Don't Let This Happen to You Without a Photography Contract

While it is possible to operate a photography business without a contract, it is definitely not recommended. Not only can it land you in legal trouble, it leaves way too much room for miscommunication between you as the photographer, and your client. 

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When you are just starting out as a beginner photographer, it may only be a hobby for you. Most don’t have intentions of it ever becoming a paid occupation like myself 20 years ago. Then one day you realize that there is a great potential to making this little photography hobby an actual job. 

Why do we need photography contracts?

Besides the obvious that a contract protects us and our clients legally, it reiterates the terms you and your client have agreed to for the entire process of your photography session. Our process becomes second nature to us. But all our clients are thinking about is what they should wear, how they want to look, and for some, worrying about if they will look good in their images. 

They don’t typically concern themselves too much with all the small details. And at times, they don’t think about it until an issue presents itself. 

For example, did you specify to your client how long your turnaround time is? Such as, the time it will take you to cull, edit, and get the images back to the client. This is definitely something you need to discuss with your clients, so they know what kind of a timeline to expect. 

What if they just assumed you would have the images done within a week from the session date, but in reality, it takes you two weeks? They could potentially get impatient and upset with you if this wasn’t clearly stated with them in the very beginning. 

The best practice is to let your clients know up front how long you will be getting their images back to them, as well as stating this exact timeline in your contract. That way, if there was any misunderstanding, you can refer back to the contract that they signed as a reminder. 

Having your process clearly stated in the contract will eliminate any chance for miscommunications between you and your clients. 

Another scenario would be if you happen to have a not so ideal client. They might try to get more from you than what was verbally agreed upon. Again, having a contract that clearly states your process, and what they can expect from you, helps to avoid that awkward confrontation. 

One more really good example! Have you ever had a client that took your images and put their own spin of editing on the images you delivered to them? You can politely remind them that the contract they agreed to and signed, prevents them form altering the final work you delivered to them. 

 Where do we as photographers get contracts?

As photographers, we wear many hats in our business to keep it running, but we are not lawyers. Therefore you should never write up your own contract. Absolutely you should jot down notes of what you want in your contract. You can pay an attorney to draw one up for you, which is the ideal way to go about it. However I know that if you are a beginner, you more than likely don’t have the funds to justify paying for attorney services just yet. 

You can start out by using a template like the ones that BP4U offer in their store. 

“All contracts can be completely customized to fit your photography needs. We provide the pre written contract template and you fill it in with your photography business information. “

After you have made the changes to fit your business, you should at least consider having a lawyer in your state/county, look it over to verify it complies with your state. 

How do we send contracts to our clients? 

When I first started my photography business, I would print out my contracts to mail and send them to my clients to sign and return. I quickly realized how important it was to not only my time as a business owner and to make my process easier for my clients, I transitioned to using an online service called JotForm. 

JotForm is an online digital contract signing system. All I did was copy my contracts from the word documents, and paste it into my JotForm form. Then all I have to do is select the sharing link option, and send it in an email to my clients. They Look it over, sign it, and hit the submit button that is in the form, and it gets sent directly to my email.  

I love how easy and fast it is, especially for my clients. I strive to make my process easy for them! 

Photographers that use contracts in their business are ten times more likely to be viewed as a professional, and respected! 

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