Getting started with ShootCal

ShootCal is a scheduling and client-management app built by a working photographer. It keeps your appointments and business records in your own ShootCal account (your data stays yours) and adds the photography layer: golden-hour timing, deposits, online booking, contracts, professional invoicing, clients, and delivery through ShootCal Galleries. Connecting a Google or Microsoft calendar is an optional extra that syncs your schedule there.

Try the demo first #

Explore Seaside Studio to browse a sample calendar, clients, invoices, photo galleries, and website builder without signing in. You can edit the sample clients, invoice drafts, and website. Changes stay in that tab and disappear when you refresh or close it; choose Reset to start over sooner.

The demo cannot send emails, take payments, upload photos, or publish a website. Choose Get started free in the demo when you are ready to create your own account.

1. Start setup on the website #

Start on the website with your ShootCal account. You can use the complete workspace there and sign in to the iPhone, iPad, or Android app with the same account. The website offers the setup walkthrough and Set up with AI when available for your account. If AI setup is unavailable, the step-by-step walkthrough remains available. You review and save any proposed settings yourself.

In the web app, sign in with your ShootCal email and password, or use Google or Microsoft to identify your account. The iPhone, iPad, and Android apps need a current version that supports ShootCal accounts. Until a supported update is installed on your device, use the web app with your existing account; see app update guidance. No Google or Microsoft account is needed; if you want calendar sync later, connect one provider in Settings, with the consent step always on the website. The same account runs Galleries and your Website, which live inside ShootCal, and signs in the Lightroom Classic plugin; see Account, sign-in & permissions.

Take the quick walkthrough #

New web accounts can start a quick walkthrough of all ShootCal’s main features, beginning with the optional calendar connection, then your business details and the calendar and Session Types. We recommend the full walkthrough. Use Skip this topic for any section you are not interested in. Your core studio tools work on their own: if you skip the connection step, Calendar, Clients, booking, Projects, invoices, and contracts stay available, and you can connect Google or Microsoft later from Settings whenever you are ready.

Skipping the connection step simply moves you along; nothing is switched off. The section remains in My topics for when you are ready to connect.

Business setup follows Settings in order: Logo & studio name, Your ShootCal URL, then Home location. The walkthrough scrolls to and highlights each setting. Account security is at the bottom of Settings. Other steps open their related page, such as Session Types, Booking page, or Invoice settings. Finish or close an open editor before moving to another screen. Connecting a calendar and saving changes still use the normal controls on each page.

The Calendar introduction starts with your session types and reuses the guided editor. After saving a type, add another or continue to the calendar. Short introductions also cover booking, clients, invoices, contracts, galleries, and Website.

Choose Help (?) at the top of the screen, then Classic walkthrough, to reopen the chooser. Pick a short walkthrough for the current screen or resume the full walkthrough. A short introduction does not reset your full walkthrough progress. Progress follows your ShootCal account, including the Galleries and Website pages. Completing an introduction does not turn on booking, issue an invoice, send an email, or publish a website. You choose those actions when ready.

Help (?) stays at the top of the screen, and there is another ? at the bottom of the sidebar. Help opens the guides and Set up with AI when it is available for your account. The walkthrough also offers Contact Ryan, which opens the existing feedback form for you to write and send your message.

2. Set your location and session types #

Your location drives sunset and golden-hour math. Session types (Wedding, Family, Engagement…) carry the defaults (duration, golden-hour vs studio hours, booking rules, calendar invites), so creating an event is two taps.

3. Book your first session #

Pick a day, pick a type, type the client’s name. ShootCal computes the start time around the light, tracks the deposit, and saves the client to your list automatically. From there, explore:

• Golden-hour scheduling
• Online booking & availability, with booking setup step by step
• Deposits, reminders & reports
• Invoices & manual payments
• Contracts & e-signatures
• Clients & the client manager

When the shoot is done #

Deliver the photos with ShootCal Galleries. Open Galleries, create a gallery, and select the client. You can then publish photos into it from Lightroom Classic.

Find your way around the web app #

The main header has separate Calendar, Clients, Payments, Galleries, Websites and Settings areas. Choose an area there, then use its sidebar to find the work you need. On a phone, open the menu at the top of the screen to see the sidebar.

Each area has its own sidebar. Calendar keeps Month and Agenda at the top, followed by Booking requests and Booking setup. Clients groups Projects, Clients, Forms and Client page setup; Payments has its own area for invoices and business paperwork. Settings and the tools at the bottom stay easy to find. Section tabs stay with their page.

• In Calendar, choose Month or Agenda at the top of the sidebar. These views also keep their page tabs. The Calendars button in the Calendar toolbar holds Show on calendar and Booking availability, and the sidebar has Trash can. Below those views, choose Booking requests or Booking setup to review requests or change online booking.
• In Clients, choose Projects, Clients, Forms or Client page setup. Open a project to manage its session details, questionnaires and permanent client page.
• Payments contains Invoices, Expenses, Invoice settings, Contracts, Products & Services and Reports.
• Galleries has sidebar links and page tabs for Galleries, Favorites, Galleries settings, Store, Store settings and Payments & fulfillment. Deliveries is also available in its sidebar.
• Websites has sidebar links and page tabs for Overview, Website galleries, Edit pages, Branding and Website address.

Use Settings in the sidebar for studio, gallery, connection and device preferences. Your studio profile, gallery address and collections page are under Studio, gallery defaults and email templates under Galleries settings, and the Lightroom plugin under Preferences.

Find Account plan, Appearance, Install and Help at the bottom of the sidebar. Open your profile button for account switching and sign-out. In Appearance, choose Light, Dark or System. Light is the default. Your choice stays in this browser and applies across ShootCal, including Galleries and Websites; it does not change the photos or website design your clients see.

A calendar day opens its schedule in a dialog. Select an event for details, then use Back to day to return to that day’s list. New Event remains available from the day schedule.

Help and guides #

Choose Help (?) at the top of the screen, or the ? at the bottom of the sidebar. The Help panel offers Ask a question for a quick answer from the guides and Classic walkthrough for a step-by-step tour of session types, the calendar, or online booking. The same panel offers Contact Ryan and Send feedback. Find Leave a review and Follow ShootCal on Facebook in the sidebar tools. Below those it lists the guides for the features you use, and you can browse the full guide from there. A new account starts with a welcome screen that asks which features you want to use (scheduling, online booking, clients and invoices, galleries, or a website). Choose Set up with AI there for guided setup, Classic walkthrough to tour just those features, or No thanks to explore on your own. After that, the walkthrough and Help open only when you choose Help.

Set up with AI #

Set up with AI is the quickest way to get a new account ready. Pick the products you want to use, add your logo if you like, and answer a few questions about your photography. The assistant then suggests session types, booking hours, invoice defaults, and a contract to match, using current ShootCal help to explain your options. Each suggestion appears as a card you can edit, approve, or skip, and nothing is saved until you approve it. You can change anything later in Settings, or switch to the classic walkthrough at any time. AI setup uses Anthropic (Claude) through ShootCal’s shared AI service; see AI setup data handling.

Choose Ask a question in the Help panel on any page, including Calendar, Clients, Galleries, and Website. It uses relevant help excerpts to answer questions using Anthropic (Claude) through ShootCal. Avoid including private client information in your question. See AI data handling.