For photographers

How to create a photo mini sessions waitlist

You post the date and within an hour there are 90 DMs for 40 slots. You reply to each one with the times left, and by the time they answer the slot is gone. A Google Form does not know the 10:30 is taken. Someone gets double-booked every year.

Fall minis go up on Instagram and the DMs are the booking system. 7 steps, about five minutes, or one click with the recipe below.

Step by step

Set up the Fall minis, Oct 18 yourself

These are the exact values the recipe applies. Change any of them to match your line.

  1. Create the waitlist

    Sign in, click New waitlist, and name it "Fall minis, Oct 18". It starts as a draft, so nothing is public until you publish.

  2. Set capacity to 40 in total

    In Settings, set the capacity to 40 in total. When the 40th person joins, the form reads as full and says so.

  3. Leave the hours open

    Under Hours, leave the schedule off so people can join at any time. You can pause the list by hand whenever you need to.

  4. Add the form fields

    Email is built in. On the Form tab, add Name (required), Phone (required), People in the photo (required). Labels and help text render as plain text.

  5. Add the "Time slot" time slots

    On the Form tab, add a Time slot field named "Time slot" with 9:00 AM (5), 10:00 AM (5), 11:00 AM (5), 12:00 PM (5), 1:00 PM (5), 2:00 PM (5), 3:00 PM (5), 4:00 PM (5). Each slot fills on its own and reads as full when its spots are taken.

  6. Show the counter

    In Settings, turn on the counter so the form shows how many spots are left. People join faster when they can see the number.

  7. Publish and share

    Click Publish. The Share tab has the hosted link, a QR code, and the script tag or iframe for your site. The submit button reads "Request a slot".

Or do it in one click

Use the recipe

The "Fall minis, Oct 18" recipe creates the waitlist with every step above already done. Sign in, click once, and it is live as a draft you can publish.

Create this waitlistSee the recipe page

Recipe

Fall minis, Oct 18

  • 40 total
  • Open any time
  • 8 capped slots
  • 5 fields
  • Eight hourly slots, five sessions each. A full slot is greyed out on the form and rejected by the API.
  • 40 sessions total as a backstop. The form reads as full at 40.
  • No opening hours. Open the list when you announce the date.
  • Asks for name, phone, time slot, and how many people.
  • Families see their number on the success screen.

After you publish

How the list runs

Cap each slot

Eight hourly slots, five sessions each. When the 10:30 fills, it greys out and the API refuses it.

Cap the day

Forty sessions as a backstop. The form says full when they are gone.

Party size

A number field for people. You know which slots need the wide lens.

Numbered requests

"You're #23." Families stop DMing to ask if they made it.

Confirm from the export

CSV in position order with slot and party size. Confirm by email, in order.

Same link every season

Change the date in the name and the slots in the dropdown. The link stays the same.

FAQ

Questions people here ask

Can families pay the session fee here?

No. Unwaited does not take payments. Send an invoice or checkout link when you confirm the slot.

Can it cap each time slot?

Yes. Each slot has its own capacity. Set five for the 9:00, one for the 4:00, whatever the light allows. A full slot is disabled on the form and rejected by the API.

What if two families submit for the last spot at the same time?

One gets it. The check runs inside the database lock that assigns numbers, so the second sees the slot marked full and picks another.

Does it email the confirmation?

Yes. They get a confirmation with their number and slot, plus a link to check their place or cancel. You get an owner email per request.

Related

Keep reading

Five minutes by hand, or one click.

Free for 100 signups a month. Unlimited waitlists. Every setting above stays editable.

Create this waitlist