Photography + Small Business + PIPA and SOPA = Death To An Industry

A couple of weeks ago, I posted Why SOPA/PIPA Affect All Of Us to help you better understand two bills that were before congress and the impact they could have on us all. I’ve been involved in groups for the past couple of years that have been watching and fighting this “concept” as it makes its way through both state and federal levels again and again.

I was happy to see both tabled and not put forward for a vote. But again, they were merely tabled, not stopped. Which means they will surface again. And probably again.

So of course I keep following what people are saying and what industries support these types of bills – and which ones are against it.

I was very surprised a week or so ago when PPA came out with a post on their site and also proceeded to email it out to their members. If you haven’t read it, head over and read it now.

SOPA and PIPA – Don’t Be Fooled

There are many things wrong with this lines of thinking – so many I could literally go line by line. But the one item in particular that stands out to me is:

“So when a behemoth corporate money-maker like Google attempts to stand on the backs of photographers to increase its profits, we as your association take exception.”

Yes I will agree, Google is a huge money making company. Yet they stand up for keeping censorship at bay and work to give everyone free reign to promote and do as they will to make money as a small business. They work to keep the playing field as equal as possible for everyone online. Google isn’t alone – Wikipedia and others all have the same approach to Internet regulation. Which is why a great majority of them went dark to support defeating the SOPA and PIPA regulations. And will continue to do so again and again.

There are two ways of looking at business today: old school or innovative.

The Internet made old school obsolete. If you’ve ever read the book “Who Moved My Cheese”, old school associations and businesses are still in the old store room, looking for “cheese” that has long since disappeared. Yes, there are still ways of making money with old school thinking, but they are drying up quickly. Not just in photography, but in every industry out there – think newspapers and book publishing.

Yet the Internet is what is allowing small businesses to be truly innovative. You can use sites like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Pinterest with simply an investment of time (occasionally a little money) and a whole lot of magic to create a business beyond your wildest dreams. Its you, your innovation, a little time, and magic can truly happen.

Who is threatened by that? Old school businesses who like things the way they always were. We will never go back to the way things were. The only way to move forward is to allow us to keep the playing field as equal as possible.

Here are how others are sounding off

The Foolish PPA is Pro PIPA and SOPA

An Open Letter to David Trust and PPA

Photographers Supposrt SOPA and PIPA?

Open Letter to PPA and David Trust

And a few statistics to show you where others stand:

SOPA and PIPA Internet Blackout Aftermath

What’s your opinion?

A Guide To Creating A Strong Photography Contract

Before you accept payment for another wedding, or book another commercial photography job, make sure you have a strong photography contract in place.

When you’re working with a “friend”, or it seems like a simple job, you may approach it with a handshake and a smile. Yet that may be the time you need a contract the most. While I’m not one to say Murphy’s Law is always in place, there still will be the times when your equipment fails, a mistake happens, or you simply don’t agree on what the final results should be.

Your contract can stop all of that. A contract puts all the details in writing, so in the event something happens, you’ll both have something in place that shows you exactly what was agreed upon from the very beginning.

Keep in mind that different cities, states, and countries have different rules in place. This is designed to give you a guideline to follow when creating a contract; however, check in with an attorney to make sure you are fully covered in the event something goes wrong.

With all of this in mind, lets take a look at the critical pieces of a great contract.

1. Start with the basics

A contract is an agreement between both parties. Therefore put all point of contact information from both parties on the contract. On your side, you’ll need your name and/or business name, the business address, and contact information such as email, phone number and web address. For the client, you’ll need much of the same info: name, address, contact information, etc.

Both parties will need space to sign the contract, and if the contract is more than one page, make sure you both initial every page to verify all of the contents. [Read more…]