You became a photographer because you wanted to take pretty pictures and create. But now you run a legit business, pay your taxes and need to protect it. You pray you never actually need to use it, but you need a contract.
You’re probably thinking, well yea you’re a Wedding Photographer it’s a big deal! And you would be right, but I use a contract for any type of session I do! Yup even those sweet family sessions!
Here are a few reasons why contracts matter:
They set expectations.
Have you ever gone into a verbal agreement with someone and suddenly your expectations aren’t being met? This comes from not laying it out in the very beginning. I want my clients to know exactly what they can expect, from my time to what I do with the images. I want them to know up front what would happen if the need to reschedule should arise. How long they can expect to wait for their session etc.
They protect your client as well as you.
My contract is made to make sure my client is protected as much as I am! I want my clients to feel a peace of mind that I have promised not just verbally but with a legal contract that I will follow thru with what they expect.
If you ever need it it’s there.
I hope to never have to use my contract. So far I have not. But there may have been a handful of times that I had to refer to it. That is usually enough for everyone to be satisfied. I pray that the expectations I set are so clear that having to use my contract in a legal setting would never happen. But it’s there in case something goes wrong.
Where do even start with this whole contract thing??
FREE: Jotform.
And for my Wedding Clients, the contract is built into my client management system, Shootflow, and was written by an attorney.
I also highly recommend checking out The Law Tog by Rachel Brenke. Even just joining her forums and subscribing to her newsletter is super helpful.
I cannot and will not give you any legal advice for sure, so if you have questions regarding contracts I highly recommend meeting with an attorney to make sure your contract is a legal one!
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