Last updated October 1, 2026
Everything you need to know about booking a photographer, getting paid as one, and managing your account. Tap any question to open it. If you can't find your answer, a real person reads support@snaphire.io.
Booking a photographer, paying, and changing plans.
SnapHire is instant. There is no waiting for a photographer to accept your request.
You'll see the booking under your bookings straight away, and you can message the photographer right from there to sort out the details.
Clients pay the photographer's listed session price plus a 5% service fee. So a $200 session costs $210 in total.
The fee covers secure payment processing through Stripe, customer support if something goes wrong, and running the platform. It's shown clearly at checkout before you confirm — the total you see is the total you're charged. There are no booking fees, no subscription, and no surprise charges afterwards.
Anything you agree with your photographer beyond the original booking — extra hours, prints, albums, rush delivery — is arranged separately with them.
You pay in the app with a credit or debit card. Payments run through Stripe, one of the largest payment processors in the world. Your card details go straight to Stripe — SnapHire never sees or stores your card number.
Payment is taken when you book, which is what allows us to confirm you instantly and hold the photographer's time. You can manage your saved cards under Account → Payment Methods, and see everything you've paid under Account → Transaction History.
To cancel: open the booking and tap Cancel Booking. What you get back depends on how close to the session you are:
To reschedule: message your photographer first and agree a new time. If it works for both of you, cancel the existing booking and make a new one at the agreed time. Doing it in that order — agree first, then rebook — means you don't lose the date. If a reschedule leaves you out of pocket because of the timing, email support@snaphire.io and we'll sort it out.
Refunds go back to your original card through Stripe and usually land within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.
You get a full refund of everything you paid, including the service fee — no exceptions and no questions asked.
We know a refund doesn't replace a missed wedding or event. Email support@snaphire.io as soon as it happens and we'll help you find another photographer who's available for your date.
Photographers who cancel repeatedly, turn up late, or no-show get removed from SnapHire. Reliability is the whole point of instant booking, and we take it seriously.
Every booking has a conversation attached to it. Open the Messages tab, or open the booking and message from there. You can also message a photographer from their profile before you book if you have questions about their work or availability.
Keep your conversation in the app. It means we have a record if there's ever a disagreement about what was agreed — which is what lets us step in and resolve things fairly.
Delivery time is set by each photographer and shown on their profile or agreed in your messages. If nothing was stated, expect your edited images within about 14 days of the shoot. Photographers deliver the final files directly to you.
Who owns them: the photographer keeps the copyright — that's standard across professional photography — and you get a permanent licence to use the images for personal purposes: prints, albums, social media, gifts, your own website. If you booked for a business (real estate, branding, product, commercial), your licence extends to promoting that business.
What you shouldn't do without the photographer's written permission is resell or license the images to someone else, or claim you took them. If you want broader rights, just ask — most photographers will happily agree terms with you.
If you'd rather your photos weren't shown publicly in the photographer's portfolio, tell them. Reasonable privacy requests should be honoured, especially for private events and children.
After your session is complete you can rate your photographer from one to five stars and leave a written review. Your review appears on their public profile.
Only clients who actually completed a booking can review, which is what keeps the ratings on SnapHire meaningful. We don't remove reviews for being critical — honest feedback is what makes the marketplace work. We only remove reviews that are false, abusive, contain someone's personal information, or were paid for.
If a review on your booking looks unfair or you want to flag one, email support@snaphire.io.
Start by talking to your photographer. Most concerns — a different edit, a missed shot you expected, a delivery that's running late — get resolved in a friendly message, and photographers generally want you happy.
If that doesn't work, email support@snaphire.io within 14 days of your session. We'll look at the booking and your messages, hear both sides, and work toward something fair — which can include a partial or full refund where it's warranted.
To be straight with you: SnapHire is the marketplace, not the photographer, so we can't guarantee anyone's creative style will match your taste. That's why every profile shows a real portfolio — browsing the work before you book is the best way to get what you want.
Getting set up, getting booked, and getting paid.
Create a SnapHire account, then switch to photographer mode and walk through the setup steps: your display name, bio, location, specialties, and your rate. Then add portfolio photos — this is the part that actually gets you booked, so lead with your strongest work.
Post only your own photographs. Passing off someone else's work is grounds for immediate removal.
Your profile goes live once you've added your details and portfolio and connected payouts through Stripe.
The client pays in full at the moment they book, so the money is secured before you ever pick up your camera. You're never chasing an invoice.
Your earnings are paid out to your bank account through Stripe Connect after the session is completed. Stripe transfers to your bank on a rolling schedule — typically 2–7 business days for the first payout while your account is being established, and faster once your history is built up. You can see your payouts and their status in your Stripe dashboard.
You set your own rates, and you can change them whenever you like. Bookings already confirmed stay at the price that was agreed.
