Contracts

Jen Roberts
2 min readMar 11, 2021
Photo by Cytonn Photography on Unsplash

A contract is a legal document that binds two parties to an agreement. The document gives protection of rights, sets expectations, and facilitates customer service. There are various types of legal documentation that photographers can use to protect themselves in the act of photography. For example, the contract itself, model releases, and print releases are some of the most common legal docs for a photographer to use to their advantage. It’s important to have a lawyer help facilitate and draft these contracts so that the information the photographer wishes to convey does not get misconstrued.

The contract itself will state the parties involved as well as exchange methods or payment. The goal of a contract is to inform your client of your communications and workflow in a manner that they understand and can respect. Furthermore, model releases contain two important elements: giving use of images for promotional activity or marketing and waiving any form of compensation for use of the client’s face. Any person pictured should sign a model release for legal reasons. Lastly, print releases are licenses and copyrights for intellectual property. Most print releases allow the client to use the images for personal use; however, commercial licenses can also be discussed.

It’s critical for a photographer to thoughtfully consider product delivery agreements in terms of when images/albums will be available to view, as well as payment plans. Funneling the payment through the party who signed the contract is the safest method to receive payment. Most photographers will charge a fee upfront and then a payment plan with installments that follow. To add, late fees will help to keep the client on track with payments. Including third-party documents such as intellectual property, non-solicitation, artistic discretionary, exclusive photographer, and confidentiality agreements will also help to protect the photographer. Once the terms of the agreement have been read, the client must sign the document to show that they agree to the terms. Using free digital signing platforms should be avoided in order to protect your clients' information. In addition, countersigning your contracts should be a regular practice. Overall, contracts are critical for the protection of photographers and the safety of their businesses.

https://expertphotography.com/10-things-your-photography-contract-must-include/

https://youtu.be/DrvoxwEy1-Q

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