New in bookbirdy.

Your own bookbirdy email address

No Gmail needed: send from a bookbirdy address and answer replies in your Inbox.

New

• Choose a bookbirdy email address, like [email protected]. Families see it as your studio, and their replies come to your Inbox in bookbirdy, where you can answer right away.
• Reminder results now show how many families replied, along with opens and clicks.
• Gmail can now be connected for sending only. Your emails go out from your own Gmail and bookbirdy never reads your mail.

Better

• A new Email section in Settings lets you pick how your emails go out and turn the "a family replied" email on or off.
• You get a phone notification when a family replies to a bookbirdy email.

Reply and Send stay in view on long emails

The Reply and Send buttons no longer disappear far down a long thread.

Better

• When you open a long email, the Reply button stays at the bottom of the window while the email scrolls above it.
• When you write a reply under a long thread, the Send button stays in view. The same goes for the Send buttons on reminders, inquiry replies, emailing several families and emailing a gallery.

Emails no longer start out bold

Clicking into an email no longer switches on bold by accident.

Fixed

• When writing an email or a reply, clicking into the message turned bold on, so the first thing you typed came out bold, and clicking again turned it off. Bold now only comes on when you press the Bold button.

Reminders you already sent now show their results

Session reminders sent before the results screen existed are counted too.

Better

• Reminders you sent earlier now appear in Reminder results with their opens and clicks, because those were being recorded all along.

A Reminder results button on the Calendar

Look at who opened and clicked your session reminders any time after sending, from the Calendar.

New

• The Calendar has a new Reminder results button. It lists every reminder you have sent, with how many opened and clicked, and tapping one shows each family.

See who opened and clicked your session reminder

After you send a reminder to everyone booked, a running count shows who opened it and who clicked.

New

• Right after you send a session reminder, you see how it is doing: how many were sent, how many opened it, how many clicked a button, and a list of each family. It refreshes on its own while it is open.
• Open it again any time from See how past reminders did in the reminder window. Each reminder you send is counted on its own, so you can compare a first reminder with a second.

Your email is safe if the window closes by accident

The app asks before closing an email you are writing, and brings your words back if the page reloads.

New

• If you swipe back or press the back button while writing an email, the app now asks before closing it, so a stray swipe can no longer throw your words away.
• Anything you write in an email window is kept on your device as you type. If the window closes or the page reloads, you will see "Bring them back" the next time you open it. Once the email is sent, the saved copy is cleared.

Better

• If the app needs a fresh sign-in token, it now gets one quietly in the background instead of reloading the page and sending you back to Today.
• A sideways swipe on a trackpad no longer steps the browser back.

Session reminders that read like a personal note

Reminders no longer have a banner or an "automatic reminder" footer, so they look like you wrote them.

Better

• A session reminder is now just your words, the details and your buttons, with no colored header and no "this is an automatic reminder" line at the bottom.

Put reminder buttons in your order, and add a button to any email

Choose the order of the buttons on a session reminder, and add your own button to any email you write.

New

• On a session reminder, move each button up or down. The guide, payments, directions, calendar and your own button all go out in the order you set, and it is saved with your saved wording.
• Every email editor has a new Add a button tool. Type what it says and where it goes, and it shows in the email as a button in your studio color.

Rich text for every email, and your own button on reminders

Every email you write now has bold, lists and links, and reminders can carry a button you name.

New

• Session reminders can carry your own button. Pick what it says and where it goes, and it shows with the other buttons.
• Every email you write now uses the same editor, with bold, italic, lists and links: reminders, emailing several families, mini launch emails, filling the last spots, inquiry replies, emailing a gallery and telling families you have moved.

Better

• Emails you write go out as nicely formatted messages with clickable links, and keep a plain-text copy for mail apps that want one.
• The editor is easier to use on a phone: bigger buttons, bigger text, and pasting keeps just the words.

Fixed

• On a phone, Edit session details now opens in view instead of out of sight further down the page.

Editing a family on your phone

Tapping Edit family now opens the form right where you are.

Fixed

• On a phone, tapping Edit family opened the form far down the page, so it looked like nothing happened and phone numbers could not be changed. The form now opens at the top and the details underneath step aside while you edit.

Family memberships: a year of sessions, on autopilot

Sell a plan like "four minis a year", and let bookbirdy handle the signing up, the reminders and the renewals.

New

• Make a membership plan under Online booking, Setup, Bundles & memberships: pick the sessions and their seasons, a monthly or one-time price, perks like a discount on prints or booking minis early, and the terms.
• Families join from a sign-up link you share, agree to your terms, and pay their first payment on a secure page. Or add a member yourself from a family's page.
• Members book each session from their own family page by picking from your open times. You get a notification, and they get a confirmation.
• When a season opens, members get "Your fall session is ready to book", with a last reminder as it closes. Late monthly payments get a kind reminder and you get a heads-up.
• A new Members screen under Selling shows what memberships bring in each month, who has sessions to book, who needs a look, and when you need to open more dates.
• Pause, resume, cancel or renew a member in one tap. Members can ask to pause or cancel from their page, and you decide.

Better

• Members get your print discount in the print shop automatically.

See how your mini days are filling, and where you have room

Today and Mini launches now tell you if a mini day will sell out or is behind, and which weekends are open.

New

• On Mini launches, each upcoming day says how it is filling: "On pace to sell out in about 3 days. Add a second day?" or "At this pace about 60% will be booked. Invite past families." It also mentions how last year's similar day went.
• Today points out weekends in the next two months with nothing booked, so you can plan a mini day for them.

Anniversary notes: "Two years ago today"

A warm automatic note on the anniversary of a session, with a look back and a link to book again.

New

• Turn on Anniversary notes under Settings, Emails. On the anniversary of a delivered session, the family gets "One year ago today" or "Two years ago today", a link to look back at their photos, and a link to book again.
• Each family gets one note a year per session, only during daytime hours, and anyone who unsubscribed is skipped. It is off until you turn it on.

Ask for reviews at the happiest moment

See which families are loving their gallery, and ask them for a review in one step.

