two new batteries and SD cards. Then I take a silver Sharpie and write the year on each one. Older ones cycle out before they fail on me mid-session.
I started this in 2024. I recently had a battery die and couldn’t tell which one, because it was from before I started labeling. Lesson learned.
Replace what’s about to break
One November, my computer died in the middle of my busiest season. I live on an island. The machine I needed wasn’t even in stock here, and it took two weeks to arrive. If your computer, backup drive or main camera body is wheezing, replace it now. Don’t wait for it to quit mid-season.
Restock backdrops, props and your client closet
Backdrops, props, dresses for a client closet: if clients see it in your images, it’s part of your product. Sales are a great time to refresh.
Get cash back on the big stuff
Melissa’s tip: use a cash-back browser extension like Rakuten when you buy gear. When she bought a $3,500 lens, you’d better believe she bought it from a site offering cash back.
Skip the “someday” buy
If you’re telling yourself, “I’ll probably use it eventually,” leave it in the cart. Put that money toward the thing that’s actually stuck.
COMING SOON! My Black Friday Deals for Photographers Like YOU!
Okay, my turn. I’m running a few Black Friday offers for my people this year, and they’re all built around that one question: will it get you booked?
- Blogging Bundle: Blogging is where everyone needs to start and persevere in their marketing. Do it often, do it right, and keep it up. Both the workshop and the content calendar for one price.
- Workshop Bundle: All of my workshops, including Blog to Book, in one bundle.
- Mentoring Sprint: My biggest discount of the year on one-on-one mentoring. Two hour long calls, Voxer support AND access to my workshops. Normally $400
Want to hear the whole conversation? Listen to Episode 119 above. And get on my email list so you’re first to know when my deals go live.
Your Next Step
Black Friday doesn’t have to mean a pile of stuff you don’t need. Pick one tool that gets you found, one that keeps clients happy, and one investment in yourself. Then actually use them.
If you want someone to look at your business and tell you exactly where the leak is before you spend a dime, that’s what mentoring is for. Check out mentoring with me →
The “Wild Card”
That’s what he said. “The good news is you’re doing everything right. The bad news is you’re already doing everything. You’re a bit of a wild card.”
I’ve relaunched my photography business 7 times. From being all-inclusive photographer charging just $150 to running a six-figure business where clients happily invest thousands per session, I’ve experience the full spectrum of this industry – all on my own.
Now I’m help other photographers move faster, and make more – more money, more clients, more freedom. Book a Free 15 now!
More Resources for Photographers
- Black Friday Deals for Photographers: What’s Actually Worth Buying (and What to Skip)
- Instagram Reels Photography Content: The B-Roll Bank That Saves You When Life Gets Busy
- Photography Blog Ideas: The 3 Types of Posts Every Photographer Needs
- Photography Website Homepage Ideas: What Your Homepage Actually Needs to Rank AND Book
- How to Work From Home With Kids — And Actually Get Things Done
- Blogging for Photographers: The 3 Types of Posts You Need (And the Mistake That’s Hurting Your SEO)
I'm a USMC spouse, South Carolina native, recovering homeschool mama of a 4 boy circus. They've taught me the most important facet of family photography: KEEP IT FUN!
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