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Client questionnaires for photographers

You know the feeling. It is the week of the shoot and you are still piecing together the timeline, the address and that one must-have family photo from a dozen scattered emails. A client questionnaire fixes that. This guide covers why it saves your sanity, exactly what to ask, when to send it, and how to build and send one in CoreHue.

Why a questionnaire beats endless emails​

Gathering shoot details over email means messages crossing, answers buried in threads, and details that slip away right when you need them. A single form replaces all of that.

  • Everything in one place. All the answers sit together on the client's record.
  • Nothing forgotten. Ask once, up front, and you are not hunting for the venue address the night before.
  • You look organized. A thoughtful questionnaire tells the client you have done this many times.
  • Less work for both of you. The client fills it out once, on their own time, instead of replying to question after question.

What to ask your photography clients​

Tailor your questions to the kind of work you shoot, but most questionnaires cover the same ground. Keep it short. A form that is too long does not get finished.

Event and contact details

  • Names, the best phone number, and a backup contact for the day
  • Date, start time, and the full address of every location
  • How to get in, parking, and any venue rules or restrictions

The timeline

  • The running order of the day and the key moments
  • When and where you will have time for portraits
  • Any tight windows you need to plan around

Must-have shots and people

  • Specific photos they would be heartbroken to miss
  • Family or group combinations, with names so you can call them out
  • VIPs you should recognize on sight

Preferences and style

  • The look they love, and anything they want to avoid
  • Whether anyone is camera-shy
  • Surprises, special moments or sensitivities you should know about

For weddings especially, the family-photo list is the single most useful thing you can collect ahead of time.

Send it at the right moment​

Timing makes a questionnaire useful instead of annoying.

  • Right after booking, send a short welcome form to capture the basics while they are excited and engaged.
  • A week or two before the shoot, send the detailed questionnaire, the timeline and the must-have shots, when plans are actually settled.

Sending the heavy detail too early means answers change. Too late means you are scrambling. A couple of weeks out is the sweet spot.

Templates and requests are two different things​

This trips people up, so it is worth being clear.

A template is the reusable form you build once. Templates live under Templates → Questionnaires.

A request is one copy of that form, sent to one person. Requests live under Documents → Questionnaires.

A request keeps its own copy of the questions. Improving the template next month never changes a form somebody already answered.

How to build and send one in CoreHue​

  1. Build your form. Templates → Questionnaires → New template. Add item offers Short text, Long text, Single choice, Multiple choice, Date, Email, Phone, Number, URL, Yes / No and File upload, plus Section heading and Instruction text for structure. See Building a form and Field types.
  2. Show questions only when they matter. Display logic hides a question until an earlier answer calls for it. A wedding form then does not ask about a second venue when there is only one. See Display logic.
  3. Send it. From Documents → Questionnaires, press New questionnaire. Set Related to to a Contact, an Inquiry or a Booking, and use Start from template to pull your questions in. One recipient per request. See Sharing a questionnaire.
  4. Let the booking send it for you. On a booking service, the Follow-up questionnaires step takes entries with a When to send: After booking is confirmed, Before service or After service. The last two carry a days field that starts at 7. A service can carry up to ten entries. See Sending after a booking.
  5. Read the answers. They arrive on the request, on the booking, and on the contact's Questionnaires tab.

Two things to expect​

Your questionnaires list only shows the ones you sent by hand. Intake answers collected during a booking, questionnaires a service sent for you, and anything from a proposal sit on the booking or on the contact's Questionnaires tab. A Source column there tells you where each one came from.

There is no export of answers. You read responses on screen, one at a time. If you need a printed shot list for the day, copy it out.

Next step​

Start by writing down the questions you find yourself asking every client. Then turn them into a reusable template. Head to Building a form, or see the Questionnaires overview for the full picture.

Stuck on what to include? Email us at hello@corehue.co and we will help you shape it.

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