Wedding Photography Contract

By admin | Wedding Photography
30 Jul 2010

Things You Should Know About Wedding Photography Contract

Congratulation! The bride and groom hire you as their wedding photographer. Now should you give them a contract of the services provided or not? The answer is yes you should. Written wedding photography contracts not only protect you as photographer, but also protect your client.

A contract is a good business practice to follow for the photographer as a business person. Therefore the services will be rendered smoothly and problem free, just like wedding photography checklist guides you to accomplish your objective. On the other side, for the client, a contract is solid assurance for the commitment to conduct the affair as agreed and expected.

Basically, there are a few term and inclusions that you should put in a contract.

A wedding photography contract should state information about the client’s name, type of services to provide, date and time of the events, location of the ceremony, and signatures of both parties involved.

Another part of the contract establishes the term of payment. Here the photographer can specified the amount charged for the services. Usually a deposit was paid prior to the wedding in order to book an appointment. You can add the cancellation policy for the deposit, if there is any {usually there is no refund due to cancellation by the client). For wedding photographers, full payment is expected on the wedding day.

Last but not least, the agreement should include type of product and its copyright. Are the client entitled to final prints only, or did they also get the CD/proofs of all pictures? Will you get the rights of the prints? The term should be clear to avoid future conflict for both sides. Usually photographers use photo images from their work as a portfolio and business promotion that is because photograph is a form of creative expression, and it is protected by the law. So the right to use those photos taken (republish, advertise and sell) lies in the hand of the photographer. Make sure your client agree and understand this arrangement.

These are only a few critical issues to consider in building your wedding photography contract. You can add other issues such as insurance policy, travel cost policy etc. Protect your client, and they will help you protect your business and your ongoing career as photographer.