Okay, if you have ever heard someone say the word systems and that you need systems in your business and you’re like, what the heck does that mean? Then this episode is for you.
Spoiler alert or in a nutshell, systems can also be known as processes. Very simply put, if the word system does not resonate with you or feels overwhelming or scary, just think of it as a process. Essentially all it means is a process that you have in your business or steps that you have in place for all kinds of different tasks, actions, and parts of your client experience to make sure they get done consistently.
When you have consistent systems or processes in place, you can keep your sanity AND ensure every client gets the same exceptional experience.
Why Photography Business Systems Matter
Photography business systems absolutely matter for you, but they also matter tremendously for your clients. They directly impact the experience that you’re giving to them and your ability to show up as your best self.
I firmly believe that when clients are paying you thousands of dollars and trusting you with their once-in-a-lifetime memories, they deserve the best of you and they deserve a true professional. Having systems in place helps you be that professional and deliver the same incredible experience time after time while staying organized behind the scenes.
When you first start as a photographer, managing a few clients might seem manageable without “systems”. But as your business grows and you’re handling 20, 30, or 40+ clients simultaneously, you absolutely need systems in place. Without them, there’s no way you’ll keep up with growing your business, serving existing clients, remembering to send every email & questionnaire & resource, and nurturing potential new clients all at the same time.
The 5 Essential Photography Business Systems
In no particular order, let’s break down the five essential systems that will transform you from just being a photographer to feeling like the CEO of your own photography business:
1. Marketing & Portfolio System
Yes, this absolutely counts as a system! Without marketing and a strong portfolio, you don’t have anything to showcase to potential clients. You don’t have a photography business that you’re marketing.
I promise, marketing doesn’t have to mean random content dumps on Instagram when you suddenly realize you haven’t posted in six weeks. For photographers, having a marketing system simply means creating a plan for how you’ll attract new clients, how you’ll showcase your work, and how you’ll do so in a way that feels authentic and service-focused.
This system looks different for every photographer. I recommend having multiple marketing channels rather than putting all your eggs in the Instagram basket. Good news: if you don’t want to dance on TikTok, you don’t have to! Consider these marketing channels for photographers:
- Instagram portfolio showcases
- Pinterest wedding inspiration boards
- Photography blog posts optimized for SEO
- Local in-person networking with vendors
- Facebook community engagement
- Email newsletters to past clients
The key is deciding which platforms work for your dream clients, what you enjoy doing, and what you can consistently maintain. Start by selecting one or two channels, then determine:
- How often you’ll create content for each platform
- When you’ll schedule time on your calendar to create that content
I suggest you schedule a regular “date” with your marketing. When you intentionally plan for it in your calendar, it becomes a non-negotiable part of your photography business workflow rather than an overwhelming afterthought.
Don’t forget to regularly update your portfolio too. Every quarter, review your website to ensure the images still reflect your current photography style and the dream clients you want to attract.
2. Client Experience System
Within your client experience system, there are multiple sub-systems because this area is absolutely crucial. Beyond your actual photography, the experience you provide is what generates those glowing reviews and referrals to friends and family.
Every photography client should feel like your only client. This requires being intentional and present, which is why having systems helps you navigate the entire client journey. When a client inquires, you should already know exactly what steps they’ll go through from that first email through final delivery.
When potential clients search for their wedding photographer, they’re looking for someone they can trust to guide them and deliver on what they promise. Your client experience system ensures all touchpoints are already decided and organized behind the scenes. The experience is curated and ready, allowing you to deliver the same intentional experience to every wedding client.
This isn’t a cookie-cutter approach – your system should and can still allow for personalization. Different wedding clients need different support. For example:
- Resources for including pets in their ceremony
- Guidance on navigating complex family dynamics
- Help securing permits for destination elopements
- Coordination with their wedding planner or other vendors
Your client experience system gives you a roadmap from inquiry to delivery so nobody feels forgotten, and you have all the information need from them to do your best work. Essential components include:
- Communication workflows with scheduled check-ins
- Auto-responders for when you’re unavailable
- Welcome guides and physical client gifts
- Timeline for gallery sneak peeks and deliverables
I use Dubsado as my client relationship manager (CRM) to handle every client touchpoint from inquiry to final delivery and review requests. It’s a complete game-changer for wedding photographers. You can get a discount on your Dubsado subscription using my unique referral partner code (mfp20). Feel free to message me on IG (@the.sundae.best) if you have questions about Dubsado before you join.
