For years, many companies have thrived in the photography industry, building profitable businesses by providing valuable tools, services, and resources for photographers around the world.  So in this time of need, it’s not surprising that many of those same companies are stepping up and giving back.

Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” With the Coronavirus taking its toll on small businesses and the photography industry as a whole, here is a list of companies doing their part to give back and provide guidance.

I applaud these companies because communicating with customers is difficult in this environment. Discounting products can be seen as “opportunistic,” and creating content around a pandemic can be misinterpreted as “taking advantage” of a bad situation. It takes courage, significant offerings, and the right message to navigate this environment, and these companies are doing it well.

This article was last updated on 4/1/2020. As we find more examples, we’ll update this article.  

Peak Design – Profits Donated to COVID-19 Charity

Peak Design will be launching its Travel Tripod on April 7, 2020 at 12am PST and will be donating 100% of profits from every tripod sold (direct at PeakDesign.com + retail partners worldwide) to COVID-19 disaster relief and combating climate change. The giving period will last from April 7 through April 10, and funds will be distributed to the CDC Foundation and Climate Neutral. (More Info Here)

*Update – As of Monday May 11th, Peak Design donated $218,150 to the CDC Foundation and Climate Neutral!

MotionArray – Free

Motion Array is opening up a number of products including our entire Premiere Pro plugins library, Video Review, and Video Portfolio Builder for FREE for the next 3 months, to help filmmakers were we can. No payment info needed, no charges at the end of the 3 months, no hook at all. You can learn more here.

Format – Photographer Fund ($25,000)

Format has created a $25,000 Photographer Fund to help distressed photographers. “Applications are open to any and all photographers who might be facing financial difficulties during this uncertain time.” They’re also working to secure some partnerships with other brands to help bring this figure up to help even more photographers.

Apply Here: https://www.format.com/photographer-fund

MagMod – $150 Off MagBox Pro Kit

The MagBox 24″ Octa Pro Kit is the ultimate portable softbox kit. This bundle includes the 24″ MagBox, MagRing and MagShoe, plus a FocusDiffuser and gels for extra light control, and an awesome case to store it all in.

Sale Price: $349.95, (MSRP: $499.95) $150 Off
Sale Period: April 2 – April 10
Purchase the MagBox here.
Limited Quantities, While Supplies Last

Honeybook – Free Resources to Deal with Business Impact

Honeybook has created a series of free resources for professional photographers to help their businesses in this time of uncertainty.

They have created a “COVID-19 Toolkit” that includes the following:

  • A “16 Step Guide for Protecting Your business”
  • Ways to connect with others in your community
  • Templates for “What to say when responding to clients”
  • Templates for “client communication emails”
  • Templates for “contract protection clauses”

See their list of resources here or signup here.

Adobe – 2 Free Months of Adobe CC

Adobe has not officially associated their 2 free months of creative cloud with the crisis, but nevertheless, a discount on the most widely used software for photographers is a great gesture in this time of need. See our article on how to get 2 free months here.

Fundy Designer – Photographer Business Advice

Fundy is spending this time interviewing photographers and providing valuable business information on their Facebook Page. “We are going to be doing a 15-20 min tip on how to get revenue now with our top producing Fundy Storyteller ambassadors starting today to both our Facebook page and Group.”

They also have a discount of 30% on their product with code: FUNDYPARTNER30

SLR Lounge – Decreased Existing Premium Memberships

Here at SLR Lounge, we’ve discounted our premium membership renewals by $100 to help ease the financial burden for our current Premium Members. We’re also offering the same discounted rates for new members with the code STAYPOSITIVE. Find out more information here.

In addition, next month, we’re launching a series of 100% free business resources and education on our website.

General Note on Sales at this Time

Many companies are giving steep discounts on their products and services right now. We do not encourage unnecessary spending, and hope that you maintain an adequate safety net for you and your family. However, it’s worthwhile to look through all of your business needs and recurring subscriptions to see if there are opportunities to save. Find things that you and your business already need and things that you were likely to buy anyways.

Here are a list of discounts and free resources to cross check with your existing needs:

  • Sigma is donating 5% of all (Sigma) lens sales from now till June 30, 2020 to charitable organizations working on Covid-19 relief efforts
  • Nikon School Online courses are free for the month of April!
  • Leica has a series of free #StayHomeWithLeica courses you can take during the lockdown.
  • Olympus is also offering up some free education classes under their #HomeWithOlympus Sessions
  • Akaso is offering 6000 free medical surgical masks with free shipping! They will randomly select 200 people a day, and each one will get 3 free medical surgical masks without shipping fee!
  • Capture One – 25% discount on Capture One Pro perpetual licenses and subscriptions.  Use Code: SPRING25
  • CorePower Yoga: free on-demand online classes.
  • DVLOP – 30% Off Presets with code STAYHOME
  • Creative Live is offering FREE Health & Wellness Courses
  • Luminar 4 – Bundles are Discounted and Skylum will donate $5 from any purchase to the W.H.O., the Coronavirus Relief Fund, and several other charities.
  • Affinity Software is offering a 50% discount along with an extended 90 day free trial of their creative software and pledging to engage more than 100 freelance creatives for work!
  • … List to be updated as more worthwhile freebies and discounts are discovered.

Conclusion

As mentioned, we’ll keep this list updated. If you can think of others offering resources or notable discounts to the community, please mention them below in the comments.