JKlein Photos Equine and Canine Photographer from Muskegon Michigan and Wellington Florida, offers education to photographers, teaching photography and business skills 83.jpg

Having a streamlined and consistent workflow for all of your photoshoots, will not only elevate your client’s overall experience, but will keep you organized and focused on what is most important in your business. This is my personal workflow that I have developed over the years…

Inquiry. New clients can inquire about booking a photoshoot by completing the contact form on my website, which automatically populates a new project in my CRM system, Honeybook (Honeybook is where I communicate with my clients, allowing me to see when the emails have been opened, and by whom. This also keeps everything related to the specific client and their project, in one location, where I, or my virtual assistant can access it at anytime, anywhere.).

My inquiry form requires an address for the location they would like to use, as well as what package they would like to book, and who we are photographing (number of horses and/or dogs.) From there, I can research the address to see when the best lighting is for that specific location and figure out a start time according to the package they are booking. (Read more about this detail here: https://www.jkleinphotos.com/educational-blog/2026/5/12/how-stalking-makes-my-business-better)
First Contact. I email new client within 48 hours (through their new project in Honeybook), and provide them with dates I currently have available, and recommended start times for their chosen location.
Proposal. Once the client has chosen a date and time, I email them a digital invoice, a click to sign contract, and a link to their complimentary prep guides. I require a retainer to reserve their date and time, due on the day of booking. The remainder of their investment is due in full by the day of their photoshoot.

Weather, Photoshoot Confirmation & Final Payment. Living near large bodies of water, the weather can change dramatically throughout the week, so I prefer to wait until I can see the hourly weather report. This ensures that if the daily forecast is 100% chance of rain, that we aren’t rescheduling a photoshoot if that 100% chance of rain is for 4am - 6am, and our photoshoot is set for 7pm, when the hourly report predicts the perfect sunset!
Once I can see that hourly weather report, I email the client to confirm the date, starting time, location address, and the package they booked. Included in that email is a direct link to their complimentary prep guides, so they can easily access them to ensure they are properly prepared for their photoshoot.
Their final invoice is emailed to them, allowing them to pay via bank transfer, a credit card, or in cash at the photoshoot.
Upon Arrival. I like to arrive 10-15 minutes early (because if you’re on time, you’re late!! Or at least that’s how I operate.) to organize my gear, any additional tools or treat bags for my assistant. I like to meet the client, review any outfit or tack changes that are included in the photoshoot, and then walk the property to find locations that offer a variety of lighting, lines, color, and texture, that I can use to shape the client’s memories into photos.
The Photoshoot. This is the fun part!! The workflow of the photoshoot is simplified for clients, providing a relaxed and friendly experience. My assistant is trained to automatically handle everything from the small details on the animals, to the big details of posing the animals to look their best, while I focus on directing the client and creating a boasting collection of photos the client will instantly fall in love with!
What Comes Next. Before I leave the photoshoot, I briefly let the client know what to expect following the photoshoot (encouraging the client to follow social media accounts to see sneak peeks, when they can expect their full collection to be retouched and ready for them to view, and details on fine art choices and customizations. ALL of this information is also emailed to them within 24 hours of their photoshoot, so they can refer back to that information at any time.)

Uploading, Culling & Editing. Once I get home, or back to the hotel if I’m traveling, I upload the client’s images from the SD card to my hard drive, setting the SD card aside in separate case (I will not use that card for another client, or reformat the card until after the client’s images have been delivered. Should anything happen to my hard drive before delivery, I would still be able to reload from my SD card and editing the images again.).

I personally use Adobe Bridge for organizing and culling images, and Camera Raw + Adobe Photoshop for all of my editing.

