Book the slot, take the deposit
Clients pick a time that's genuinely free and pay to hold it, so the date is locked before you've replied to anything. The back-and-forth about which Saturday works stops happening.
From 'any dates?' to a locked date in four steps
They pick a service and add-ons
Your price sheet shows live with any upsells you've attached, so the quote is settled before a slot is even chosen.
Real-time conflict check
The calendar only ever shows slots your Google Calendar says are actually free — buffers and travel time already subtracted.
Deposit locks the date
Stripe takes the deposit in the moment of booking, so the date is held by money, not by a promise that might ghost you.
Reminders chase themselves
Confirmation, the pre-shoot nudge and the balance invoice all go out on a schedule you set once.
A calendar that fills itself in
Clients pick a slot, pay the deposit through Stripe and the date locks. Every slot is checked against your live Google Calendar first, so a Saturday can only ever be sold once.
- Live conflict checks against Google Calendar before a slot is offered
- Deposits taken on booking, balance invoiced later
- Buffers and travel time between shoots, set per service
- Per-staff and per-group availability for teams and second shooters
June
6 shoots bookedBooking, plus the deposit — without the wiring
Calendly is great at finding a time. It's the deposit, the second-shooter check and the reminders you end up stapling together yourself.
| How it stacks up | Calendly + Stripe — the usual way | lemon.gallery |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit at booking | Stripe link, built by hand | Taken the moment the date is held |
| Conflict checking | Your calendar only | Per service, per staff member, per group |
| Add-on upsells | Manual quote after | Priced into the booking flow |
| Second-shooter | Separately managed | Team availability checked the same way |
Bookings that fit your shooting life
Wedding dates that never double-book
The Saturday you're already shooting never appears. A second shooter's diary is checked too, so the date is safe before you confirm.
Mini-session days
One date split into bookable slots with the deposit flow reused — Christmas minis book themselves down to the hour.
Quick portrait slots
School holidays fill fast. Any free slot you open is sellable the same day, deposit down, no email needed.
Enquiry-to-book without the 20-question dance
The price sheet and dates are settled in one go, so the only thing left to say is yes.
Comparing us with Calendly, Acuity or HoneyBook? See the side-by-side →
Pick a plan, not a spreadsheet
Start free. Upgrade whenever a client actually pays you. Annual billing takes two months off every plan.
- Galleries and sales, 0% platform fee
- Client hub and file transfers
- Unlimited projects
- The CRM, without automation
- 25GB storage
- Everything in Solo
- Automations and email marketing
- Instagram DM automation, coming soon
- Lightroom plugin and custom domain
- 100GB storage
- Everything in Pro
- The AI suite
- Every tool included
- Team accounts
- 500GB storage
- Everything in Growth
- Bring your own storage and keys
- Higher limits on emails, research and AI runs
- Priority support
- 1TB storage
Free
Client galleries, 8GB storage, the full CRM, bookings and contracts, 2 projects at a time, 2.5% platform fee on sales.
Questions, answered honestly
Just what the product actually does today.
How does it know when I'm actually free?
Every slot is checked against your live Google Calendar before it is offered, and the buffers or travel time you set per service are subtracted first. If a Saturday is already busy, the slot never appears on the public page. That's why a date can only ever be sold once.
Can I take a deposit rather than the whole fee up front?
Yes, that's the default shape. The deposit is taken through Stripe at the moment of booking and the balance is invoiced later, so the date is held by money rather than by a promise. You'll need your Stripe account connected before the booking page can take payment.
I work with a second shooter. Does that break it?
No. Availability can be set per staff member and per group, so a second shooter's diary is checked the same way yours is and team or group bookings are handled without you sorting out who's free. Each person's own calendar still does the conflict checking.
Is bookings on the Free plan or do I have to pay first?
The full CRM, bookings, contracts and e-sign are on the Free plan, with two projects running at a time and 8GB of storage, and every booking gets its day-before reminder email on every plan, Free included. The honest limit is automations: the confirmations, chases and follow-ups you design yourself start on Pro, or with the Marketing add-on on any plan. Sales on Free also carry a 2.5% platform fee.