Availability Calendar Guide

Your availability calendar allows you to block off whole days or half days (ie. morning or afternoon blocks) for which you already know you are booked, out of town, or not available for work. Customers will see your availability displayed on your profile when they are submitting an inquiry, and will only be able to select dates/blocks of time in which you have not blocked off. This means you will not have to spend time answering inquiries for dates you know you cannot take.

🌟 It is very important, however, that you update your calendar on a regular basis (ie. every week or 2 weeks) so that customers have an accurate view of your schedule. It is a frustrating experience for them to inquire about a date they think you’re free only to find out it’s not, and they may not end up booking you or Flytographer at all because of that frustration, so keep your calendar updated to ensure you get as many shoots as possible!

**Note: You MUST accept or decline each inquiry that comes to you, as this feature does not indicate whether you are actually available. It only prevents customers from sending you requests for dates that you are unavailable for.

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A FEW THINGS TO NOTE

We ask that you respond to all customer requests within 24 hours. Our data and current industry trends are showing that customers are more likely to book if they receive a fast response. As we want all your new requests to convert to bookings for you, getting a faster response will help!

  • If you do not respond within 24 hours and there are other available photographers in your city, at that time we will check with other photographers in the city to see if they are available and also give you another 24 hours to respond.
  • If you respond as unavailable to a request and there are other available photographers in your city, we will check with those photographers at that time.
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  • To keep your availability calendar up-to-date without having you log in, we’ve created some situations in which we will automatically block off time slots in your calendar. These include:
    • If you respond that you are not available for a request we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar, unless you specify on your response form that you would like to keep that time slot open (there will be a checkbox on the response form for this purpose)
    • If you receive a booking in a time slot, we will assume that you can’t take another booking in that slot and we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar.
    • If you do not respond to a request in time, we will assume you are not available and we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar.

See more details about this in our Global Settings section.

GET STARTED

1. Click on the calendar tab in your Flytographer account on mobile or desktop.

From here, you will see a list of the cities for which you are currently available for shoots. Click on each city to update your availability there. Please note if you have multiple cities, you will need to mark off your unavailability for each city – we currently do not have a way to connect all your city calendars.

BLOCK OFF A DATE OR TIME SLOT

1. To start blocking off a single date, a single time slot, or the same time slot on multiple days, click the date on the calendar.

2. Once you select a date, it will display the two time slots for that date (morning and afternoon). To block off a time slot that day, click on it.

3. To block off the whole day, click both time slots.

4. To block off a recurring time slot for the same day of the week for that time slot, use the check box that says “Make all (days of the week)s unavailable.”

5. Before you leave the window, be sure to click on “Update Calendar” text link.

UNBLOCK A TIME SLOT

  1. Click into the date for which you wish to unblock the slot.
  2. Click the slot you wish to unblock.
  3. Click the lock icon with “Enable Time Slot”.
  4. Before you leave the window, click “Update Calendar”.

UNBLOCK A RECURRING TIME SLOT

  1. Click into the date from which you wish to unblock the recurring slot.
  2. Click the slot (or slots) you wish to unblock.
  3. Click the lock icon with “Enable Time Slot”.
  4. Click the check box to “Make all (days of the week)s available”.
  5. Before you leave the window, click “Update Calendar”.

Note: This will only unblock the future dates from that date forward; it will not affect dates prior to this.

BLOCK OFF A DATE RANGE

  1. If you need to block off a date range of full days, use the “Block off date range” button at the bottom of the calendar.

2. Choose the first date you wish to block and then the last date. (In this example, we want to block off Oct 5-16).

3. Click on “Update Calendar” before leaving screen. It will take you back to your calendar view where you can see your changes.

UNBLOCK A DATE RANGE

Unblocking a date range

  1. If you need to unblock off a date range, click “Unblock date range” button at the bottom of the calendar.

2. Choose the first date you wish to unblock, then choose the last date you wish to unblock. (In this example, we want to block off Oct 12-16).

3. Click on “Update Calendar” before leaving screen. It will take you back to your calendar view where you can see your changes.

⚡ What is Instant Book?

đź“… How to set up your Instant Book slots

There are three ways to get started with adding Instant Book slots!

  1. Add them one-by-one by date
  2. Add multiple Instant Book slots at once
  3. Stack them before or after your existing Flytographer bookings

1. Add “One-By-One” for Each Date

  • Go to the Availability Calendar icon on your dashboard. 
  • Click the date you want to set up slots
  • Scroll down the page until you see a list of route/s you want to add Instant Book slots to 
  • Clicking the dropdown arrow on the right side of each route bar

Work in more than one city?  Each calendar is city-specific, you will need to click into each city and set separate calendars.

2. Add Multiple Instant Book slots at once

This is useful if you’re available at the same time on multiple days. In your City Availability Calendar, click the “Multiple Instant Book Slots” button at the top of the page. Select your dates, then choose the route, package length, and start time you’d like to offer across all selected dates.

Note: Golden hour changes based on location and time of year. If this matters for your slots, consider adding them one by one (see above) so you can tailor each day. Sunrise and sunset times for your location are shown on each date for reference.

Warning: If you need to delete bulk-added slots, you must remove them individually — click into each day and scroll down to delete the slot.

3. Stack them before or after your existing Flytographer bookings

On the Shoot Scoop of every booking with a predefined route you’ll find buttons to add a 60-minute Instant Book slot before or after the booking with one click! Slots will be created for the same predefined route. (Looking to suggest a route that you often recommend to customers so you can offer Instant Book slots at that location? Fill out this form here and our team will be in touch!)