New

• Families who open their gallery and heart several photos are listed on Galleries (and on Today) as "happy families to ask for a review".
• Tap Ask for reviews, choose who, and hold to send your Review request email. Each family is only asked once, and you can change how many hearts counts as happy.

Session day for every session

Session day now shows all of today's families, not only mini days, with a checklist and one-tap notes.

New

• Session day has a new Today tab: every session today in order, with the kids' names and ages, what to remember, their answers to your questions, your notes, what is owed, and whether the contract is signed.
• A "Before you leave" checklist (charge batteries, format cards, and whatever else you pack). Edit it to match how you work. It starts fresh each day.
• One tap on a family to email "I'm here" (with where to find you) or "Running about 10 minutes behind".
• The weather for the day's first location, with a heads-up when rain is likely.

Better

• Mini days moved to their own tab, with everything they had before.

Save your reminder wording

Keep the wording you like for each kind of session, and have it picked for you.

New

• In the reminder window, tap Save this wording to keep your message, subject and the buttons you chose. Name it, like "Newborn reminder".
• Tick "Use for this kind of session automatically" and that wording is picked for you next time you remind that kind of session.

Add more people to a reminder

Send a reminder to extra email addresses too, like a partner, an assistant or a second shooter.

New

• Under "Also send every email to" you can add addresses that get a copy of every reminder in that send.
• Next to each family, "+ Add another email" adds someone to that family only, like a partner or a grandparent.

Add to calendar works for everyone

The calendar buttons in reminder emails now work whether a family uses Apple, Outlook or Google.

Better

• The Add to calendar option now gives two buttons: Add to Apple or Outlook calendar, which opens a calendar file on any phone or computer, and Add to Google Calendar. Families no longer need a Google account.

Session reminders for every session

Remind one family about any upcoming session, not just a mini day.

New

• Open any upcoming session and tap Send a session reminder. It uses the same clean message and the same choices: the day and place, a session guide button, directions, tips, an Add to my calendar button and its length.

Set how long the calendar event is

When a reminder has an Add to my calendar button, you choose how long the event lasts.

New

• Pick the length of the calendar event, from 10 minutes up to 3 hours. By default it matches your mini session length.

Choose what goes in your reminder email

Pick the buttons and details for the session reminder, and see the result as you go.

New

• Under "Add to the email" you can switch on or off: the day, time and place, an Open my session guide button, Get directions, Getting ready tips, an Add to my calendar button, and a Contract and payments button.

Better

• The details box now shows just the day, time and place, without repeating the session name.

Remind everyone booked for a mini day

One button emails every family booked for a mini session day, from your Gmail, whether they booked here or on your calendar.

New

• On Mini launches, tap Remind all booked families. Each family gets a clean, branded message saying how many weeks away their session is, with the day, time and place, a button to their session guide, and your own words on top.
• It is pre-written for you ("I just wanted to remind you of your session and see if you have any questions for me. I also wanted to make sure you had your session guide."). Change anything, uncheck anyone, and see exactly what they will see before you send.
• It works for sessions on your calendar too. On the Calendar list, a group of mini sessions like "Fall Minis" has a "Send a reminder to all" link under it.
• You can see who was already reminded, and replies come straight back to your inbox.

Dark mode, and fewer lost changes

Dark mode for the app, a warning before you leave unsaved changes, and easier keyboard use.

New

• Dark mode. Under Settings, Appearance, choose Light, Dark or Match my device. Pages your families see keep your studio colors.
• If you typed changes in a form and try to leave without saving, bookbirdy asks first.
• Pressing Tab on a keyboard now offers a Skip to the page link, and messages like "Saved" are read aloud by screen readers.

bookbirdy on your phone, even with no signal

More phone notifications, a morning and Sunday summary, and Session day that keeps working in the park.

New

• A morning summary around 7am: how many sessions you have today, when the first one starts, and emails waiting to send. Turn it on under Settings, On your phone.
• A week ahead note on Sunday evening, with the sessions by day.
• Notifications when a family pays a deposit or balance, and when a family texts you.
• Session day opens and shows your last list with no signal. Check-ins are saved on your phone and sent when you are back online.
• On a phone, Today offers to put bookbirdy on your home screen once.

Better

• The app opens faster on repeat visits.

A clearer family page, and gentle gallery reminders

Families see the one thing to do next, and you can remind families about photos they have not opened.

New

• The top of every family page now says the one thing to do next: pay a deposit or balance, answer a few questions, see your photos, or book again.
• A short progress line on the upcoming session: booked, deposit, details, session day and photos ready.
• Send reminders: on the Galleries screen, open Not opened and tap Send reminders. Each family gets a friendly note with their link, and no family is reminded more than once a week.
• With the print shop on, Suggest prints emails families who hearted photos but have not ordered, once each.

A better calendar and families list

See the times right on the calendar, view a whole week, and drag a session to a new day.

New

• The month calendar shows each session as a small colored tag with its time, with a color for each kind of session.
• A Week view next to List and Month, with every session in each day.
• Drag a session onto another day to move it. You choose whether to email the family the new time, and you can undo the move. On a phone, tap Move this session under a day.
• Email several families at once: tick them on the Families screen, tap Email them, write one note and see a preview. Each family gets their own first name.
• Sort families by latest session, who is coming up soonest, most spent or most sessions, and save a view like "Fall minis, newest first" to come back to.

Better

• When you open a family, the top now shows what is coming up, their last session, how many sessions you have had together and their photo permission.

Jot it down, and see who owes you

Save a quick note by typing or talking, and see every deposit and balance still owed in one list.

New

• Quick note, under + New: type or say what you want to remember, like "Owen is scared of dogs", and file it on a family now or later. Notes waiting for a family show up on Today.
• Who owes me, under Money: every unpaid deposit and balance in one list, oldest first. Tap one to open the session and take the payment.

Better

• The week on Today shows the first session time each day and a small sun or rain icon from the forecast.
• Status tags say it plainly, like "Email due: Reminder" or "All set".
• The This month card on Today opens Who owes me.

