This is a list of 10 things my photography business can’t live without. There are of course lots of other things I use and need but these are just a few that sprung to mind.

1. Canon 5DMkII

Loads of megapixels, great in low light and even does a bit of video (not that I use that function).

2. Gaffa Tape

Something that every photographer needs in their camera bag…… see the post…….Gaffa Tape the essential photography accessory

3. iMac

I not going to get into the apple verses PC debate…… unlike the Canon verses Nikon one there’s a clear winner. Our iMacs are big and powers and our MacBooks do what they need when they’re needed. …… plus they look pretty….. we are in the business of beautification after all.

4. Open Source Content Management Systems (CMS)

There are lots of different ways to build a website but I have two favourite content Management Systems (CMS) and both are open source….. They are Joomla and WordPress.

Why is it important for me to use an open source CMS to build my websites?

It’s all about community and support. Both Joomla and WordPress communities are very large and there are hundreds of free or reasonably priced plugins and themes for both systems.

5. Photoshop

I could live without Aperture and LightRoom but I couldn’t live without good ‘ol Photoshop.

6. My Accountant

There are certain things that I either don’t know much about, don’t get or just don’t want to do……… accountancy is top of that list. For others it might be something else but when it comes to outsourcing but as my wife is also an accountant it was an easy choice.

7. iPhone

I don’t actually own shares in Apple before you comment. To be honest with Droid technology as good as it is any ‘smart’ phone could easily put put into this slot. What is important to me is simple things like having email and calendars all synced. After that Twitter and Facebook tools are always handy to have and of course there are a few other apps which are often useful.

8. A second opinion

I rarely shoot alone and on occasions when I do I don’t usually process or retouch the images myself. Four eyes (no jokes please) are usefully better than two (or one of you wear a batch).

Sometimes it’s very easy to get lost in your own ideas about how things should be done. Even if you’re not going to be working side by side with someone it helps to once and a while touch base with other photographers and help develop each others ideas.

The wrong people to ask for a second opinion are usually spouses I’m afraid to say. It’s not they they won’t be honest with you but they’re usually to close to what you’re working on or just not qualified or experienced enough to really help you.

9. 24-70mm 2.8 Canon lens

I brought this off an old ship mate in the Caribbean a few years ago and whilst it might be a little battered this is still my go to lens. If I really think about it I probably shoot about 80% of my work with this lens so it’s pretty important to me!

It’s also got a nice big lens hood which is more battered than the lens itself!

10. The right attitude

It might sound a bit cheesy but having the right attitude and approach has got me a long way and opened many doors.

As I mentioned there are hundreds of other things that I could have mentioned but if you’d like to share a few of your business essentials in the comments that’ll be great!