You'll find payout setup in your photographer settings. It opens Stripe's secure onboarding, where you'll provide:
This information goes directly to Stripe, not to SnapHire. Stripe is a regulated payment processor and is required to verify the identity of everyone who gets paid through it. We never see your bank details or tax ID.
Verification is usually instant, but Stripe occasionally asks for a photo of an ID document. You need to finish this step before you can receive money — so do it when you set up your profile, not when your first booking lands. If onboarding gets stuck or Stripe asks for something you don't understand, email support@snaphire.io and we'll walk you through it.
SnapHire takes 8% of the first $2,000 of a booking and 5% of anything above $2,000. On a $200 session you receive $184. On a $3,500 wedding the fee is $235, not $280. Nothing changes under $2,000, and nobody's fee goes up. (Updated October 1, 2026.)
That's it — no listing fees, no monthly subscription, no charge to create a profile or upload a portfolio. We only make money when you do. For comparison, other platforms in this space commonly take 20% to 50%.
The fee is deducted automatically before your payout, so there's nothing for you to calculate or send back. It covers payment processing, the marketplace that brings you clients, and support.
You're an independent contractor running your own business, not a SnapHire employee. That means you set your rates, choose your work and your hours, keep full creative control, and handle your own taxes and insurance. We don't withhold taxes for you.
Photographers who joined by September 30, 2026 are founding members: a 0% platform fee for their first three months, counted from the day they joined. You keep 100% of your session price for that whole period.
After three months, the standard 8% applies. Your founding status stays on your profile as a badge — you were here first, and clients can see it.
The founding list closed on September 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM New York time. If you join now, you join on standard terms: 8% only when you get paid, no lead fees, and the rate you join at is yours for good.
One thing to note: founding status covers your platform fee. Your clients still pay the 5% service fee on their bookings.
Go to Account → Personal Information to update your name, photo, and details. Your photographer profile — bio, location, specialties, rate, and portfolio images — is edited from your photographer profile settings.
A few things that make a real difference to how often you get booked:
You can, but please treat it as a last resort. Instant confirmation is the promise SnapHire makes to clients, and a cancellation can wreck a wedding day or an event that can't be rerun.
If you genuinely have to cancel, do it as early as you can and message the client to explain. They receive a full refund including the service fee. We'll help them find a replacement.
Repeated cancellations, late arrivals, or no-shows will get you removed from the marketplace. If you're unavailable for a stretch, it's far better to take your availability down than to cancel bookings.
You do. You keep the copyright in everything you shoot through SnapHire. The client gets a licence to use the images — personal use as standard, extended to promoting their business if they booked for a commercial purpose.
You can show the work in your SnapHire portfolio and your own marketing, unless the client asks in writing for privacy. Please honour reasonable privacy requests, particularly for private events and children.
By uploading portfolio images you give SnapHire permission to display them in the app and in our marketing of the marketplace. You keep your copyright, and removing an image or deleting your account ends that permission going forward. Full detail is in the Terms of Service.
Managing, downloading, or deleting your data.
In the app, open Settings and tap Delete Account. Confirm, and your profile, photos, and messages are removed immediately.
If you can't sign in, email support@snaphire.io from the email address on your account instead and we'll delete it for you within 30 days.
Two things to know before you do:
We're required to keep payment and tax records even after deletion — that's a legal obligation on us and on Stripe, and it applies to every business that processes payments.
If you'd rather just take a break, you can sign out from Account → Sign Out without deleting anything.
Your account details, your bookings and messages, and — if you're a photographer — your profile and portfolio. Card numbers are held by Stripe, not by us.
Email support@snaphire.io to request a copy of your data or to correct something that's wrong. The full picture of what we collect and why is in our Privacy Policy.
On the sign-in screen, use the password reset option and we'll email you a reset link. Check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive within a few minutes.
If you originally signed up with Apple or Google, use that same button to sign back in — there's no separate password on your account. Signing in with a different method can create a second, empty account, so use the one you started with.
Still locked out? Email support@snaphire.io from the address on your account and we'll get you back in.
Email support@snaphire.io with the booking or profile involved and what happened. We read these first and act on them quickly, and we can suspend accounts.
If you're in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.
Sensible precautions for both sides: meet in public or agreed locations, tell someone where you'll be, and keep your arrangements in SnapHire messages so there's a record.
SnapHire is independently run out of New York, and a real person reads every message — no bots, no ticket maze.
Support and bookings — support@snaphire.io
General questions — hello@snaphire.io
Privacy and data requests — support@snaphire.io
No photographer near you yet, or need something specific, like a youth soccer game? Request a shoot and we'll email you the photographers on SnapHire who cover it, or tell you straight if there's no one yet.
We aim to reply within one business day. If your shoot is today and something has gone wrong, put URGENT in the subject line and we'll jump on it.
It helps us if you include your account email and the booking date when you write in — it means we can look things up without a round of back-and-forth.
See also: Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
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