Your menu, your way

Pin the screens you use most, jump with the keyboard, and find things where the names say they will be.

New

• Pinned screens sit right under Today. Online booking, Families and Galleries are pinned to start. Tap Edit to pin up to six of your own.
• A Recent list under your pins shows the last few screens you opened.
• Press ? to see the keyboard shortcuts. Press g and then a letter to jump somewhere, like g and m for Messages or g and c for Calendar.

Better

• The small label above each screen title now matches its menu group: Schedule, People, Photos, Selling, Money and Setup.
• Messages opens on your conversations. The overview moved to the end, with its numbers in one quiet line, and the long list of sessions shows five at a time.
• Settings tabs are named for what you want to do: My studio, Get paid, Emails and texts, Booking and links, My account, each with a line saying what is inside.

Protect your photos

Put your name on what families see, and make saving from the page harder.

New

• A watermark with your studio name, your logo, or your own words. Put it in a corner, in the middle, or repeated across the photo, and choose its size and strength. A sample picture shows how it will look before you save.
• The mark is on the photos families look at, and only while they cannot download that photo yet. Once a photo is theirs, it shows clean. You can also keep it on for everyone, and guests with a view-only link always see it.
• Make saving harder: turns off right-click, dragging a photo out, and the press-and-hold Save on phones.
• Set it once for every gallery in Gallery settings, or change it on one gallery under Protect photos.

Better

• Photos families download are never marked: the full-size files and screen-size copies stay clean.

Swipe away what you have seen

On a phone, swipe a line on Today left or right to clear it.

New

• Every line on the news card can be swiped away, one at a time. Cleared lines stay gone, on your phone and your laptop.
• Lines under Your next things swipe too. A swiped line moves down to Already looked at and comes back if its number grows.
• Ideas under Your bookbirdy can be swiped away with Not now. On a laptop, use the small X. An idea comes back on its own if its numbers change.

Better

• The news card no longer swipes away as one piece, so a slip of the thumb does not clear everything. Got it still clears the lot.

Same number everywhere

Today and the menu now agree on how many emails are waiting.

Fixed

• Today said you had 65 family emails to send while the menu said 26. Today counted every single email, even for families you had skipped or put off. Both now count the families listed on the Emails to send screen, so the numbers match what you see there.

Numbers that go quiet

Open a screen and its number stops nagging, until something new arrives.

New

• On Today, a line you have opened moves down to a short "Already looked at" list. It comes back to the top only if its number goes up.
• The numbers in the menu work the same way. Open Inquiries, Emails to send or the Editing queue and its number goes away until there is more.

Better

• Opening a screen from the menu also settles its line on Today, and the other way around.
• This is remembered for your studio, so it holds on your phone and your laptop.

News that stays gone

Once you have seen something on the news card, it never comes back.

Better

• Tap any line on the card to open it and clear just that one. Got it, or a swipe, clears the whole card.

Fixed

• The "Nice work, you have news" card on Today kept coming back after you pressed Got it, whenever a new session arrived or a calendar synced. Now each thing you have seen stays gone for good, on your phone and your laptop. Only something new brings the card back, and it shows only the new thing.

More room, fewer taps

Screens start higher, long lists are easier to filter, and deleting is no longer a scary question.

New

• Delete without the "Are you sure?" box. The item leaves right away and an Undo bar stays for a few seconds. This covers expenses, trips, family notes, discount codes, saved looks, newsletter drafts and print products.
• Save buttons on the longer settings pages now stay at the bottom of the screen while you edit, so you never scroll to find them.

Better

• The colored band at the top of each screen is slimmer, so your lists start higher. Today keeps its big hello.
• Families and Galleries show filters as one Show menu when there are many, and leave out filters with nothing in them.
• Tabs look the same on every screen.
• Search is only in the top bar now, no longer a second time in the menu.
• On a phone, titles are smaller, family cards are easier to scan, and small buttons are a comfortable size for your thumb.
• Emails to send uses the same row style as your orders and editing list.

Easier to read

Bigger small text and clearer buttons, in the same soft look.

Better

• The small print is bigger everywhere: menu headings, table headings, dates, labels and the notes under names.
• Gray text is a little darker, and the hint text inside empty boxes is easier to see.
• Buttons on the pale top band of each screen now have a clear edge, so they no longer fade into the background.

Holiday cards

Design a holiday card from a family's gallery photos and save files ready for your print lab.

New

• A new Holiday cards page under Selling. Pick a family's gallery, choose their photos, and see the card as you work.
• Four layouts, tall or wide: one framed photo, a full photo, a photo with a band of color, or three photos together.
• Pick colors (or use your studio color), lettering, the greeting, the family name, the year and a message for the back with your studio name.
• Drag a photo on the card to move it, and zoom in to crop it just right.
• Save a PDF with the front and back, or each side as a picture. Cards are 5x7 at 300 dpi with an eighth of an inch of bleed, and print guides show where it will be cut.

Simpler galleries, start to finish

Clearer steps for you, and an easier gallery for families, especially on a phone.

New

• Each gallery shows four steps (add photos, choose a look, set downloads, share) and a bar that stays in view with Preview and Deliver.
• Galleries has a Needs you strip and a line on each gallery saying what to do next. A new Ready to deliver filter finds the ones to send.
• A ... menu on each photo lets you make it the cover, add a caption, hide it from the family or remove it.
• Families can order a print of the photo they are looking at, right from the big photo view.
• On a phone, a bar at the bottom shows how many favorites a family has picked, with Download and Order buttons.

Better

• Choosing a look starts with a short Quick style tab (styles, color schemes, layout, cover). More options are one tap away, and the preview stays in view while you change things.
• You get a gentle warning when your page and text colors would be hard to read.
• The family toolbar is tidier: Download all, Favorites and Order prints stay out front, and a More menu holds the slideshow and layout choices.
• Print orders and the editing list now read the same way, with clear status labels.
• Saving shows Saving and Saved on look, download and price settings, and the price list shows its setup steps.

