How to Book a Photography Session: A Step-by-Step Guide

It depends on your location, shoot type, duration, and which package you pick: Budget (also called Value) covers a set number of edited photos and is available on your first shoot only, All-inclusive covers every photo from the shoot. Editing, full commercial rights and 48-hour delivery come with both.

It depends on the shoot type, and on how much has to happen inside the hour.

A single-person portrait or headshot session is comfortable in an hour. The things that push you longer are extra people, extra outfits, and extra locations. Five people in five different outfits is a different shoot from one person in one. Events and weddings are driven by the run of the day rather than by a shot list, so book to cover the part of the day you actually want photographed.

If you’re between two lengths, take the longer one. The extra time is what makes a shoot feel unhurried, and what gives you room to try a second setup, redo a shot you weren’t happy with, or let a nervous kid warm up. Your photographer does better work when they aren’t watching the clock, and you get more out of the session.

Not sure? Message our team before you book and we’ll recommend a length for what you’re shooting.

It depends on the package and the shoot type.

All-inclusive shoots give you every unique selection from the shoot: the photographer’s full set of usable frames, edited and delivered. There’s no cap, so the number scales with how long you book and how much is happening.

Budget shoots, available on your first booking only, give you a set number of edited photos. The photographer makes the selects and shares the gallery from the shoot, and you receive that fixed set.

The fixed count depends on the duration of the shoot.

Every image you receive has been edited. Your photographer handles standard editing, color correction, exposure, and general image enhancement. What lands in your gallery is finished, not raw camera files.

Advanced work is not part of a standard booking. That includes face and skin retouching, object and background removal, virtual staging, and sky replacement. If you want any of that, our Magic Studio Pro feature can take your delivered images further.

We email that address a link back to your booking so you can pick up where you left off, and the same details become your login. First-time customers go straight through, with no password to create and no email to confirm. If you have booked with us before, the screen asks for your password, or emails you a magic link if you never set one.

As early as you can, since availability is widest with a few days’ notice. Short notice is often fine too: in well-covered cities you can book with as little as two hours’ notice.

Pick the closest shoot type. It is what matches you with a photographer who specializes in that kind of work, and the categories are broad. You can add specifics in the later steps, and there is an “Other” category if nothing fits.

Instant booking covers the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore (roughly 90% of the population in those markets), plus parts of the Philippines and Israel. Enter your address at step 4 and pricing and availability are worked out for your exact area.

Product quotes are built from SKU count and shot list rather than hours, so the extra questions are what price the shoot accurately.

Yes. Open the shoot in your dashboard and use “Make booking changes”. Every booking includes one free change of date or location; changes after that carry a fee. Make it more than 24 hours ahead, or contact support if you are inside that window.

Your edited photos arrive as a link to your online gallery, usually within 48 hours of the shoot. Events and parties take up to 72 hours, and weddings up to 96.