3. Editing & Post-Production System
What happens after you take thousands of wedding photos? Without a system, you might find yourself with 40,000 images to edit and no clear plan of attack.
Late-night editing sessions are not the answer – I personally can’t edit effectively after 6 PM when my eyes are tired and colors don’t look the same. A proper post-production system keeps everything organized and on schedule.
Your photography editing system should include:
- File management and backup protocols (how many cards, where are backups stored)
- Systematic file naming conventions
- Culling workflow to efficiently select the best images
- Editing schedule with deadlines for different stages
- Client communication about gallery progress
- Process for delivering galleries and sharing with vendors
About a year ago, I refined my culling workflow using AfterShoot, and it’s been transformative. I can now cull a wedding in 2 hours instead of 8-10 hours. It’s especially helpful for wedding family photos and detecting closed eyes and exact duplicates. You can try it out for free and get 10% off your first subscription using my unique referral partner link.
Remember that your attitude toward editing is part of your client experience too. When photographers publicly complain about drowning in editing, how does that make clients feel about their own photos? Instead, approach editing with excitement that translates to your clients.
4. Photography Business Management System
Taking photos is the artistic part of your business that you love. Running a photography business involves much more:
- Maintaining legal requirements and contracts
- Managing taxes and financial obligations
- Handling monthly administrative tasks
- Paying yourself and any second shooters or assistants
- Ordering albums and prints
- Keeping policies updated
As a photographer, it’s essential to have systems for the business side. The quality of your work doesn’t matter so much if your business foundation isn’t solid.
This system focuses on your photography business health. How often do you review your contract? Is your photography equipment properly insured, including new gear? Have you renewed your business licenses? Is your LLC in good standing?
Without a system for checking these items regularly, they’ll fall through the cracks. Create an annual calendar with specific dates to review different aspects of your business management.
The business side can feel overwhelming because most of us started with a dream and a camera, not a business degree. As your photography income grows and you book more clients, suddenly you’re running a full-blown business requiring proper management.
Don’t forget to analyze your website traffic, SEO performance, and marketing analytics to ensure your investments of time and money are paying off. Regularly request client feedback and actually implement it to improve your services.
Time management is crucial too. I recommend limiting yourself to three must-do tasks per day, with three to five supporting tasks. Using Notion to map out my week ahead has transformed my mindset about running my photography business – it no longer feels like a never-ending to-do list.
5. Self-Care System
This may not seem like a business system, but I firmly believe it is. All those sessions to shoot, galleries to edit, blogs to write, and social posts to create can push your own wellbeing to the back burner.
I love my photography business deeply. I’m achievement-oriented by nature, which I value about myself, but it can be detrimental. I’ve burned out multiple times believing I didn’t have time for self-care, nutritious meals, or exercise because I had to edit “right now” or I’d never book another wedding.
The truth is: you cannot pour from an empty cup. Self-care allows you to feel rested, recharged, creative, and alive. Your photography business shouldn’t consume your entire life. I firmly believe in building your business around your life, not the other way around.
Yes, there are seasons of hustle when getting your photography business established. But my goal is building a business that gives me time for my personal life – baking pizza from scratch, reading novels, sitting in the sun just because I want to.
When I neglect self-care and my physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing, I suffer as a creative, as a person, and in all my roles. As photographers, we rely heavily on showing up joyfully, energetically, and creatively for our clients. Being rested and recharged is essential to doing our best work.
My challenge to you: as much as you invest in your photography equipment, editing software, website templates, and marketing tools, intentionally invest in yourself. This doesn’t necessarily mean spending money – it means scheduling non-negotiable time for whatever recharges you. Put it on your calendar and treat it as seriously as a client meeting.
Where to Start With Your Photography Business Systems
I know we’ve covered a lot. These systems are what enable you to have time for self-care, maintain a personal life, and show up joyfully for your clients from a place of freedom and confidence.
Please don’t feel like you need to implement all these photography systems immediately.
Next steps:
- Plan out your next week in detail using Notion (or your chosen platform)
- Look at your photography business holistically and identify pain points or gaps
- Ask yourself: What takes up most of my time? What feels disorganized? Where could my client experience improve?
- Look for tasks you repeat constantly that could be automated or systematized.
Start with one system, audit your current workflow, decide where to begin, and schedule time to implement changes gradually.
I hope this episode makes photography business systems feel a little less intimidating and showed you how they can transform your photography business, and more importantly, your life. If you have questions about implementing any of these systems, I’m here to help! Shoot me a message on Instagram and let’s chat!
