Most of a photographer's work comes from people they have already photographed. A simple system for getting the next booking, from the shoot to the follow-up a year later.
Ask a wedding, newborn or family photographer where their bookings come from and the answer is nearly always the same: people they have shot before, and people those people sent. The marketing advice aimed at photographers is about getting found, and that matters, but the cheapest booking you will ever get is the one from last year's client who has a new baby, a first birthday, a graduation, or a Christmas card to make.
This guide is about that half of the business: a simple system for staying in touch with past clients so the next booking comes to you. It needs no newsletter and about ten minutes a week.
A client books, the shoot happens, the gallery goes out, the invoice is paid, and the file is closed. A year later the family wants photos again and books whoever is in front of them that week. Not because they were unhappy; because nothing reminded either of you.
The fix is one rule, applied to every client: nobody leaves without a next date. When you close the file, you decide when you will next be in touch and write it down.
| Work | When to get back in touch | What to say |
|---|---|---|
| Newborn | 10 to 11 months after the shoot | "She must be nearly one - I have cake-smash dates in March" |
| Family | 11 months, or a month before their last session's time of year | "Thinking about Christmas cards yet? Autumn slots are going" |
| Wedding | 11 months (first anniversary), then yearly | "Happy anniversary. If you ever want a couple's session, I'd love to see you both again" |
| Business headshots | 18 to 24 months, or when their team changes | "Noticed the new hires on your site - want the team shots updated?" |
| Schools, nurseries, sports clubs | 10 months before the next term's shoot | A date and a booking form |
| Pets | 12 months | A new-year or birthday session |
| Events and venues | Right after the event, then 10 months | Ask who is organising next year's |
Eleven months rather than twelve is deliberate. The message that arrives after they have booked someone else is worth nothing.
1. One record per client, with the history. Names (including the children's and the pets'), the dates of each shoot, what they bought, what they mentioned wanting. "Said she'd love beach photos next summer" is the whole of next year's marketing for that family.
2. A next date on every one of them, set at the moment the job finishes. If the gap repeats, make the reminder repeat, so finishing this year's books next year's by itself.
3. A ten-minute slot each week. Who is due this week: send those messages, from your own phone or email, in your own voice. Who has gone quiet: anyone you have not spoken to in a year with nothing booked. Book a date or let them go.
4. Tags for the lists you will want. newborn, christmas-2025, headshots, referrer. In October, "everyone tagged christmas" is the list for one email about Christmas mini-sessions, sent from your own account with everyone in BCC.
5. A reason, every time. Never "just checking in". A date, a new session type, something you noticed, or a thank-you for a referral.
New enquiries arrive by Instagram message, text, email and the website form, and the ones that go quiet are usually the ones that were answered late or never followed up. Treat an enquiry like a quote: reply the same day, then follow up at three days and ten days if you hear nothing. A quiet enquiry is rarely a no. Two short messages recover a lot of them.
A spreadsheet works for this until it does not: when you forget to open it, when the notes outgrow a cell, when you want it on your phone at a shoot, or when the list passes a hundred families. The free spreadsheet on this site has the layout. A small CRM does the same job with the reminders coming to you: the one described above shows who is due and who has gone quiet the moment you open it, puts follow-ups in your phone's calendar, and lets you email a tagged list in one go.
Whichever you use, the rule is what matters. Nobody leaves without a next date.
Sheetsmith CRM was built around a photography business: every client with their history, a reminder when it is time, and a list of who has gone quiet. 30 days unlimited, no card.
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