An easier way around

A menu that follows your day, a Today that tells you what to do next, and one + button for everything new.

New

• The menu is now grouped the way your year goes: Schedule, People, Photos, Selling, Money and Setup. The busy groups stay open, and a closed group shows a number when something is waiting in it.
• Today starts with Your next things: what needs you, most important first, each with a button that does it. Things waiting on families are tucked underneath. On a quiet day it says so and suggests something useful.
• A + New button in the top corner, on a laptop and on a phone. Add a booking, a family, a gallery or open new dates from any screen, with the form ready.
• Search now does things too. Type new, add, or the name of a family and choose what to do, like starting a gallery or texting someone.
• A ? button on each main screen opens the help article for that screen.

Better

• The setup checklist on Today shrinks to one thin line once you are well on your way.
• Renamed to plain words: Messages (was Communications) and Where families come from (was How families found you). Photo permissions, Messages and Reach out now sit with People.

Many more ways to style a gallery

Colors, fonts, sections, captions, a phone cover and saved looks, with a preview that follows every change.

New

• Choose your own page, text and button colors, or pick a color scheme in one tap, including colors taken from your cover photo. Ten fonts for headings and text.
• Cover choices: how dark it is under the title, the title size and position, your logo, a different photo on phones, and a slideshow that fades through a few photos.
• Group photos into sections with headings and a menu to jump between them, and add a caption to any photo.
• Pick the number of columns on a laptop and on a phone, a white border or shadow around photos, and what happens when a photo is touched.
• Add a closing message with your signature, a short help line, and links to your website and social pages.
• Set how fast the slideshow plays, shuffle it, or have it start again at the end.
• Save a look with a name, like Fall minis, use it on any gallery, and have a session type apply it to every gallery of that type.
• The live preview can show a phone, a guest view, and a light or dark page. Undo and Back to my default step back from any change.

A print shop in your galleries

Families can order prints, canvases, albums and cards from their gallery. Early access for a few studios.

New

• Set your own prices, with what each product costs you beside it so you can see your profit. One markup button prices everything at once, and you can still change any single price.
• Families pick a photo, a size and a quantity right in their gallery, add a note for cards and albums, and pay you.
• See every order in one list. Download the files for your lab in one tap, then mark it placed, shipped and delivered, and the family is emailed with the tracking number.

See your gallery as you style it

A live preview of the gallery sits right in the Look settings.

New

• Change a style, font, cover, color or note and watch an example of your family's gallery update at once, on a laptop or a phone screen. It works before you deliver the gallery.

Gallery names in the browser tab

A family's gallery now shows its name in the tab instead of "Book a session".

Fixed

• The browser tab and bookmarks for a gallery used to say "Book a session". They now show the gallery name and your studio name.

Galleries, your way

Style every gallery, decide what families can download, and see what happens after you send it.

New

• Make a gallery look like yours: cover styles, fonts, spacing, corners, an accent color and a welcome note. Start from a style and copy the look of any other gallery.
• Limit full-size downloads by package, like 7 for a mini. Families see how many they have left, and can upgrade to the full gallery from the gallery itself.
• Add a PIN, turn downloads off, offer free screen-size copies, or unlock downloads once the balance is paid.
• Drag photos into order, hide the ones you do not want shown, and select several to hide, move to another gallery or remove.
• See who opened a gallery, who picked favorites and who downloaded. You get a note the first time a family opens theirs, and Today lists galleries nobody has opened yet.
• Share a view-only link with grandparents and friends, and pick a day and time for a gallery to open on its own.
• Each gallery shows whether the family is happy for you to share their photos, and you can download screen-size copies ready to post.

Better

• Families can play a slideshow, and your open session dates show at the bottom of their gallery so they can book again.

Galleries that look like your work

A new gallery page for your families, with layouts you pick, and a way to email a gallery.

New

• Pick how a gallery looks: masonry, grid, rows, or one big photo at a time, on a light page or a dark one.
• Choose a cover photo. It fills the top of the gallery with the title over it.
• Email a gallery to its family, or to anyone, with the link already written in.
• Families can try the other layouts on their own screen, and see which they like.

Better

• The gallery page your families open is new. Photos load faster on a phone, fade in as they arrive, and the buttons stay in reach while they scroll.

An easier address on the booking form

Families fill in street, city, state and zip in their own boxes.

Better

• The booking form now asks for the home address in separate boxes for street, city, state and zip, so it is quicker to fill in on a phone. An address a family saved before fills the boxes for them.

Photo permissions in color

See at a glance which families are happy for you to share their photos.

Better

• Photo sharing on the Families list and on each session is now green for yes, yellow for limited (no faces, or faces blurred) and red for no. Not collected stays gray.

A Galleries section

See every gallery in one place, and start galleries that are not tied to a session.

New

• Galleries in the menu lists every gallery with a cover photo, the family, the number of photos, and whether it is a draft, delivered or expired. Search it, or tap a status to narrow it.
• Start a gallery on its own for a portfolio, an event, or a family with no session. Add photos, copy its private link, and mark it delivered when it is ready.
• Tie a gallery to a family and it also shows on their family page.

Host your galleries in bookbirdy

Upload a session's photos and share them with the family from their own page, with nothing else to sign up for.

New

• Add photos to any session. They upload three at a time, and a dropped connection is retried on its own.
• Families open their gallery from their family page or the email link. They can heart favorites, open any photo full screen, and download one photo, their favorites or everything in one zip.
• The gallery stays hidden until you mark it delivered, and closes on the expiry date you choose.
• A meter shows how much photo storage you have used.

Better

• The gallery link, delivered email and expiry reminders work the same for hosted galleries as for links from other services.

Bounced email addresses are caught

bookbirdy now stops emailing an address that bounced or reported spam.

New

• If an email to a family bounces for good, or they report it as spam, bookbirdy stops emailing that address and shows a note on their record. Fix the address and email turns back on.

A simpler menu, with your day up front

The things you do most days come first, with a number for what is waiting.