Photography Business Resources I Use and Recommend
- Dubsado (CRM) – code: mfp20
- Streamline your wedding photography client management with Dubsado, the all-in-one CRM that automates your workflows from inquiry to final delivery. Use code mfp20 to save on your subscription and transform how you handle contracts, questionnaires, and client communications. Dubsado has completely revolutionized my photography business by giving me back hours each week that I can dedicate to creativity and client service.
- Notion (Planning)
- Organize your photography business tasks, projects, and content calendar in one customizable workspace with Notion’s powerful planning templates. Notion helps wedding photographers visualize their upcoming shoots, deadlines, and business goals while creating searchable databases for venue information and client details. I use Notion daily to map out my week, track my photography business metrics, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks in my client experience.
- Tailwind (pre-scheduling content)
- Schedule months of photography content in advance across Pinterest and Instagram with Tailwind’s intuitive planning dashboard and SmartSchedule feature. Tailwind analyzes optimal posting times for wedding photographers to maximize engagement and reach potential clients when they’re most active. With Tailwind’s batch scheduling capabilities, I can dedicate one focused day to content creation and then let the platform handle consistent posting throughout the month.
- Aftershoot – 10% OFF with my link
- Cut your wedding photography culling time by up to 80% (in my experience) with Aftershoot’s AI-powered selection tool that automatically flags closed eyes, blurry images, and duplicates. Get 10% OFF your Aftershoot subscription with my link and experience how this game-changing tool can transform your post-production workflow. Aftershoot has reduced my culling time from 8-10 hours per wedding to just 2 hours, giving me more time to focus on creative editing and client experience.
- The Legal Paige
- Protect your photography business with attorney-drafted contracts and legal templates specifically designed for wedding and portrait photographers. The Legal Paige offers comprehensive contract templates that cover everything from cancellations to copyright ownership and image usage rights. Their photography business contracts have given me peace of mind knowing my business is legally protected while establishing clear expectations with clients from the start. I also use TLP’s second shooter, associate photographer, and film photography templates.
- My Annual Content Calendar
- Transform your photography marketing strategy with my Annual Content Calendar designed specifically for wedding photographers who are tired of not knowing what to post, but want to attract more of their ideal clients. This comprehensive content planning system includes 12 Instagram posts per month (organized seasonally), caption templates tailored to photography businesses, and 24 blog post topics to get you started. My Annual Content Calendar eliminates the stress of last-minute content creation by providing a structured approach to your photography marketing throughout the entire year.
- My Photographer’s Workflow Kit
- Elevate your client experience and streamline your photography business systems with my comprehensive Workflow Kit designed for wedding photographers. This complete system includes customizable email templates (from first inquiry to gallery deliver and review request), a consult call script, engagement & wedding questionnaires, a wedding timeline template, and my entire example workflow I use to create a consistently excellent experience for every client. All of the tools included in this workflow kit are the exact ones I use in my business!
- ShowIt & WordPress – code: mrsferree
- Create a stunning photography website that converts visitors into clients with ShowIt’s drag-and-drop design freedom and WordPress’s powerful blogging capabilities. Use code mrsferree when signing up for ShowIt to save on your subscription and showcase your portfolio with a website that perfectly reflects your unique photography style and brand. ShowIt’s user-friendly platform allows photographers to easily update their portfolios without coding knowledge while WordPress integration optimizes your blog posts for maximum SEO impact.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE 5 PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS SYSTEMS GUIDE HERE!
Related: Social Media Content Ideas for Photographers
Meet Your Host of The Sundae Best Podcast: Logan Ferree
I’m a former scientist turned creative (wedding photographer, mentor, and podcaster), which means I bring both analytical thinking and artistic vision to everything I do. At home, you’ll find me hosting dinner parties with a glass of red wine, cuddling my three fur babies (Mama, Erica, and Tiffany), or planning my next adventure with my husband Dan.
Whether I’m in Iceland chasing waterfalls or at home enjoying quiet morning coffee moments, I believe in finding joy in both the grand and simple things. Through The Sundae Best podcast, I’m sharing all the ingredients that helped me build a business that gives me time for what matters, provides for my family, and keeps my creative spirit alive. No holding back—just real strategies, served with a cherry of encouragement on top!
For more photography business insights and resources:
- Learn about 1:1 photography mentorships with me or browse other business resources for wedding photographers
- Follow me on Instagram for more tips and interviews: @the.sundae.best
- Visit our show website for more episodes: thesundaebest.com
- Follow my photography work: @mrs.ferreephotography and mrsferreephotography.com
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