Fairsig

Email signatures for photographers

For a photographer, the signature's job is to send people to the work: the portfolio, the booking page, the Instagram grid. It shouldn't try to be the portfolio. Here are four examples for different kinds of photography business.

What to include

  • Name and specialty: “Wedding & Portrait Photographer” tells people at once whether you do what they need.
  • Studio name and logo if you have a brand; a small headshot if you are the brand.
  • Website or booking link: the single most useful link. Point it at the page you want new clients to see.
  • Phone and email for clients who want to talk before booking.
  • One or two social profiles where your recent work lives.
  • Where you're based if you travel or cover a region; it saves a round of emails.

4 photographer email signature examples

All names, studios and phone numbers are fictional.

Photographer with a wordmark

For visual work the wordmark is the brand. Instagram and YouTube icons point to the portfolio people actually browse; the website handles bookings.

Use this signatureCentered template

Commercial and product photographer

Brand clients judge the studio by its logo and its website. Color icons are fine here: the visual work is the point, and Instagram and Facebook are where clients check recent shoots.

Use this signatureModern template

Portrait photographer with a headshot

For portrait work, your own portrait is the sample. The booking page is the website link, so clients go straight to dates and packages.

Use this signatureClassic template

Freelance photojournalist

Editors want a phone number they can call on deadline and where you are based. The minimal layout looks right inside a terse assignment thread.

Use this signatureMinimal template

Images: less is more

Photographers are tempted to put a favourite shot in the signature. At 100 pixels wide it loses everything that made it good, and some mail apps hide remote images until the reader allows them. Use the image slot for a logo or a headshot, and let the website link carry the portfolio. Keep files small: a logo of about 240 px wide shown at half that size is sharp and light. Details on the size page and the photo guide.

Host your logo or headshot on your own website (most portfolio platforms give each image a public address) and paste that https address into the generator. Signature images must be public, or recipients see a broken image.

Make the booking path short

If clients book through a calendar or an enquiry form, make that the website link: for example yourstudio.com/book. One clear next step beats a menu of five links. In a thread with an existing client, a shorter reply signature without images keeps the conversation readable.

Copyright and credits

If you include any photo in your signature, make sure it's yours and that the people in it agreed to its use in your marketing. A headshot of yourself, or your logo, avoids the question entirely.

Questions

Should photographers put a sample photo in their email signature?

Generally no. At signature size (around 100 px) a landscape or wedding photo is unreadable, many mail apps block images until the reader allows them, and the same image repeats in every reply. Link to your portfolio instead, and let the website show your work at full size.

Logo or headshot?

Use the one clients book: a studio with a brand uses its logo; a portrait or wedding photographer who is the brand often does better with a friendly headshot. One image is enough.

Which social networks should a photographer link?

The one or two where clients actually browse your recent work, often Instagram, plus YouTube if you make films. Skip networks you don't keep up to date.

Related: social media icons in signatures and marketing signatures.

Ready? The free Fairsig generator builds a signature that works in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail, in your browser, with no sign-up. Create your signature →