Photographers rely on a lot of software in order to do their job, so I thought it might be useful for me to list all the programs I use (both on my laptop and my phone) in order to edit my images and manage my business.
Desktop
Adobe Lightroom
£9.98/mo (includes Lightroom and Photoshop)
Lightroom is the ‘go to’ program for managing and editing your images. I’ve been using it for years, and I wouldn’t even consider using any of the alternative RAW editors, such as Luminar AI, Capture One, On1 Photo RAW, Exposure X6 or PhotoLab 4.
It can be slow at times, and I’ve recently had to upgrade my laptop to avoid seeing the infernal ‘Loading’ message all the time as I scroll through my images, but the latest version is much improved from the point of view of functionality and speed.
The crucial distinction between Lightroom and Photoshop is that Lightroom is a ‘non-destructive’ editor, which means your RAW files are never overwritten. All your edits are simply turned into a list of instructions that the program carries out every time you open a particular file.
The only limitation to Lightroom is that, by definition, you can’t use layers.
As a wildlife photographer, that’s not much of a problem, but I also get Photoshop as part of a free bundle from Adobe for being one of their top stock contributors, so at least I know it’s there if I need it.
Adobe Photoshop
£9.98/mo (includes Lightroom and Photoshop)
I rarely use Photoshop except when I need to use layers to create a model release, which consists of both text and images. However, it does have some powerful functionality that’s not available (yet) in Lightroom, so I might use it for focus stacking or editing an image in which the subject is too close to the edge of the frame, for instance.
Topaz Labs Sharpen AI
$79.99
I’ve only recently started using Sharpen AI, but I’m a huge fan.
The recent updates have recently made both Sharpen AI and DeNoise AI very fast and effective, and it’s a no-brainer to use them to put the final touches to your favourite images before submitting them to stock agencies or entering them into competitions.
I’m an affiliate of Topaz Labs, so please click here to buy their editing products, including DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI. You’ll get 15% off if you use the discount code nickdale15.
Topaz Labs DeNoise AI
$59.99
I tend to use Sharpen AI rather more than DeNoise AI, but DeNoise AI does have a very good ‘Low Light’ mode that is useful for shots taken with a high ISO or shots that need noise reduction in poorly lit background areas.
I’m an affiliate of Topaz Labs, so please click here to buy their editing products, including DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI. You’ll get 15% off if you use the discount code nickdale15.
Microsoft Excel
£109.99
I know this is not strictly speaking ‘photography software’, but it is so central to my workflow that I thought I should include it in the list.
I have over 27,000 images in my Lightroom catalogue, and over 16,000 of those are on sale with various stock agencies.
Keeping track of all those files would be impossible without a master Excel spreadsheet.
Mine lists all kinds of attributes for each photo:
Title
Headline
Rating
Date
Continent
Country
Batch number
On sale status
Number of downloads
Microstock flag
Design Pics flag
Print sales
Card sales
Exhibition appearances
Online gallery usage
Competitions entered
Social media usage
Reikan FoCal
Free
Photography can be a bit of a money pit, so one of the ways in which I saved a bit of money was by using Reikan’s FoCal software to calibrate my lenses.
It’s a bit of a tricky process (and I now pay CameraCal to do it!), but the basic idea is that you can fine-tune the autofocus of any combination of camera and lens.
All you have to do is download the software, print out a target and then take a series of pictures of it with your camera mounted on a tripod.
The process is semi-automated (depending on the camera), and afterwards the software will calculate the best autofocus setting to use and generate an illustrated report.
If you like sharp images, then fine-tuning your autofocus for each of your cameras and lenses is essential.
(Note that you can do this on some cameras without the Reikan FoCal software, eg there are instructions for the D850 here)
Old Photo Restoration Software
Old photos hold cherished memories of our loved ones, friends, school days, and even workmates. As time passes, these photos can become faded and marred by scratches, causing those precious memories to slowly fade away. But fear not, with SoftOrbits Old Photo Restoration Software, you have the power to revive those old photos, infusing them with vibrant colors and clarity.