New

• Numbers on the menu: unread emails from families, family emails to send, galleries late or due soon, and new inquiries. On your phone the Inbox tab and a dot on More show them too.
• Today has buttons for the things you do often: Open session day when you have a session today, Add a booking, and Open new dates.

Better

• The menu now starts with Today, Inbox, Calendar, Families, Emails to send, Editing queue, Inquiries and Online booking, always in view.
• Everything else is in three groups: Grow (session day, minis, season planner, reach out, social posts, newsletter), Business, and Setup and tools. Nothing was removed.
• On your phone the bottom bar is now Today, Inbox, Calendar, Families and More.

Put things away with a tap

The put away and remind me later buttons now show on your phone too.

Better

• Every list you can swipe now shows an X (put it away) and a clock (remind me later) at the right of each row on your phone as well, so you do not have to know to swipe.

Pick the date, and dismiss on a computer

Choose when a family email is due, and put tasks away without swiping.

New

• Change date on each family email in a session's workflow: choose the day it is due for that family, and go back to the usual timing any time.
• Put away emails in your Inbox you have dealt with. They come back if the family writes again.

Better

• On a computer, every list you can swipe now has buttons at the right of each row, an X to put it away and a clock to be reminded later. Swiping with a mouse still works.

A much faster inbox

Inbox now opens right away.

Better

• Inbox opens instantly from a saved copy of your last 90 days of mail, and checks Gmail for anything new every few minutes and whenever you open it. There is a Refresh button for when you want to check right now, and it shows when it last updated.

An inbox for your families

Your Gmail, with the people you know picked out.

New

• Inbox: recent emails from your families and from people who asked about a session, one row per conversation, with a dot for what is unread. Switch to Everything for your whole inbox, or Not families for everyone else.
• Tap an email to read it and reply. Your answer stays in the same Gmail conversation.
• Add someone new as a family, or save their email as an inquiry, with one tap. Today shows how many unread emails you have from families.

Search from anywhere

A search button at the top of every screen.

New

• A Search button now sits at the top of every screen, on your phone and your computer. Search your families, sessions and every part of the app. On a computer you can also press Ctrl K or Command K, or the slash key.

Reply opens when you tap it

A fix for the new Reply button.

Fixed

• Tapping Reply on an email in a family's history now opens your reply. Before, it opened and closed again right away.

Reply to emails from a family's history

Answer an email right from the app, in the same conversation.

New

• Open any email in a family's Emails list and tap Reply. The original is quoted underneath, the subject starts with Re:, and your answer goes out in the same Gmail conversation, so the family and you see one thread.

Tighter spacing in your emails

Blank lines in client emails no longer turn into big gaps.

Fixed

• Emails to families had very tall gaps between paragraphs in some mail apps. Extra blank lines now become one even gap, so your emails look like you typed them.

Skip sessions that have no client

In Bring in your history, sessions with no family can be skipped.

Better

• Sessions left to place now have Skip, for ones you have no client for, Not a session, to hide a placeholder, and Skip all. Skipped sessions stay on your calendar, and you can ask about them again any time.

A cleaner screen

The round microphone button is gone.

Better

• The floating microphone and quick notes button is removed, so nothing sits over your screens. Notes already filed under a family stay on their page, and you can still add a note to any family from there.

Easier to read on your phone

The editing queue and social posts have more room on a small screen.

Better

• The editing queue shows each family's full name, the session and when it is due on their own lines, with big Editing and Deliver buttons underneath.
• Suggested posts in Social posts show the date and the full idea above the button, instead of squeezing them side by side.

A warm start for photographers who already have clients

New studios that are already photographing are offered Bring in your history right away.

New

• Today now offers Bring in your history to a new studio, and the welcome has a button for photographers who already have clients and sessions.

Bring in your history

Read your calendar, import your clients, and match every session to its family.

New

• Bring in your history: one place to read your Google Calendar, import your client list from another app, and see how many sessions and families you have.
• Match sessions to families with one tap, by email, then phone, then name, only when exactly one family fits. Sessions left over are listed so you can place them by hand.

Bring your families over from Session

Session (usesession.com) is now in the list of apps you can move from.

New

• Choose Session in the import wizard for the steps to export your client list, and read how switching works on the website.

Switching from another app

Bring your families over, then tell them where to book.

New

• Tell your families you've moved: one email with your new booking page. You see everyone it goes to, change the words and press Send. Families you have told are marked, so no one gets it twice.
• Your first week here: after you import, a checklist on Today shows what is left, like your contract, session types, payments, first dates and telling your families.
• Bring in payment history from a second file of invoices or payments, so lifetime spend and who is ready to rebook are right from day one.

Better

• The import wizard now shows how to export payments from HoneyBook, Dubsado, Pixieset, 17hats and Táve.
• More column names are recognized for invoice dates, services and amounts.

Social posts and an income goal

Know what you can post and when, and see how the year is going against your goal.

New

• Social posts: see which recent sessions are fine to share and what each family agreed to, with families who said no left out and counted, not named.
• Caption drafts in a warm, personal voice, with hashtags that fit the post and your own handle and hashtags. They never use a family's names.
• A posting plan with reminders on Today, and suggestions for the next two weeks around your open mini days: an announcement, a one week reminder and a last spots post.
• Announcement pictures for your feed or your story in four looks, including one with your own photo, made on your device so the photo is never uploaded.
• Income goal: set a goal for the year and see what you have collected, what is booked, whether you are ahead or behind, and what it takes: how many more sessions and how many a week.
• Your goal shows on Today, and your open mini spots are counted toward it.

Editing queue and one-step gallery delivery

Know which galleries you owe, when each is due, and deliver one in a single step.

New

• Editing queue: every gallery you owe, with a due date from your delivery promise (14 days to start, and you can change it). A mini day's galleries are grouped so you can see the pile.
• Mark a gallery Ready as you go. Swipe right if no gallery is owed, or left to push the due date back 3 days.
• Deliver in one step: add the gallery link and when it expires, and bookbirdy marks it delivered and emails the family from your Gallery delivered template.
• Families see "Your gallery is being edited. Expect it by ..." on their page, so they stop having to ask.
• Galleries that are late or due soon show on Today.