Every client has their own folder on my hard drive, where the images are culled, edited, and saved as RAWs, PSDs, JPEGs and watermarked JPEGs.
RAWs - In case I need to start the full edit over, or want to return to reedit the same image at a later date.
PSDs - In case I have multiple layers I was working on during the editing process, and may want to return to adjust those layers later on for fine art orders.
JPEGs - Saved in high resolution, and ready for the client’s print order. All fine art larger than 8×12” must be ordered through my business, and will be ordered off of these high resolution, non watermarked files.
Watermarked JPEGs - Saved in low resolution, perfect for the client to download and share on their social medias, keep as mementos on their phones, or print for personal use up to 8×12”.
Fine Art Mockups. If the client would like complimentary mockups of what different sizes or styles of fine art will look like in their homes, offices and barns, than I gather the images of their homes and create these mockups to provide WITH their edited images in an online gallery. If they haven’t provided images of their homes to use for mockups, I still create fine art mockups using blank walls or frame mockups purchased on creativemarket.com or etsy.com.
Sneak Peeks. While I am editing and creating mockups, I will share sneak peeks through the business’s social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram and Stories). This helps teach clients to follow your accounts, continually check in on the accounts, and if they share the sneak peeks, promotes your business and their experience to their friends and family.
Delivery of Online Gallery. I upload all of the client’s edited images + the mockups to an online gallery (I use Pixieset), and create one time use, case sensitive coupon codes that correlate to the package the client booked. This allows the client to download their favorite images, upgrade to receive the full collection, and order fine art on their own, when it’s convenient for them.
Complimentary Guidance on Fine Art. I will reach out, after I see the clients have accessed their online gallery and have had a few days to enjoy their images, to see if they need further guidance on what fine art sizes and products would look best in their homes, offices, barns and/or as gifts to those who love their animals as much as they do. During this complimentary service, I do provide the clients with an easy click to pay digital invoice for any fine art, simplifying the process and speeding up the time between receiving their online gallery and hanging their fine art.

Asking for a Review. I am constantly striving to better my business, my photography and editing skills, level up the customer service, and provide a luxury experience from inquiry to hanging fine art. Asking each client for an honest review, ensures that the clients are receiving the experience and service in line with my high standards, or if there are any issues, that I am immediately able to adjust my workflow to guarantee all future clients receive a better experience.
Reviews are wonderful to use on social media and website!
Order and Mail Thank You Package. The larger photography packages I offer, include a thank you gift for my clients. In the past, this has been a collection of smaller prints, with either horse and/or dog treats, a hand written thank you note, a few business cards to share with friends, and a J.Klein Photos sticker. I have found that most clients value a more substantial fine art piece over smaller prints, so I’ve updated my packages to include a small framed piece, that is drop shipped directly to my client. I still send them a note, thanking them for their business, and letting them know they have a surprise coming in the mail!
Blogs. They say blogs are dead, but SEO LOVES blogs, and it’s a great way to highlight your favorite photoshoots, a raving review, and education your future clients with behind the scenes details or information. Blogging continually adds new information to your website, and with proper SEO, your website will be ranked higher on the google search forms, providing you with more visibility to potential clients.
Social Media Calendar. If it’s a wonderful photoshoot, with images I want to highlight or use as education on my social media accounts, I will create 3-5 different posts I can add to the social media calendar for scheduled posts. That way, even if I’m on a plane or behind the camera, I am reaching my regular commitments of posting 3-5 days a week on all social platforms (gottah feed that hungry algorithm!).
Reformatting & Reorganizing. Three days after the delivery of the client’s online gallery (per contract), I reformat the SD cards, delete any unused RAW files from my hard drive, clean and reorganize my camera bag, and prepare for my next photoshoot!

This workflow has been refined over the years, to streamline and make the process easy and enjoyable for both the clients AND myself. I often will be photographing anywhere between 3-20 clients a week, so having a consistent and effortless workflow is required. Otherwise I would lose my mind! My workflow

Additional Tips!

I encourage all photographers to find a workflow that is best for their personal schedule and matches the experience they want to provide to their clients.
Be open to making adjustments on the fly too! If you are hearing the same questions from multiple clients, update your FAQ on your website, include those details in your emails, prep guides or contract.
If you need to eliminate steps that aren’t required for that client, or steps that aren’t providing you a return on your investment, makes those changes before you waste more time.
Add in steps to boost your customer service and overall experience, especially if it’s going to raise the dollars per client.
Batch similar or the same stages of your workflow from multiple clients together. I do best if I can shut the world out for a few days and edit several sessions back to back, spend 1 hour scheduling multiple sneak peeks on social media, or writing text for several blogs while I am feeling extra social. This means less context switching and more productivity per day!
If you have a virtual assistant that helps in your office, delegate the easier tasks to them, so you can focus your time on what is most important (for me, this is usually more time behind the camera or selling fine art per client.).
If you feel overwhelmed with the amount of work you have, but don’t want to turn down incoming inquiries, I HIGHLY recommend you add a virtual assistant to your team! Yes, it is an investment in time training them and in paying another employee, but if it provides you with the opportunity to focus on what you truly love, or allows you to accept more clients every week or month - it will pay off in the end! I could not photograph nearly as many clients, or be able to teach fellow photographers (like yourself!), if I did not have a virtual assistant.

My Workflow for Photography Clients

Finding Your Style