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A portrait and family photography workflow

Use direct booking for portrait sessions with a defined length and price. Clients can choose an available time, answer questions, sign a contract and pay before you deliver their gallery.

How portrait sessions usually flow​

Portraits suit direct booking:

  1. The client picks a session and a time on your booking page.
  2. They answer a few questions, sign your contract and pay, all in one go.
  3. A details questionnaire arrives a few days before the session.
  4. You shoot, then deliver a gallery they can download and share.

1. Create a direct booking service​

Go to Bookings → Services, choose Add service, name it and pick Direct booking. On the Price & duration tab, set the price and the session length. Write a description that says what's included: time, number of edited photos, outfits, location. See Setting up direct booking.

How many services you can publish at once depends on your plan: 1 on Free, 5 on Plus and unlimited on Pro. Drafts don't count, so you can build next season's sessions in advance. See How many services can I publish?.

2. Set availability you can actually keep​

Your weekly hours live under Bookings → Settings → Availability, along with the gap between sessions and dates you're away. Clients only ever see real openings. If family sessions need different hours from headshots, give that service its own schedule. See Setting your availability and Giving a service its own schedule.

Connect Google Calendar so personal plans block out times automatically and new sessions land in your calendar.

3. Take payment when they book​

On the Booking flow tab, open step 4, Payment, turn on Collect payment, and choose full payment or a deposit. The client's time is held while they pay and released if they don't, so nobody sits on your Saturday morning without committing. See Pricing, deposits and payment deadlines.

4. Attach your contract​

Step 3, Contract, puts your agreement into the booking flow. Your client signs as part of booking and your saved signature completes it straight away, so nothing waits on you at midnight. Save your signature first, under Settings → Business. See Adding a contract and questionnaire to booking.

5. Offer extras as add-ons​

More time, an extra outfit, more edited images, prints. Add them at the bottom of the Price & duration tab, and let clients choose a quantity if it makes sense. Add-ons lift your average booking without raising your base price. See Adding add-ons to a service.

6. Collect details without chasing​

  • Step 2, Questionnaire, asks a few short questions during booking: who's in the photos, ages of children, anything you should know.
  • Step 5, Follow-up questionnaires, sends a longer one on its own, a few days before the session: outfit plans, location ideas, must-have shots, pets.

Automatic questionnaires from a booking service never count towards the Free plan's questionnaire limit. See Sending a questionnaire automatically after booking.

7. Publish and share your booking page​

Publish the service, then turn on Public booking page under Bookings → Settings → Booking page. Put the link in your Instagram bio, your email signature and your website. See Customizing your booking page and Sharing your booking page.

Create a gallery from the client's contact so it's linked to them, upload your selects, and pick a cover and design that matches your style. Then share it from CoreHue so the email includes the right passwords and PIN. See Creating a gallery and Sharing a gallery by email.

Many families love a short behind-the-scenes clip or slideshow film. On Plus and Pro you can add videos to the same gallery, and they play right above the photos. See Delivering video in your galleries.

Turn on favorites so they can star the photos they want printed or framed, and you'll see exactly which ones. See How client favorites work.

A few tips​

  • Send the download PIN with the gallery. Every new gallery gets a four-digit download PIN. Tick Download PIN under Include in email when you share, or clients will tell you downloads are broken. See Using a download PIN.
  • Know what clients can download on your plan. On Free, clients get web-size downloads. Plus and Pro can offer full-resolution originals too. See Download sizes explained.
  • Save your questionnaires as templates so every new service starts with them.
  • Set an expiry date on galleries if you want clients to download promptly. See Setting a gallery expiry date.

Frequently asked questions​

Can clients reschedule or cancel a session themselves?​

Not yet. Clients contact you, and you move or cancel the booking from your dashboard. See Rescheduling a booking.

Can I run headshots and family sessions on one booking page?​

Yes. Every published service appears on the same booking page, each with its own price, length and schedule.

What if a client books but doesn't pay?​

If the service collects payment, an unpaid booking expires after the time you set and the slot opens up again. See Unpaid bookings and held times.

Do I need a paid plan for this workflow?​

You can run one published service on Free, with contracts and questionnaires built into it. Plus adds more services, full-resolution downloads, reminders and video. See Choosing between Free, Plus and Pro.

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