Receipts, expenses and your data

Paperwork for you and your families, and a copy of everything whenever you want it.

New

• Receipts: every payment a family makes has a PDF receipt. You can open it from the session, and families get a link on their family page.
• Expenses: keep your business expenses by category, with a photo of the receipt, a total for the year and a spreadsheet to download. They are included in the year-end package.
• Download all my data: one zip with your families, sessions, payments, notes, expenses, mileage and every signed contract.
• History on a family: see who changed what and when, like edited contact details, a payment marked paid or a skipped email.

Gallery tracking, session briefs and family notes

Know where each gallery stands, walk into every session prepared, and fill the last spots on a mini day.

New

• Gallery tracking: save the gallery link, set when it expires, and mark it delivered, which also ticks the Gallery delivered step. Families see "Available until" on their page.
• Gallery expiring soon: bookbirdy can remind a family once before their gallery expires. It is off until you turn it on in Settings.
• Remember about this family: a private note, like "toddler warms up slowly, loves bubbles", that shows on their record and on session day.
• Session brief: a one-page summary for each session, with who is coming, where, the best light, what they were told to wear and your notes. Print it, or print the whole mini day at once.
• Fill the last spots: when a mini day has spots left, write to your waitlist and past mini families in one step. You choose who gets it and review the words.

Undo, remind me later, and send one by one

Swiping is safer, and clearing your email list is faster.

New

• Swipe left to be reminded in 3 days instead of dismissing for good. It works on Emails to send, families to reach out to, milestones, rebooking reminders and inquiries you are following up on.
• Review and send one by one: step through the emails that are due, each with its template ready. Send it, skip it for now, or stop any time.
• A Start here card on Today that points to the first thing waiting on you.

Better

• Anything you swipe away now shows a short Undo bar.
• Screens show soft placeholders while they load, and a plain message appears if you lose your connection or something goes wrong on our end.

What's new, by version

This page now keeps a numbered release for every update, with what was added, improved and fixed.

New

• Every update on this page has a version number, a date, and its own lists of new features, improvements and fixes.

Inquiries and monthly payments

Answer families who are not ready to book, and let them pay a bundle over time.

New

• An inquiry page for your studio. Families tell you what they are looking for and get a thank-you email, and you get a phone notification.
• Inquiries sorts families into New, Waiting to hear back, Booked and Not booking. Reply with your booking link from a ready draft, and bookbirdy reminds you to follow up. A family moves to Booked on its own when they book.
• Monthly payments for a bundle: the rest after the deposit is split into 3, 4, 6, 9 or 12 payments. Each link is emailed on its due date, and sessions in the bundle have nothing extra to collect.
• Monthly payments count in your income, sales tax reports and each family's lifetime total.
• Help articles for the Season planner, inquiries and monthly payments.

Swipe to dismiss

Put away what you do not want to deal with.

New

• Swipe right to dismiss a family's emails on Emails to send, a reach-out suggestion, a milestone, a rebooking nudge, or the news card on Today. The buttons still work for anyone who does not swipe.

Season planner

Plan the year of mini sessions from how the last one went.

New

• The Season planner shows spring, summer, fall and holiday, with last year's fill, what you collected, and how fast it sold.
• Plain tips based on those numbers, and when to tell past families and when to open to everyone.
• Open Saturdays with sunset and a best time window for golden hour, from your starting address.
• Plan this season opens a new event with last year's location, description and settings filled in.

Your words above the photo permission question

Explain why you ask before you ask.

New

• A message above the photo sharing question on your booking form, and when a family changes their choice on their family page. Write your own in Settings, under Booking.

Easier for first-time families

A shorter booking form, and clear help getting ready.

New

• An at-a-glance price card on booking pages: length, price, deposit now and balance later.
• Getting ready: write what to wear and how to prepare once on a session type. It shows after booking, on the family page and in the session guide email.
• A "Help us prepare" page for the optional questions, so the first form is shorter.
• Apple and Outlook calendar buttons on the confirmation.
• Import a contract you already have, from a Word or text file.
• On Session day, how to say a family's names.

Better

• Confirmations list what really happens next, and the starter emails include directions and a book-again link.

A warm welcome for new photographers

Getting set up with less guessing.

New

• A welcome card on Today: pick what you photograph, check example prices, bring in clients, and your session types are created.
• A sample family, clearly labeled and never emailed, so screens are not empty. One tap removes it.
• A rough pricing helper for "not sure what to charge?"
• A share kit with a QR code, a ready-to-post picture in your brand color, a caption and a link for your Instagram bio.

Bring your families from another app

An import wizard for the apps photographers use, plus labels.

New

• Import families: pick HoneyBook, Dubsado, Pixieset, 17hats, Táve, Sprout Studio, Google Contacts or any CSV, follow the export steps, check the column matching, preview, then import.
• It brings in kids and birthdays, notes, labels, photo permission, the date added and past sessions with what was paid. Families are matched by email, so it is safe to run twice, and possible duplicates are flagged.
• Labels on families, like VIP or newborn client, to filter the Families list.
• Select several families to add or remove a label or set their photo permission together.

A faster start

The app opens quicker.

Better

• The bigger screens, like Settings, Online booking, Newsletter, Reports and Insights, now load the first time you open them, so the main download the app starts with is about half the size.

Year-end tax package and milestone cheers

Tax time in one download, and a pat on the back along the way.

New

• One zip with income, sales tax, mileage, coupons and gift cards, the roster and balances owed, with a note for your accountant.
• Cheers on Today for your first online booking, family number 10, 25, 50, 100 and on, and a mini day that just filled up.

Calendar month view, copy an event, and search

See your month, reuse your events, and find anything fast.

New

• Calendar shows a List or a Month. The month shows a count per day, colored by what needs attention, and tapping a day lists its sessions.
• Copy starts a new event from an old one, and Another date reopens a single session on the same type.
• Search from anywhere: press / or Ctrl+K, or tap Search in the menu, to find a family, a session or a page.

