Email Templates Every Photographer Should Have

E-mail templates are one of those things that every single educator tells photographers to do but photographers never actually do. Am I right? And I get it, writing automated emails isn’t fun… but neither is losing clients because of a slow response rate. Nor is it enjoyable to always be glued to your phone.

And I know that client response emails are important. I also know that everyone hates to receive an automated email that feels automated. But it is possible to write on-brand automated email templates that feel genuine. It is equally possible to sit down and enjoy a movie with your significant other without being glued to your phone.

I’m not kidding when I say that automated email templates changed both my personal and my business life. It gave me the freedom to enjoy life as it happens and even increased my booking rate. In fact, the odds of a client booking you if you contact them 30 mins after they send an inquiry drops by 21 times compared to a 5 minute reply.

Even going from 5 minutes to 10 minutes translates to a decrease in response by 400% (source)! So are you ready to jump on board? Here are the email templates that every single photographer should have.

email templates for photographers

• Initial Response: this is email response to their inquiry. Ideally your brochure will be attached to it as well as why it is that you are unique! Read more about what to put on a pricing brochure, HERE.
• Booking Response: after they have let you know they want to book, you need to have an email that is attached to a proposal (a document that includes an outline of the services they will receive, a payment plan with due dates, and a contract). My favorite business tool in the world, Honeybook, makes this easy as pie!
• Session Prep: this is the email you send them after they pay the deposit and officially book! It should have information regarding all the FAQ’s: location, booking calendar, style guide, popular blog posts, and the next steps.
• Session Reminder: This is an email you send out 7-14 days before the session and it includes the date, time, and location you will be meeting as well as any last minute reminders, advice, and reassurances. 🙂
• Thank You: Send this the day after the session, or whenever you’ve had a chance to cull through those photos. Thank them for choosing you but also offer them assurance that you’ve gone through the photos, they look fabulous and you can’t wait for them to see them. And tell them how long they can expect for the return of the photos and how they will receive them.
• Gallery Delivery: this email should include a thank you, some kind words about their session specifically, as well as these three things: 1) Explain that referrals are super important and ask if they wouldn’t mind tagging you on social media and how to do it. 2) How long they have to download the images (possibly include a video tutorial). 3) Instructions for prints and albums
• Follow Up Email for Ghosting: This email will be for those random inquiries you get and never hear anything from. This same email can be used, or slightly altered, for clients who began the booking process but haven’t completed it (not paid the deposit, signed the contract, etc.).

automated emails

I’m all about automation! If you want to learn more about how I automated emails to run my photography business even in my sleep, check out THIS post!