Session is a lovely way to book. Apture books mini and full sessions too, and adds what Session doesn't list: a full website builder, a client portal, proposals with packages to choose from, payment plans with autopay, and far more gallery storage.
Step 1
Tap every tool you pay for. The page rewrites itself around your setup.
Mini session days get their own page with back-to-back spots and a waitlist, and carry on into proposals, autopay payment plans, the client portal, galleries and your website.
Moving from Session, step by stepWhat you get with Apture
Instead of Session
From the first inquiry to the final gallery, every client has one record: sessions, messages, forms, contracts, payments and galleries.
No copying a client from your CRM into your gallery tool, and no wondering which app has the latest email. Your team sees the same record you do.
Plans differ in storage, video hours and team size. Nothing else is held back for a higher tier.
Automations, proposals, payment plans, video, RAW files, your own domain and AI writing help are on the smallest plan too. There are no add-ons to buy.
Instead of Session
A client picks a session, signs your contract on their phone and pays the deposit, in one booking.
Turn on signing before paying and the contract becomes part of booking, so a date is never held without a signature and a deposit. Your client gets the signed PDF, and the signed record stays with the booking.
Instead of Session
Deliver photos, video and RAW files side by side, in galleries clients open without an account.
Hearts, picks and proofing, downloads in the sizes you allow, download sales, and print orders you send to your own lab. Galleries are linked to the booking that came before.
Instead of Session
A photographer's website on your own domain, with booking, galleries and the client portal built in.
Pick a design, add your photos and words, and preview it on a phone and a computer. A blog, search settings and a link-in-bio page come with it.
Instead of Session
Clients see their sessions, contracts, forms, payments and galleries in one place, on their phone.
They pay a balance, answer the questionnaire and find their gallery from the same link, so they stop emailing you to ask where things are.
Instead of Session
Deposits, balances, payment plans and gift cards are paid into your own Stripe account. Stripe's card fees apply; we add nothing.
Payment plans with autopay, bank transfers (ACH) for balances, and tips on the final payment are all there when you want them.
A setup guide walks you through packages, hours, contracts and Stripe, with sample clients to click around first.
“Honestly, you killed this. Setup was so easy. Once I saw how everything connects, it all just clicked.”
Ready-made workflows for weddings, portraits, branding and minis mean you change a few emails instead of building from scratch.
Instead of Session
Send us your client list and we'll bring your clients and upcoming sessions across, with what each has already paid.
You check a preview of every row before it goes live, nobody is emailed, and one click undoes an import.
Side by side
| Feature | Apture | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiries, contracts and invoices | YesEvery plan, with no limits on clients or contracts | YesContracts, questionnaires and invoices |
| Online booking with a deposit | YesClients can sign the contract before they pay, in the same booking | YesMini and full sessions |
| Proposals with packages to choose from | YesUp to three packages side by side | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| Automations and reminders | YesReady-made workflows per type of shoot | YesWorkflows and email automation |
| Client portal | YesSessions, contracts, forms, payments and galleries in one place | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| Client galleries | YesFavorites, proofing and downloads | Yes3 GB included |
| Video in galleries | YesOn every plan | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| RAW files in galleries | YesOn every plan | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| Website builder | Yes15 designs, your own domain, a blog | PartlyA booking site, not a full website builder |
| Every feature on every plan | YesPlans differ only in storage, video hours and team size | YesOne plan with every feature |
| No platform fee on client payments | Yes0% from Apture; Stripe's own card fees apply | Not checked |
| Automatic lab printing | Coming soonAutomatic ordering through a pro lab is on the roadmap; for now orders come to you to send to your lab | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| QuickBooks or Xero sync | Coming soonQuickBooks and Xero sync is on the roadmap | NoNot listed on Session's pricing page |
| Free-forever plan | NoA 14-day free trial, no card needed | No14-day trial |
Checked on each company's own pricing page on 22 October 2026. “Extra cost” means a higher plan or an add-on; “Not checked” means their page didn't say. In fairness, some of them are ahead in places: galleries like Pixieset, ShootProof and Pic-Time send print orders to a lab automatically, several have a free plan, Studio Ninja syncs with QuickBooks and Xero, and Pixieset has a mobile gallery app. Apture works in your phone's browser.
Checked 22 October 2026. Prices and plans change; tell us if something here is out of date.
Apture is $5 a month more here, and it does the jobs you'd otherwise need more tools for.
| Tool and plan | A month |
|---|---|
| Session One planIncludes 3 GB of gallery storage | $14 |
| Starter | $19 |
Each company's own published price on 22 October 2026, billed yearly, for the plan named. Plans and features differ and prices change, so check before you decide. Card processing fees are extra with all of them, including Apture.
Add your sessions with their price, length and deposit, then the hours you're open each week. Apture keeps those times open on your booking page, and a client who books pays the deposit there and then.
A mini session day gets its own page with back-to-back spots, and a waitlist once it fills. Share the link the same way you share your Session page.
Deposits, balances and payment plans go straight into your own Stripe account. Apture adds no transaction fee; Stripe's usual card fees apply.
Download your client list as a spreadsheet (CSV) and drop it into Clients, Import in Apture. You match the columns once, check a preview of every row, and import. Upcoming sessions come too, with what each client has already paid, and nobody is emailed. Changed your mind? One click undoes the import. Or send us the file and we'll do it for you.
Swap the booking link in your Instagram bio and email signature for your Apture booking page, or your link-in-bio page with everything on it.
What you keep: Your Google Calendar works with it: Apture syncs both ways, so busy times close on your booking page and every session shows up on your phone.
Yes: your own, on your website, in your design. They pick a session, choose a time and pay the deposit, the same few steps.
Yes, with their own page, back-to-back spots, a waitlist when they fill, and reminders before the day.
No. Apture takes every online payment and matches it to the booking; keep Square for in-person taps if you like.
Free move-over help
Export what you have in Session and send it over. We import your clients and upcoming sessions, with what each has already paid, and you check everything before it goes live. Nobody is emailed.
Or write to us first: support@aptureapp.com