Contracts & Releases

In the Professional Photography business it is important to keep track and know about the business and legal side of the industry. Whatever photographs are being taken, as a photographer being paid for produces them, you should protect yourself with a basic contract, stating the intention of the work being done, the whereabouts, pricing and the agreements made between photographer and client. One of the reason contracts are so crucial is anything could go wrong, such as camera equipment not working and any injuries made to yourself or anyone around you. It also makes the job more formal, so that if you are are working with a client that is new, they would know and appreciate the contract being made. 

The basic info on a contract about yourself should be:

• Name/Name of business
• Business address
• Relevant contact information
• An arrea to sign your name.

The clients should be exactly the same, but the date, time and location for whereabouts you are shooting. 

It is also essential to include a clear precise amount of time you will be shooting for. In many cases such as weddings, the photographer often has to work a few more hours than planned because of the reception going on into the evening. You should shoot along as the client needs and plans you to so that the contract stays the way it was intended to. 

Pricing of contracts should be included and will be different every time depending on the photographer, type of shoot and how many hours. The flat rate or hourly rate is different for photographers depending on how they work. It should be as specific as it can be so there will be no confusion about the agreement afterwards. Anything that is not stated in the contract, could result in losing time and money, including everything that comes after the shoot like post processing which should also be covered.

The type of payment should also be stated in the contract and when you should receive the payment. This means how the payment should be delivered, who will be paying you and if you require a deposit. A date to show when the payment is due should be clear and a receipt or invoice is required. The issue of late payments can also arise. Many photographers add a late fee to their contract, showing that the client will pay extra for every day/week they fail to deliver the payment, which the contract should also state what should happen if it is a complete failure to pay as well. Any client should understand and respect this issue as it can happen quite a lot with the wrong clientele, it should come across as professionalism and not greediness. 

The rights to your images and the clients also is necessary to include. The question of who owns the images could result in being a huge problem if not dealt and stated with. Every photographer is different and so many give all rights to the client so that they can do what they will with the images. Others will not give the full rights due to how they could be used after they have finished with the clients, such as the images being printed else where or even being sold on stock photo website ect. An agreement of how the copyright of how the photographer would like the images to be used is definitely a crucial point for a contract, as no photographer would like to see there work being used somewhere where they did not agree too or taken credit for. 

The amount of time the images can take to be delivered to the client, whether it may be printed or just by a USB. The client should know when to expect to receive them as they will want to use them for their own purposes(that are stated in the contract). All the contract needs to say is the amount of time that you will preform your job as the photographer and how you will prepare and post process the images. You and the client should agree on a appropriate time, it is important to give as much time as you need to give the best results that you and the client will be both happy with. 

The collapse of the contract is a possibility that can happen at anytime due to any cause. An emergency could arise and there is nothing that you can do to stop it. However if stated in the contract and protected, this issue can be avoided. An agreement stated in the contract explaining in the event of an emergency or equipment not working that you will return the money to the client and claim no liability.  It is necessary to protect yourself in case of these situations, that will benefit you and your client from any legal battles. It should be a contract that will gain good results that you and the client want and will take interest in.