What sets this software apart is its user-friendly nature, making it accessible to all, regardless of prior experience. With just a few simple steps, you can breathe new life into your old photographs, preserving those precious memories for generations to come.
Apps
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YT Studio
I have accounts with all the major social media platforms, so it’s handy to have all the apps on my iPhone so that I can post to them and check my traffic levels and number of likes, particularly when I publish my Shot of the Week on Sundays.
Spark Post
This is a very useful app for creating content to publish on social media. I use it every day to post a story on Instagram combining images and animated text, but you can also use it with other sites.
There are lots of default templates, but it’s easy to create your own in the right format, and there are endless options to change the look and feel of the post, including all the usual word processing options plus various possibilities for animating the text and changing the colour and layout of all the elements.
Squarespace Analytics
My website (https://www.nickdalephotography.com) happens to be hosted on Squarespace, so that’s why I use this particular app to keep track of the traffic, but I’m sure there’ll be a similar app for whatever platform you use yourself.
Yes, you can always log in on your desktop or laptop to have a look at your stats, but it’s much easier and faster to view them on your smartphone.
In fact, Squarespace produces a widget that’s compatible with my iPhone, so all I need to do is swipe left on the home screen to see the latest figures.
PayPal
I have lots of different sources of income at the moment, and the PayPal app is a handy way of transferring those payments to my bank account. It’s not the most user-friendly app - it takes 12 clicks to transfer a balance! - but it’s useful when I get a payment from one of my stock agencies, for instance.
eGuide to Birds of East Africa (E Africa Birds)
If, like me, you spend a lot of time on safari in Africa, then this is the bird app you need.
At £27.99, t’s rather expensive, but it’s well worth the money.
One or two of the guides I’ve met in Africa have the paperback version, but the advantage of having the app is that it’s much quicker to get results.
There’s a Taxonomic Index and and Alphabetic Index, and you can easily search for and scroll through partial matches by entering the word ‘eagle’, say, if you don’t know if it’s a steppe eagle or a tawny eagle.
You can also create your own personal list of sightings if you want to add birds you see to your ‘life list’ or if you’re doing what the Americans would call a ‘Big Year’…!
(By the way, if you haven’t seen the film, it’s worth it just to see mating eagles cartwheeling through the sky in Alaska!)
Fat Llama
I rent out some of my cameras and lenses using a peer-to-peer lender called Fat Llama.
It’s a useful source of income, especially given that all my camera equipment just sits in my bedroom gathering dust for most of the year!
The rentals come in fits and starts, but I once made nearly £500 in a single month, so it’s worth a look.
The website is pretty easy to use, and the app means I can easily keep in touch with potential renters.
The equipment is also insured by Fat Llama while it’s being used, so you don’t have to worry about that.
SetMyCamera, Field Tools
These are two apps that provide detailed data on depth of field and hyperfocal distances.
I don’t spend much time using either of them, but it’s very handy to be able to check these things either before a game drive or even in the field.
There are lots of occasions as a wildlife photographer when I want to photograph a group of animals, and to do that it’s essential to know what aperture settings I need to get every eye sharp.
Yes, I could also use the depth of field preview button or just take a few test shots, but it’s good to have the actual figure at hand for a particular lens at a particular distance with a particular aperture.
Polarsteps
My Nikon cameras don’t have built-in GPS, which is both bizarre and very annoying!
As a result, it’s very difficult to get a map of where I’ve taken all my photographs.
Polarsteps is one app that keeps track of your movements using the built-in GPS in your phone, and it’s nice to be able to see a satellite map with your journey superimposed on it.
You can even print it out or save a digital copy if you want to post it online.
TPE (The Photographer’s Ephemeris)
Again, this is not an app I use very often, but it’s crucial if you want to know basic astronomical information such as the position of the sun and the time of sunrise and sunset (or moonrise and moonset) at a particular location anywhere in the world.
It’s only £9.99, so it won’t break the bank…!
If you’d like to order a framed print of one of my wildlife photographs, please visit the Prints page.
If you’d like to book a lesson or order an online photography course, please visit my Lessons and Courses pages.