Let your clients choose the venue of their shoot

The venue guide is a page you send to your client so they can choose where their shoot will take place. They browse your venues on a map and as a list, with your photos, your description and the travel fee if there is one. As soon as they confirm, the venue is applied to the shoot and you get a notification.

No more back and forth by email to agree on a park or a beach.

In short

1. You fill in your venues once and for all in your address book.
2. You tick the ones your clients are allowed to choose.
3. From a shoot, you send the request to your client.
4. The client chooses, the venue lands on the shoot and you are notified.

Step 1: prepare your venues

In the main menu, open Shoots > Settings > Address book, then click New venue.

If you renamed your shoots, the first menu carries that name: "Sessions", "Reportages", and so on.

The address

Start with the venue name, the one your client will see: "Hyde Park", "The studio", "Camber Sands". Then use the search field to find the address: street, postcode, city and country fill in on their own.

The position on the map

This is the point that will appear on your client's map. Drag the pin or click the map to place it exactly.

Take the time to get it right. On an outdoor location, the postal address means very little: what matters is the real meeting point, the car park, the park entrance, the end of the path. A well placed pin saves your client from driving in circles on the day.

The Locate from address button snaps the pin back to the address you typed if you have drifted away.

Shoot types

You can reserve a venue for certain shoot types. A castle for weddings, your studio for newborns.

Leave this field empty and the venue is offered for every shoot. That is the default, so there is nothing to configure if you do not need it.

The travel fee

Enter your travel fee for this venue, if you charge one. Your client sees it on the venue page, which helps them choose with full knowledge.

This amount is for information only. It is never added to your quotes automatically: you stay in control of your pricing. Leave the field empty to display "No travel fee", an argument that often counts.

The description

Introduce the venue the way you would in person: the atmosphere, the light, the best time of day, access, parking, a tip about outfits or shoes.

This is the text that creates desire. A few honest sentences beat a technical sheet.

The photos

Add photos of shoots you have actually done on site. Drag the thumbnails to reorder them: the first one is the cover in the list.

This is by far what triggers the choice. A client who pictures themselves in your images decides quickly.

Photos can be added once the venue is saved. Create it first and you will land straight on its edit page.

Step 2: publish your venues in the guide

On every venue, the Visible in the guide switch decides whether it is offered to your clients.

• On: the venue appears in the guide your client browses.
• Off: the venue stays in your address book to prefill a shoot address, but is never offered to the client.

You can switch a venue on or off straight from the list, without opening it.

The Preview the guide button, at the top of the list, shows you exactly what your client will see.

Step 3: ask your client to choose

Open the shoot. In the menu at the top right, the one with three dots, click Ask the client to choose the venue.

An email is prepared with a ready made template and a button to the guide. You can edit it before sending, like any Fotostudio email.

Sending through WhatsApp, Messenger or SMS

You do not have to go through email. Simply copy the button link into your message and send it through whichever channel you like: it works exactly the same.

The link is personal to your client and to that shoot. Do not publish it anywhere public.

Following the request

Until the client answers, the shoot shows Waiting for the client's choice next to the address. The Awaiting a choice counter at the top of your address book gives you the overview.

What your client sees

Your client installs nothing and has no password to remember. They open the link and land on a page in your colours, which works just as well on a phone as on a computer.

They can switch between List and Map, open a venue to see all your photos full size, read your description and get Directions. Once decided, they click Choose this venue, confirm, and it is done.

They can come back to the link later and change their mind. The new choice replaces the previous one and you are notified again.

After the choice

Three things happen automatically:

• The venue is applied to the shoot. The name and full address replace the previous address, and follow everywhere: shoot page, contracts, Google Calendar, exports.
• You receive a notification, inside Fotostudio and by email, with the chosen venue, its address and the travel fee if there is one.
• The shoot shows who chose and when, under the address.

You keep control: nothing stops you from editing the shoot address afterwards, exactly as you always have.

Your statistics

At the top of your address book, five counters give you the essentials: the number of venues, those published in the guide, the shoots attached to a venue, the choices made by your clients and the requests still unanswered.

The table then details, for each venue, the number of shoots and how many times it was chosen. Enough to spot the venues people love and those nobody picks.

Our advice

A well presented venue sells as much as a portfolio. One beautiful photo, three sentences about the late afternoon light, a pin placed exactly right: your client pictures it, decides quickly, and arrives on the day knowing exactly where to go.

Updated on: 12/09/2026