Time zones on family pages, and smoother setup

Smaller improvements across setup and booking.

Better

• Family pages show times in your studio's time zone.
• Each step of the setup checklist opens the exact Settings or Online booking tab.
• Tapping a day on Today scrolls the Calendar to that day.
• If a booking page is asked too many times too quickly, families see a plain message.

Fixed

• The booking page asks whether gift cards exist instead of failing a request when they do not.

Today celebrates what is new

New bookings and signups, each one a tap away.

New

• A card on Today for new bookings, new sessions on your calendar and newsletter signups from the past week. Tap any one to open it, and "Got it" puts the card away until something newer arrives.

Better

• Each day in This week is tappable. A day with one session opens it, and any other day opens the Calendar.

Time zone is locked once it matters

Protecting your existing sessions.

Better

• Your studio's time zone locks once you have sessions or open dates, because changing it would shift every session you already have.

Share your booking page

Design a page as you make the event, and share it right away.

New

• After creating a session or event, a panel offers Preview, Copy link, and emailing the page to a family. Every event has a Share button.

Better

• The page designer now opens from the new-event form too, and copying a design from another event works there as well.
• The booking page scrolls back to the top on each new step.

Easier booking and a page builder

Fewer steps for families, and your own look for each booking page.

New

• A booking page builder: add headlines, text, photos, a gallery, what is included, a testimonial, FAQs, an about section, a button or a divider around your booking times, with a live preview.
• A booking funnel in Insights that shows where families stop.

Better

• Families' progress is saved in their browser, errors show inline, the price breakdown shows on the time step, and the next step is always in reach.
• "Send this page to yourself" and a clear "what happens next" list on booking pages.

Polish for new photographers

Time zones, tabs and warnings that help someone setting up for the first time.

New

• Your studio's time zone, set at sign-up and editable in Settings. Booking pages show times in it.

Better

• Online booking has four main tabs and a Setup group, and Settings is split into Studio, Payments, Emails, Booking and Account.
• The sample contract is marked as a sample. You are warned before opening dates while it is still unedited, or when a deposit is set and payments are not connected.
• Single-session pages drop "1 left" and "Pick a time".
• Today only shows the starter-templates card when something is missing, and Google Calendar is optional.

Fixes for new studios

Smoothing the first booking.

Fixed

• Event and blackout dates now show and save correctly in the editor.
• You can take bookings before connecting Google Calendar.
• An empty Booking events tab now has a clear next step: create your first session type.

Book one-off sessions

A family session, a maternity session or any single date, without making it look like a mini.

New

• Single-session booking: one date and time for one family, using a session type with its length, price and what is included already set.
• Session types are either mini or full, so mini days and one-off sessions are set up the way they are sold.

Reports

Export what you need for sessions, money and taxes.

New

• Reports for the session roster, income and payments, sales tax, balances owed, coupons and gift cards, and the client contact list, each with a CSV export.
• The roster groups mini sessions together by mini day or session type, so you can see who is coming.
• Sales tax: all sessions are taxable unless you turn it off in Settings, with your own rate.

A simpler menu

The sidebar groups related things and keeps the everyday ones one click away.

Better

• The sidebar has collapsible groups. Calendar, Families, Photo permissions and Emails to send stay out of the groups so they are always one click away.
• Arriving at Families from Photo permissions now says clearly which families you are looking at.

Fixed

• The cards under Needs attention on Today showed up wrong. They are fixed.

Swipe back works everywhere

The back swipe on your phone stays inside bookbirdy.

Better

• Swiping back on a phone closes what is open and goes to the previous screen, instead of leaving for the sign-in page.
• It works inside every screen: tabs, open threads, newsletters, launches, help articles, pop-ups, composers, the booking page's steps, and sign-up and forgot-password.

Calendar stays in sync on its own

Changes in Google Calendar show up in seconds, and buttons feel like buttons.

Better

• Changes in your Google Calendar reach bookbirdy within seconds. A timer backs it up, and the app checks quietly when it opens.
• Buttons press in when tapped, and one that starts something shows a spinner until it finishes. A thin bar across the top shows while anything is saving or loading.

Booking editors open in a pop-up

Edit without losing your place.

Better

• Events, session types, contracts, questionnaires and bundles open in a pop-up instead of replacing the page you were on.

A weather check for outdoor days

Know before the morning if rain is coming.

New

• Today checks the forecast for outdoor session days and nudges you to move to a rain date when the day looks wet.

Install it like an app, with phone notifications

bookbirdy on your home screen.

New

• Install bookbirdy on your phone like an app.
• Phone notifications for new bookings and for launch emails that are ready to review.

Bundles

Sell several sessions together, like a baby's first year.

New

• A bundle is several sessions sold together. The family pays a deposit to start, each session's share is due before that session, and you schedule each one.

Packages and add-ons at booking

Offer choices when a family books.

New

• Session types can have packages and add-ons that families pick while booking.

Imports bring home addresses

Less typing when you bring clients in.

Better

• Importing families fills in home addresses, including files with the address split into separate columns.
• Contact details sit at the top of a family's record, and screens open at the top.

A map of your families

See where your families live.

New

• Home addresses from booking, family pages and imports put your families on a map. Find every family within a few miles of a location, see where they cluster, and invite the families nearby. Part of Pro.

How did it go?

Feedback after the gallery, and a way for happy families to spread the word.

New

• After the gallery, families answer one simple question. Those who would like to talk can send you a private note.
• Every family sees your review link, and happy families can share your booking page with a friend in a tap.
• Referral tracking, so you can see where new families come from.

Mini launches and early access

Past families get first pick before a mini opens to everyone.

New

• bookbirdy lays out the emails for a mini launch (early access, a reminder, open to everyone, a few spots left). You review every family and every word before each one goes out.

Families to reach out to

A friendly list of who to say hello to, and why.

New

• Reach out: a milestone coming up, a mini they have come to before, or about a year since their last session. Each comes with a draft you can change before sending.
• Your bookbirdy on Today: the best things to do today, like open mini spots, birthdays this month, and galleries waiting on a review request.

