Online booking for photographers: set up your services and available time slots

A booking page should answer three questions: which session to choose, when to come and what happens after the request? Build this journey around how your studio actually operates. Your availability becomes a clear proposal for the client.

📅 Describe each service available for booking

In Pelli, you can create appointment types with a name, description, duration, price and location. An online consultation, a studio portrait and a session at the client’s location can each have different settings.

Choose understandable names and explain the content. The client should recognize the service they are looking for without knowing your internal methods. You can make an appointment type public or hide it depending on what you want to offer.

⏱️ Adjust time slots to the time you actually need

The displayed duration covers the appointment. Preparation and resetting the studio also take time. In Pelli, buffers before and after appointments allow you to include those moments when organizing availability.

Also define the minimum notice and booking horizon. This avoids offering a slot too soon to prepare the session or a date too far ahead for your schedule. These settings should reflect your working capacity.

🗓️ Build your working hours and exceptions

In Pelli, you can create schedules and define weekly time windows. Assign the appropriate schedule to each service: hours for the studio and others for online appointments, for example.

Add blocked periods and exceptional openings when your week changes. Appointment limits per day or week help frame your capacity. Check the time zone and available slots before sharing your page.

📝 Ask the questions that help with the request

Custom questions for a service help you prepare your welcome. Ask for directly useful information: participant numbers, a portrait’s purpose or a location detail. Choose required answers carefully to keep the journey pleasant.

Example: for a professional studio portrait, you offer a defined duration, a preparation buffer and a question about image use. Your client selects a slot from the available times and submits the information requested in the form.

✅ Confirm the appointment after the request

Public booking creates a pending appointment. In Pelli, you can then confirm it in your appointment management. Explain this step clearly: the client should distinguish a submitted request from a confirmed appointment.

On confirmation, an email presents the appointment information and can include your custom service message. This gives the request a concrete next step and a reference point for preparing the studio visit.

💳 Prepare the deposit as a separate step

If your offer includes a deposit, set its terms and explain them in your service. In Pelli, you can generate a deposit invoice from the appointment. It is created as a draft so that you can review it.

The time-slot request and deposit invoicing are two steps. Prepare the invoice’s sending and follow-up according to the agreed terms. Your client then knows what confirms the appointment and how to pay the required deposit.

🔗 Connect the schedule to your everyday organization

In Pelli, you have an ICS calendar link to add to your calendar application. A Google Calendar connection also enables appointment export when that option is switched on. Check the configuration you use.

The Pelli photographer CRM presents the tools that accompany your appointments and documents. Before opening bookings, test a complete journey: choose a service, view a date, submit the request and understand the next step.