From your first inquiry
to a signed contract.
All in one place.
Client records, contracts, e-signatures, payments, a page for every couple and the reminders in between. You approve. It runs.
Studios open in small groups, by invitation. Plans from €16.50 a month, billed yearly.
4 hoursback on every couple you book.From the first email to the final payment.Built by a working wedding photographer, to replace 17hats.
Your time, back.
About 4 hours back on every couple, from the first email to the final payment. Here is what that means for you.
Estimates: setting up each couple, chasing signatures and payments, the day-of timeline and your crew, plus 2 hours a month on your numbers.
Everything a studio runs on.
The real workspace, with sample data. It opens on what needs you today; your couples get a page of their own, in your colours, that counts down to the day.
Pick a screen
What needs you, in order: the overdue installment in red, the questionnaire half done, the contract still waiting.
Your studio and your AI.
Finally together.
Bring the AI you already use, or get ours ready from one link. Either way the work that eats your evenings, setting up couples, chasing signatures, finding numbers, gets done for you. You keep every decision.
Connect the AI you already use.
Add your studio to Claude in three steps. It works with your clients, contracts and numbers, under your rules.
Your assistant, ready from one link.
The Black Line Assistant arrives already connected to your studio and already trained on how it runs: contracts, installments, reminders, approvals. No subscription, nothing to set up.
- Time
Each new couple is set up in minutes: client, booking, contract, installments and their link.
- Money
Late payments are flagged and the reminder is drafted. You see what every wedding really earns.
- Automation
Reminders and follow-ups are written and timed for you, and wait for your yes.
- Efficiency
Ask “What did June bring in?” or “What do I owe Luke?” and get the answer from your studio.
- Your clients
They get one page: contract, payments, timeline and a countdown to the day, in their language.
Both include a documented REST API and webhooks for your own tools. MCP is the open standard that lets AI apps such as Claude use other software with your permission. With Studio you bring your own AI and its subscription, tested with Claude today; with Ultra the assistant and its use are included.
How the AI worksMost help you write.
Ours does the work.
Most studio software still runs on rules you set up by hand. Some now write emails, and HoneyBook connects to Claude and ChatGPT. The Black Line drafts your emails, tracks what you owe your crew and what every job earns, and opens your studio to your own AI, which already sets up a new inquiry and brings your clients in.
Compare with
- Crew payouts on every jobWhat you owe each person on your team, wedding by weddingYes—Not found
- Profit per jobWhat each wedding really earns, after costsYesYes
- AI that writes emailsDrafts in your tone, sent only when you approveYesYes
- Connect your own AI (MCP)Claude today, other MCP clients nextStudio planUS, CA, UK, AU only
- Open API and webhooksBuild your own automationsStudio planPrivate, on request
- AI that sets up a new inquiryClient, booking, contract, payments and link from one emailStudio and UltraLead from Gmail; the rest through Claude or ChatGPT
- AI that moves your history inClients and bookings from your spreadsheet, no column matching by handStudio and UltraAI-matched columns, 500 a file
Based on each company's public pricing, help, legal and developer pages, checked November 2, 2026. The sources for HoneyBook, Dubsado and 17hats are on the comparison page; Studio Ninja's come from its help center. A dash means we couldn't find it, not that it doesn't exist. Features change fast: if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Three plans. No surprises.
Unlimited clients and bookings in every plan, no fees on your clients' payments. Pay yearly and Essential includes the Client Lounge. During early access, studios join by invitation.
Essential
Everything to run a studioFor a photographer working alone.
Studio
AI-readyFor a studio with a team that connects the AI it already uses.
Ultra
AI insideFor a busy studio that wants its AI assistant ready on day one.
Prices exclude VAT. EU businesses with a valid VAT number pay no VAT (reverse charge). Pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or SEPA debit. Switch plan or billing period anytime.
Studio or Ultra?
Studio is AI-ready: you connect the AI you already pay for. Ultra has the AI inside: The Black Line Assistant arrives from one link, already connected and already trained on how a studio runs. If you'd pay for an AI anyway, Ultra costs less and works from day one.
- You connect the AI you already use: Claude today
- You set it up once, and AI use counts against your own plan
- Up to 3 people
- Your assistant arrives from one link, ready
- Already connected to your studio, already knows how it runs: contracts, installments, reminders, approvals
- No other subscription: AI use included, within a monthly allowance
- Up to 10 people
What the same features cost elsewhere.
The cheapest plan of each with no cap on active jobs that includes contracts with e-signatures, payment plans with online payments, questionnaires and automations, the way The Black Line Essential does.
| Software and plan | Monthly |
|---|---|
| The Black Line Essential | €19 |
| Studio Ninja Pro | $27 |
| Iris Works Basic | $29.95 |
| Bloom Standard | $44 |
| Dubsado Premier | $55 |
| HoneyBook EssentialsUS, Canada, UK and Australia only | $59 |
| 17hats All Features | $60 |
List prices as published on each company's pricing page, in their currency and before tax, checked November 2, 2026. Promotions and add-ons excluded. Prices change: if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
Questions photographers ask.
Something we haven't answered? Write to us: a photographer reads every message.
Ask us a questionPut it in
black and white.
We're opening The Black Line to wedding studios a few at a time. Save your place: when yours opens, we'll help you bring your clients over from 17hats or Excel and send your first contract.
- 01Save your place
Your name, your studio, your country and what you use today. Thirty seconds.
- 02Confirm your email
One link, so we know it's you. No newsletter, no tracking.
- 03We open your studio
We write when it's your turn, help you move your clients in, and you choose a plan only then.