Families and their story

See your families in groups that matter.

New

• Families in groups, like families who have not booked in a year or fall mini families.
• Each family's story year by year, and what they have spent with you.
• How many families each family has sent you, and what those families spent.

Save a time for a family

Hold a mini session time for one family.

New

• Hold any time on a mini session day for a family. It shows as booked to everyone else, and a private link lets that family book it themselves.

Terms and privacy

Legal pages, linked where people need them.

New

• A Terms of Service and a Privacy Policy, linked from the website, sign-up and the app.

Plus and minus for adults and children

A simpler way to say who is in the photos.

Better

• Families tap plus and minus for the adults and children in the photos, with a first name for each and a birthday for each child.

Session day and studio insights

Run a busy mini day, and see how your business is doing.

New

• Session day: check families in, email everyone still to come when you are running behind, and move a whole mini day to a rain date in one hold.
• Insights: money collected by month, what families book, how full your mini days get, returning families, and where new families came from.

Payment plans and changes from the family page

Split a balance into payments, and let families change their time within your rules.

New

• Payment plans: let families split the balance into two or three payments, each emailed on its due date.
• If you allow it, families can pick another open time or cancel from their family page before the notice you set.

Gift cards, bring a friend and automatic payments

More ways to get booked, and payments that mark themselves paid.

New

• Gift cards sold online from your own page. The code is emailed once it is paid. Part of Pro.
• Bring a friend: every family gets a code to share. Friends save on their session and the family who sent them earns a thank you credit. Part of Pro.
• Birthday and milestone reminders for six months, first birthdays and early birthdays, with a drafted note to send. Part of Pro.
• With Stripe connected, deposits, balances and gift cards are marked paid the moment they come in.

Better

• Families can enter a gift card, coupon or friend's code at booking, and a wrong code is caught before anything is saved.
• After paying, families land on a thank-you instead of your sign-in screen.

Automatic emails

Let bookbirdy send the emails you send every time.

New

• Thank you notes, session guides, check-ins, gallery and review emails can send themselves, each using your own template. All are off until you turn them on, and turning one on never sends a backlog.
• A session reminder a few days before, with the time, map link, what to wear, parking and the family page.
• Balance invoices go out a set number of days before the session, with one friendly reminder if unpaid.

Better

• Everything sends between 8am and 8pm, once per session, from your studio's name, with open and click tracking.

An easier start for new studios

A setup checklist, starter templates and a way to bring clients in.

New

• A "Getting set up" checklist on Today that ticks itself as you go.
• Starter questionnaires, a sample agreement and the five client emails, ready in every new studio.
• Import clients from a spreadsheet.
• A ready-to-paste "Book now" button for your website.

Fixed

• Copied booking links used the address you were signed in on. They now use your studio's own address.

Family pages

Every family gets a private page about their session.

New

• A private link on every booking confirmation. The page shows the next session with a countdown, deposit and balance with a Pay balance button, the signed contract, past sessions with gallery links, and open events to book again.
• Families can update their kids, name, phone and photo sharing choice. A change is saved in the permission history as coming from the family page.
• "Lost your link?" emails a fresh one without revealing whether an email belongs to a family.
• You can copy, email or turn off a family's link from their record, and add a gallery link to a session.

Simpler booking, with kids' ages

Families add each child by name and birthday, and bookbirdy works out their ages on the day.

New

• A "Who's in the photos?" step where families add each child's first name and birth month and year, and see their age on the session day.
• After booking, families can add the session to their calendar and see a map link, what to wear and parking.

Better

• Multi-day events show their days as chips, with "2 left" when nearly full, and times are grouped into morning, afternoon and evening.
• Kids are saved to the family's record without making duplicates for returning families.

Fixed

• Events without a contract could not be booked online. They can now. Events that do have a contract still require it to be agreed to and signed.

Clearer words and friendlier screens

Plainer names for things, and a next step on every empty screen.

Better

• Menu names photographers use: Photo permissions, Emails to send, How clients found you.
• Friendly empty screens that tell you what to do next, on Calendar, booking setup, templates, mileage, newsletters and duplicates.
• Phones show a status dot beside each family's name on Today and Calendar, and Calendar shows one date heading per day.
• Settings has jump links that stay at the top, and booking pages label their steps and show the session length once.

Hello, bookbirdy

A new name and a calmer look across the whole app.

New

• A new name, logo, fonts, colors and app icons.
• A four-tab bar on phones: Today, Clients, Calendar and More, with a round quick-note button.
• Status dots instead of colored edges, so it is clear what needs you at a glance.

Better

• Booking pages, session details and unsubscribe pages follow the new look, and still use your studio's own colors and logo. "Powered by bookbirdy" sits at the bottom.
• Sign-up confirmation and password reset emails match the new look.

A help library

Short how-tos for everything in the app.

New

• A Help page with 43 how-to articles in eight topics, instant search, links between articles, and a way to email support. Help stays readable after a trial ends.

Email pop-ups open where you can see them

A small fix for reading and sending email from a family's record.

Fixed

• Opening an email from the side panel on a family's record could trap the pop-up inside the panel, off screen. It now opens over the whole page, and a received or sent email closes with Escape or a click outside.

bookbirdy begins

The first release: booking pages, contracts, payments and the screens you run your day from.

New

• Booking pages with your branding, plus questionnaires and contracts for each session type.
• Two-way Google Calendar sync, and every signed contract saved as a PDF.
• Waitlists for full mini days, plus coupons and gift card codes taken off at booking. Part of Pro.
• Newsletters to your families, with unsubscribe links and click tracking. Part of Pro.
• Rebooking reminders a year after each session.
• A mileage log for tax time, and a look at where your families live.
• The Today screen: today's sessions and what needs you, on one calm screen.
• Your own domain for booking pages, like book.yourstudio.com. Part of Pro.
• Basic and Pro plans, with a 14 day free trial that includes everything.

Fixed

• The waitlist switch on an event was never saved. It is now.