8 Critical Things You Have To Have In A Good Photography Contract

There’s a saying here in America, “It’s not a matter of IF you’ll be sued, it’s WHEN.”

Yes, America more than any other place on earth is sue crazy. And while we could talk for hours on the good and bad of living in a sue crazed country, the bottom line is if you are going to be in business, you have to cover yourself as fully as possible. (And not just in America, around the world too.)

While you always hope you’ll never face the inside of a courtroom over your photography, preparing for it before it happens will leave you in a better position in case the unthinkable happens.

Dig Deeper: Help, My Photography Business Is Being Blackmailed

While I’m not a lawyer, and only a lawyer can fully ensure your contract is sound and will prevent you within your business, there are some ways to move forward to give you protection before you book your very next client.

These are the elements your contract should have.

The Basics

A great contract is going to list the basics up front. Be sure you have:

Your client name(s)

Address

Contact information

Event dates and locations

Your business name

Address

Contact information

Details make it easy to ensure who the two parties are and how you both can be contracted in any situation. [Read more…]

How To Lose A Million Dollars In 3 Seconds

Times are tough. You haven’t received a pay raise in several years. Maybe your spouse has lost a job. Or you are worried about the longevity of your position, and whether it will be there a few short months from now.

So you decide to shoot a few weddings on the side. Weddings are easy; or so everyone says. Even the guy at the camera shop told you it’s a great way to make a little cash.

So you put the word out there on a few free sites – Craigslist, Facebook etc. And you get your first wedding.

You lowball it, and charge $750 for a full day of photography. You promise the bride a CD with her digital files, which means no true cost to you. So the $750 is pretty much all yours. Right?

The day comes, and everything moves along smoothly. Until “IT” happens.

“IT” can be just about anything.

Your camera jams, and with only one camera body, you can’t shoot the rest of the wedding.
You rely on one Flash card, and it’s corrupt. Which means the entire wedding disappears.
You drop your one and only camera, and it quits working.
The bride and groom hate your work.
You take the family outside for family portraits, and the grandmother trips and falls over your tripod and ends up in the hospital with a broken hip.

So your first time photo shoot to make a little extra cash turns into a million dollar lawsuit based on a 3 second error. [Read more…]