Why you should ask your photographer for a contract

I get every one of my clients to sign a contract. Some people are surprised, until I explain that the contract’s main purpose is to document my commitment to delivering their photos within a reasonable time and at the agreed price. Here, I’ll take a look at the main points that should be covered in a photographer’s contract.

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Who, what, where and when

My contract begins by setting out my name and address as the photographer, and the name and address of my client. It explains briefly what I am going to photograph, where the shoot will take place, the date and the start and finish times.

It’s helpful for both parties to have these details down in black and white, in order to avoid any possible confusion.

Price

The contract should clearly state the agreed total price for the services to be provided, as well as the payment conditions – when a deposit needs to be paid, and when the balance is due. I also include a clause covering what will happen if, by agreement with the client, the shoot lasts longer than expected.

The goal here should be to remove any possible uncertainty or ambiguity about the price.

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Licence and copyright

The contract should explain clearly when, where and in what way you may use the images that the photographer delivers, and what rights he or she retains. In my case, clients have an unlimited licence to use the images I deliver as soon as payment is complete. They are not permitted to sell the images, but they can print, distribute, and share them online, or make them available to others to print, distribute and share online, without having to pay anything extra.

I retain the copyright to the images, and the standard version of my contract gives me the right to use them myself. As I usually explain to clients, showing my past work is absolutely essential for winning new work. All the images on this website are displayed with the clients’ permission. Understandably, some clients do ask for complete privacy. I am always ready to respect their wishes at no extra charge, and amend the standard contract to reflect this.

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Delivery

The contract should also make clear what the photographer is going to deliver, and how and when delivery will be made.

I deliver JPEG files – light ones for web and screen, and heavy ones for printing – using a file transfer service. In the contract, I commit to delivering within seven days of the end of the shoot, though in practice I almost always deliver within 48 hours and, by arrangement, even more quickly.

This is a point that is always worth checking. Just yesterday, I photographed a couple who told me that they had waited six weeks to receive their wedding photos, and I have friends who ended up waiting six months for theirs! Whether the photos are from a wedding, a corporate event, or just a portrait session, such delays are totally unacceptable, and I doubt these people would have entered into ageements with the photgraphers concerned if they had known in advance how long they would have to wait.

Copyright, privacy and license

Almost every image on this website is displayed with the subject’s explicit consent. (The few exceptions are images shot in the street.) My standard contract gives the client an unrestricted license to use the photographs I deliver wherever, whenever and however they want. But it also specifies that I retain the copyright of my work, and that I too may use the images in any way that I wish.

When I give the contract to a client to sign I usually point this out, explaining that the only way I can attract new customers is to show the work that I have already done. The great majority understand, and have no problem with this. But a few do object or hesitate – for a variety of reasons, they would prefer me not to use the images I make for them. I always accept this without argument. I simply amend the contract so that although I still retain the copyright, I renounce all rights to use the photographs produced. And – unlike many photographers – I don’t charge anything extra in this case. (Full buy-out, where I give up copyright altogether, is something different. For that I do charge a higher rate.)

I’ve just added two new photo galleries to the site to show my portraits of couples and of children. Understandably, these are the types of work for which clients most frequently ask me for complete privacy. So I am extremely grateful to all those who gave me permission to use these images. Thank you!

A Rolls-Royce, Rotolight and a ring

I’ve had a busy week. It started with a wedding and a pregnancy shoot and finished with a marriage proposal. Between times, I successfully managed a technically challenging half-day session in the offices of a new client. All good.

Rights and copyrights

I put a lot of effort into earning, building and respecting my clients’ trust in me. I am often invited to witness and record scenes and moments of considerable sensitivity, whether personal or commercial. My normal contract gives me the right to use all images myself: “The Client grants to the Photographer the right to copy, reproduce, display, publish and sell the Images for any purpose and in any form, whether in print or digitally, anywhere in the world and without limitation of time.” Many clients have no objection, and understand that showing my past work is the best way for me to win new jobs in the future. But not everyone wants photos of their wedding or their office party to be shared online. I never argue about this. If the client prefers, I willingly amend the contract to explicitly renounce all usage rights, retaining only legal copyright of my work.

It’s for this reason that I won’t be including any images from the pregnancy shoot in this post. (Believe me, they are stunning.) The mother-to-be asked for complete privacy and of course I will respect her wishes. I’ll be going back at the beginning of April to photograph her again with the baby.

Please move the Roller

The wedding was a civil ceremony. When it was over, my clients wanted to make group photos on the steps in front of the building. But the Rolls-Royce that had brought the bride from the following group was parked right at the bottom of the steps. I asked the driver: “Est-ce que vous pouvez gentiment déplacer la bagnole, monsieur?” The equivalent in English would be something like: “Do you mind moving the old banger?” “Bagnole?” he snorted. “It’s a Rolls-Royce.” “I know. It’s gorgeous. I was just joking.” And he did, very kindly, move it away. But not very far, and some of the wedding guests took it over as a cool photo prop.

Technical challenges

The corporate shoot was in the offices of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium. It was a gloomy day so I was pleased to have LED/flash lights from Rotolight with me. But I was working in three different spaces. In two I was able to turn off the fluorescent office lights and use what daylight there was. But in the third a board meeting was in progress and the office lights had to stay on – there was very little daylight there anyway. The beauty of the Rotolights is that I could easily ‘tune’ them, from 3880 Kelvin to match the fluorescent lighting all the way up to 6300 Kelvin to match the daylight. With my camera’s white balance on ‘K’, I just needed to remember to make the equivalent changes there, too, each time I moved from one environment to the other. Getting the colour balance more or less right in camera saved me several hours in post and gave better results.

All’s well that ends well

And finally, the marriage proposal. For once, it really was a secret. Not only had Alex not told her girlfriend she was going to propose, but there was genuine uncertainty whether the answer would be yes. We had plotted for weeks. She would propose on the viewing platform on top of the Cinquantenaire arches. I would be there 15 minutes in advance and would pose as a tourist photographing the panoramic views of Brussels. Happily, I can report that the answer was yes! It was a lovely moment and I managed to capture the surprise, the delight and the tears. I cried myself, but perhaps that was just the wind.

A good week.