How can we help?
Answers to common questions about booking, payments, competitions, and your account. Still stuck? The fastest route is often the related page itself — most actions live right where you'd expect them.
Browsing & discovering photographers
Do I need an account to browse portfolios?
No. All public portfolios in the Galleries directory are open to browse. You only need an account when you want to send a booking inquiry, message a photographer, or vote in competitions.
How do I find the right photographer for my project?
Visit the Photographers page and filter by location and specialty. Each artist's profile shows their portfolio, rates, availability, and reviews from past clients, so you can compare before you reach out.
What do the rank tags mean?
Tags like Rising and Veteran reflect a photographer's track record on LensCycle — completed sessions, client feedback, and how long they have been on the platform.
Booking & payments
How does booking work?
Send an inquiry from a photographer's profile describing your project, date, and preferences. The artist replies to discuss details, then sends an offer. Once you accept and pay, the session is confirmed and you can keep chatting in the booking conversation until the day.
How do payments work?
Offers are paid through the app with a card. You can pay a 40% deposit to confirm the booking and settle the remaining balance with your photographer, or pay in full up front.
Can I move a booking to another date?
Yes — once, and only on a confirmed booking. Either side proposes a new date from the booking conversation, and the session only moves if the other side accepts; until then it stays as planned. You need at least 3 days' notice, and the new date has to be open on your photographer's calendar. When it's agreed, the booking updates and both sides see it in the conversation. Rescheduling is free and is not a cancellation.
What if we can't agree a new date?
Declining a reschedule leaves the session exactly as it was, on the original date. A booking can only be rescheduled once, so if you need to change it again the cancellation rules apply.
Can I cancel a booking?
Talk to your photographer through the booking conversation first. Cancelling 10 or more days before the session carries a 5% cancellation fee; cancelling closer than that, or without your photographer's consent, forfeits the 40% deposit, which is paid to the photographer. If the photographer cancels, you are refunded in full. The rules are set out in full below and in the Terms & Conditions.
Where can I see my bookings?
Clients can review every request, offer, and confirmed session on the My bookings page. Photographers manage theirs in the Studio.
Cancellations & deposits
You're refunded in full — deposit and any balance — to your original payment method, automatically.
A 5% cancellation fee applies and is paid to your photographer. The rest of what you've paid is refunded.
Your photographer may retain the 40% deposit instead of the 5% fee. Anything you've paid above the deposit is refunded.
Read the full Terms & Conditions →
How do I cancel a paid booking?
Open the booking conversation and press Request cancellation. Tell your photographer why as early as you can — contacting them first can lead to a better outcome. They confirm the fee that applies before anything is refunded.
What happens to my 40% deposit if I cancel?
Cancel with 10 or more days' notice and only the 5% cancellation fee is kept, with the remainder of what you paid refunded. Within 10 days of the session your photographer may retain the 40% deposit instead, and anything you've paid above it is refunded. A 40% fee is never charged with more than 10 days' notice, and the 5% fee is always charged as a minimum.
Who receives the cancellation fee?
Your photographer. It compensates them for holding your date and turning away other work. Fees are calculated on the total offer amount, deducted from your refund, and paid to the photographer.
What if the photographer cancels?
You are refunded automatically and in full — deposit and any balance — to your original payment method. The photographer can cancel a confirmed booking from the booking conversation.
Competitions & voting
Your winning photograph leads the galleries front page as the hero image for 72 hours.
Top of the artist list for 48 hours, ahead of every other photographer on LensCycle.
Second in the artist list for 24 hours, directly after the second place.
Who can enter the competition?
Photographers with a Studio profile can enter up to three photos while entries are open, which is Monday and Tuesday. Voting then runs from Wednesday until Friday evening, so the competition goes live for voting once enough entries have arrived.
How does voting work?
During the voting window, signed-in members open voting mode and swipe through the entries. You get a set number of votes, one per photo, and you can skip pictures without voting on them.
What if an entry breaks the rules?
Use the Report button on the photo in voting mode. Our team reviews every report and hides entries that violate the theme or content rules.
What can be won?
Every competition awards three places, decided purely by community votes. First place puts your winning photograph on the galleries front page as the hero image for 72 hours. Second place puts you at the very top of the artist list for 48 hours, and third place follows for 24 hours — both ahead of every other photographer while their window runs. All three are also featured permanently in the Past winners archive with their winning photo, place badge, final vote count, and a link to their portfolio.
When are winners announced?
A new competition opens every three weeks, running Monday to Friday in London time. When voting closes on Friday evening, the three most-voted photos are recorded as winners. If photographers are tied in the top three, those tied places go to a 24-hour runoff on Saturday and the results are published on Sunday morning. Results, prizes, and final vote counts then appear on the Competitions page under Past winners.
Account & studio
I forgot my password. How do I reset it?
Use the 'Forgot password' link on the sign-in page. We'll email you a reset link that lets you set a new password.
How do I set up payouts as a photographer?
In the Studio, open Payments and connect your payout account. You'll be taken through a short onboarding flow; once it's approved, booking payments are routed straight to you. For the full walkthrough, read the getting-paid guide.
Can I protect my photos from being stolen?
Yes. Photos you upload to your Studio are stored privately and served through expiring links, with metadata stripped. Visitors can still screenshot, but direct-linking is blocked.