đź’¬ Instant Book FAQs

How can I see my Instant Book slots?

In the Availability Calendar, dates with at least one Instant Book slot will show a yellow lightning bolt. ⚡To see your available slots and routes, click the date and scroll down. Each route will show how many slots are available. Click a route to see the specific times you’ve set up.

Is my Instant Book calendar separate from my regular calendar?

Yes! This is important. The two calendars are independent, which means:

  • You can block off mornings, afternoons, or full days for regular inquiries and still keep your Instant Book slots open.
  • Blocking time off on your regular calendar does not automatically remove your Instant Book slots. If you don’t want any shoots on a certain day, you need to remove your Instant Book slots separately — including when blocking off date ranges.

If I have Instant Book slots, can I still receive regular inquiries?

Yes. Instant Book slots are separate from the regular booking process. Customers can still send you a booking request for the same day and time as your slots.

Can I change the time of a slot after I've added it?

Yes. You can add, edit, or delete slots at any time. Click into the day that you want to adjust your Instant Book slot time and scroll down to where the routes are listed. Expand the route with the slot you want to adjust.

Can I change the details of a slot after it's been booked?

Yes, but please confirm any changes with your customer and concierge first, just like you would for any other shoot. Once confirmed, you can update the details through the Check-In form in the booking view or by contacting the concierge.

I got booked for a regular inquiry at the same time as an Instant Book slot. Do I need to remove the slot manually?

No. The system automatically removes any Instant Book slot that conflicts with a confirmed booking — whether it was booked through Instant Book or a regular inquiry.

🌟 Note: If you receive a regular inquiry (not yet confirmed) that conflicts with an Instant Book slot, the slot will not be removed until that shoot is officially booked. This means there could be a waiting period of up to 3 days where another customer could book you via Instant Book.

To avoid this, you can:

  • Manually remove the Instant Book slot until the inquiry is confirmed.
  • Block dates off for regular inquiries on days you have Instant Book slots, so the only way to book you is through Instant Book.

Can I set Instant Book slots on the same day for different routes?

Yes, but make sure you leave enough travel time between routes in case both slots are booked. For example, avoid scheduling 6:00 AM at Route 1 and 7:10 AM at Route 2 unless you can travel between them in 10 minutes or less.

Also, when you’re booked for a regular inquiry, check if you have any Instant Book slots set before that shoot time. If there isn’t enough travel time between them, we recommend deleting the Instant Book slot to avoid scheduling conflicts or being late.

Can customers use Instant Book for proposals?

No. Proposals must be requested through the regular inquiry process.

Can the HQ team help me with Instant Book slots?

Yes! The HQ team can answer your questions about how Instant Book works. However, they cannot access your calendar or edit your slots. If you need help with that, please contact our team here!

GLOBAL SETTINGS

Your availability calendar comes with standard global settings for all the cities you shoot in. We created these to make it easier to keep your calendar up-to-date without having to log into your account.

There are some conditions for which the system will automatically block off time slots for you, including:

  • If you respond that you are not available for a request we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar, unless you specify on your response form that you would like to keep that time slot open (there will be a checkbox on the response form for this purpose).
  • If you receive a booking in a time slot, we will assume that you can’t take another booking in that slot and we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar.
  • If you do not respond to a request in time, we will assume you are not available and we will automatically block off that time slot in your calendar.

🌟 We know these settings may not work for everyone’s business, so in order to give you control over your calendar, you may change these auto-settings in your Global Calendar Settings section.

Find your Settings on desktop by clicking under your name at the top right.

Find your Settings on mobile by clicking on the hamburger menu, then opening the dropdown under your name.

Find “Calendar Settings” in the menu list under your name. Choose which setting you would prefer as a global calendar rule and then choose “Update Settings.”

There are two global settings options:

👉 Option 1: Always automatically block off time slots and dates when I receive a confirmed booking in that slot.

This is the default setting.

We will automatically block off time slots for you in your calendar if:

  • You don’t respond to a request in time and we assume you are unavailable
  • You get a new booking for that time slot

*Note: Although a time slot is automatically blocked off for you in these situations, we will always notify you when it has happened and you do have the ability to mark it as available at any time.

👉 Option 2: Do not automatically block off time slots or dates when I receive a confirmed booking. I prefer to manually adjust my calendar when I’m no longer available.

This setting will stop the system from automatically blocking off a time slot when you say you aren’t available and also when you receive a new booking. In both of these scenarios, your calendar time slots will be left open for customers to submit a request.
Use this setting if:

  • You like to book multiple shoots in the morning or evening time slots and you still want customers to be able to request you when you already have a Flytographer booking that day.
  • Even though you say you are unavailable for a shoot, you don’t want us to block off that date because you want to manually manage your calendar on your own.

*Note: There is an override for this setting if you do not respond to a request in 24 hours. If you do not respond to a request in time, we will assume you are unavailable and automatically block off that time slot for you so that other customers do not try to request that time on that date. We will always notify you that we have done so. You may turn that date back on at any time.

HOW CUSTOMERS VIEW YOUR CALENDAR

As you save changes to your calendar to block off days you are not available, customers will see those days greyed out on your profile page. They will not be able to select them.

If they select a day that is half-blocked, they will see which time slot is unavailable.

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