Pixit
Getting photography clients through an app
A booking app is a way for paid work to arrive already priced and already agreed, instead of being chased through messages. You list your work and your rates, you go online when you are available, and jobs come to you — the platform takes a commission, and in exchange the fee is held in escrow so you are never working on a promise. Here is what that is actually like, including the parts that will not suit everyone.
The problem this is aimed at
Almost every freelance photographer spends a large share of the week not photographing. Posting work, replying to enquiries that go nowhere, writing quotes, following up on quotes, agreeing a deposit, chasing the balance. None of it is billable and all of it is the job.
The point of a booking app is to move that unpaid work off you. A job arriving through Pixit has already had the scope, the price and the delivery deadline agreed — because the app will not create a booking without them.
How a job actually reaches you
You go online. Clients see the artists live within ten miles of them at that moment, on a real map. When you are offline you are not in it.
A client describes the job. Photographer, videographer or both, then the kind of shoot — headshots, a wedding, a graduation, nightlife, a music video, product for a brand.
They ping the artists nearby, or plan ahead. Same-night work goes out to everyone online near them at once. Planned work carries a date and a delivery deadline.
They choose from real evidence. Your portfolio, your verified badge, and your record: jobs completed, punctuality, quality. Which means the work you have already done keeps earning.
The money is committed before you move. The client pays at booking and Pixit holds it.
What the 20% costs you, stated plainly
On a £200 booking you receive £160, plus any tip in full. That is a real cost and it is worth being clear-eyed about it rather than talked around.
The comparison that matters is not against a direct booking you already had — on that one, direct wins, obviously. It is against the booking that did not exist. A commission is a share of work that arrived; the alternative to a job you were sourced is usually not the same job at 100%, it is no job.
For context, photography and creative representation commonly runs on commissions somewhere between 10% and 40% of the fee. Full detail on the split, escrow and tips is on how photographers get paid.
Being early is worth something
Pixit is a young marketplace, and we would rather say that than imply a queue of clients that is not there yet. What being early actually buys is position: the artists who are verified, online and carrying completed jobs when client demand arrives are the ones it lands on.
Practically, that means the useful thing to do now is the unglamorous thing — get verified, put a real portfolio up, set your rates, and be online. A profile that is half-finished when the work starts arriving is a profile the work goes past.
What it will not do for you
It will not set your prices. Undercharging is the most common mistake in the first two years of freelancing and no platform fixes it — see what a photographer costs in the UK for the honest ranges before you decide your number.
It will not replace a body of work. Clients choose from portfolios; if yours is thin, the app makes that visible faster, not less.
And it will not suit you if your work is commissioned rather than booked — art direction, set builds, month-long pre-production. That is a project, and it belongs in email.
Getting on
Pixit is on the UK App Store for iPhone. Verification is a government document and a live selfie through Stripe; the documents never reach Pixit. You can read more about the app itself at wearepixit.app, or start with how the booking model works.
Questions people ask
What does it cost a photographer to join Pixit?
Nothing to join. Pixit takes 20% of a completed booking, so it only earns when you do. You keep the other 80% and you keep any tip in full — Pixit takes nothing from tips.
How do I know I will actually be paid?
The client pays at the moment of booking and Pixit holds that money in escrow. It is already funded before you leave the house. It is released to you once the client confirms the files landed, so there is no invoice to chase and no deposit to negotiate.
Do I set my own prices?
Yes. You set your rates, and the booking screen shows the client the whole split before they commit — what is held, what Pixit takes, and exactly what you receive.
What do I need to start?
An iPhone, a portfolio worth showing, and identity verification: a government document and a live selfie, checked by Stripe. Those documents go to Stripe directly and never reach Pixit. Clients verify the same way, so you are not meeting an anonymous stranger either.
Do I have to be available all the time?
No. You go online when you want work and offline when you do not. Clients can also plan shoots ahead with a delivery deadline rather than only booking on the spot.
Is this instead of my own clients?
Alongside them. If you already have a full diary of direct clients paying you in full, keep it — no platform beats a working relationship at zero commission. This is for filling the gaps and for the weeks when the diary is not full.
Is Pixit available outside the UK?
Not yet. Pixit is a UK marketplace, currently on the UK App Store for iPhone.