Table of Contents
- Why invoicing matters for photographers?
- What to include in a photography invoice
- Your personal branding
- How do I make my photography invoice look professional?
- Essential details
- Special details for photography invoices
- How to invoice photography clients - Step by Step
- 1. Agree on payment terms before the shoot
- 2. Use professional photography template
- 3. Send the invoice
- 4. Don’t hesitate to follow up
- 5. Keep everything organised
- 6. Automate boring things and reflect
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If you are here, maybe you’re somewhere at the beginning of your career path as a photographer or you were blessed for some time to avoid paperwork to get paid.
Yeah, invoicing may not be the favourite part of the job, but as a photographer it’s essential for you to look professional and run your business smoothly.
Here, I’ll walk you step-by-step through the key things you may need to know when creating and sending invoices as a photographer (yeah, there are some important nuances)
Why invoicing matters for photographers?
Well yeah, invoicing doesn’t feel like creating a creative commercial or polishing details after a great shoot. But it’s a key pillar on which your business and future wealth are built.
First things first. A solid invoice may add some points for you to look more professional and get some extra points for your relationship with a client. It’s a signal for your customer that you are taking things seriously.
Also, by going with an invoice you can reduce the risk of late payments or misunderstandings regarding the scope of work (yeah, familiar situation, right? “We discussed 50 photos to be done, why are you charging me for 60?”).
And last but not least – being prepared with invoicing now will get you more free time later. With every next payment, your head won’t be spinning. That means you can spend more of those free hours on capturing amazing photos.
What to include in a photography invoice
Your personal branding
Previously, I said that the invoice itself would help you look more professional. But this detail inside the detail will get you to the next level.
Adding elements of personal branding will double your brand image.
What you can use a branding elements
- Company logo or your personal logo
- Colours (for borders, separators, highlighted elements, background)
- Custom font styles that match your brand identity
Pro tip: Try to keep your invoice simple and readable. First of all it’s financial document and it should be easy to read
How do I make my photography invoice look professional?
Custom branding style helps you look professional. But what’s else?
Use consistent colours and clear layout. Always double-check for typos and grammar. There’re bunch of tools online that can do this for free for you today.
Send your invoice as a PDF or through the invoicing tool like Onigiri to keep everything on track and polished.
Essential details
The styling is important but without things below invoice won’t be complete and professional
- Contact information. For you and your clients, including names, addresses, and phone numbers
- Invoice number. Should be unique lifetime or during the year depending on the Tax laws of your country
- Date of the invoice issued
- A description of the photography services
- Pricing breakdown of services
- Deposits or other fees already paid by the client if there were any
- Any included discounts
- Sales tax or VAT appropriate to your state or region
- Payment instructions briefly outlining payment options. Usually bank account details or any other payment method you prefer
- Date the payment is due. Helps you to define actually the payment deadline
- Late payment fees. Is an advanced option but may work good when you only starting collaboration
- Any additional pertinent information. Usually placed in notes
Special details for photography invoices
For photographers there’re some special considerations that we need to cover in the invoice from time to time.
Let’s go over them so you’ll be prepared for any situation in the future.
- Travel costs. We travel. Sometimes — a lot. It could be travel to a location in your city or a flight to another country. Travel costs may include transportation like taxis, planes, trains, buses, accommodation, and so on. Don’t hesitate to add these to your invoice to keep it transparent for your client.
- Attachments. These can help a lot to keep everything transparent while you are building relationships with your client. They could include signed contracts, shot lists, usage agreements, and receipts for any travel expenses you had as well.
- Licensing & usage. For commercial photography, it’s quite common to have some restrictions on how your images can be used. Outline this clearly in your invoice. Add details about what rights exactly the client is purchasing, how long they can use those photos, and any specific limitations on usage. This will help you protect your rights and intellectual property.
How to invoice photography clients - Step by Step
When you read other articles I bet you see here absolutely the same that we discussed earlier in “what to include” section. That’s the difference here and why this guide is much better.
I want to help you zoom out and look on the process from the high level. So let’s start from the beginning.
Here’s the workflow to get paid on time and avoid misunderstandings
1. Agree on payment terms before the shoot
This sounds obvious right? But don’t underestimate this. It’s common when you finally get a desired client and you feel uncomfortable to be straight into the payment details.
Always discuss pricing, deposits, particular deliverables, and payment deadlines upfront - and get it in writing. Those conversations might feel awkward at first, but they’ll save you a ton of stress in the long run.
2. Use professional photography template
Here we go with the most boring part that we speaking about all the way till here. You need to prepare the invoice with all important details.
And here’s my piece of cake. I’ve prepared a photography invoice template that covers everything you need for your invoice Get free photography invoice template →
There’s also another way. You can generate invoice online using tools like Onigiri. Using the same format saves you effort and builds trust with your clients.
3. Send the invoice
You agreed on all the terms beforehand. You prepared a clear and professional invoice. Ok, now it’s time to send it to your client.
Send it as soon as you have arranged all the details before the project starts, after the shoot, or once final edits are delivered.
While the topic is still fresh in your client’s mind, they’re more likely to pay you quickly and on time. It’s just human nature to postpone things that don’t feel relevant anymore.
Also, waiting for days or weeks can make you look less professional. We don’t want that at all.
4. Don’t hesitate to follow up
One of the biggest mistakes photographers make is feeling awkward about payment reminders. Not only photographers, for real. For various reasons, a lot of us may feel intrusive.
It’s completely normal and professional to follow up on anything important to you — and especially about payments. You’re the main person interested in your own success. So, don’t be shy!
Drop friendly reminder messages:
- A few days before the due date
- On the due date
- A few days or a week after the due date
They should be polite yet clear and straightforward. Consistent follow-ups show that you take your business seriously.
Here I’ve described what techniques you can use to write a friendly reminder email with a few useful templates included.
5. Keep everything organised
Invoices, receipts, payment confirmations, contracts — keep it all in one place. Use folders in Google Drive, Dropbox, or any system you trust.
Clear records protect you in case a client questions a charge months later. Plus, they save you massive stress during tax season when you need to track income and expenses.
I would be a bad business owner if I didn’t mention Onigiri for that. We built Onigiri to easily create, send, and manage invoices for creatives like you. So you can do fewer boring things and focus on what inspires you — the photos! Make invoicing stupidly simple — try Onigiri →
6. Automate boring things and reflect
Doing invoices and any other paperwork manually steals time you could spend shooting or marketing your business.
Use automations where you can to:
- Generate invoices
- Send them automatically
- Track their payment statuses
- Set up automatic payment reminders
And don’t forget to do your homework and look back at your projects every few months:
- Did some clients always pay late?
- Did you forget to charge for travel costs, licensing, or something else?
- Were there any payment terms or other things unclear for your clients?
This step-by-step guide will give you fewer headaches chasing down payments. A clear, repeatable invoicing workflow keeps you in control of your business, your cash flow, and your sanity.
That means you can stay focused on what you do best: creating beautiful images.
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