When was the last time you reviewed your wedding photography contracts, friend?!

Proper contracts should be one of the first major investments you make in your business. Even before upgrading to higher quality cameras and lenses!

Why?

Most importantly, if anything unexpected happens your contract will protect you legally. It’s also a major difference between a wedding professional and someone who is pursuing photography as a hobby.

Don’t feel awkward about sending contracts when you’re first starting out! And if you’ve been at this for a while now? Don’t head into another busy season without reviewing your contracts! Make sure they’re up-to-date with your current policies.

A good contract does a few things:

• Protects you
• Protects your client
• Sets expectations

Of course, it’s important to note that I am NOT a lawyer. Please consult legal professionals to ensure your business is legitimately protected! That being said, here are a few things I highly recommend you include in your wedding photography contracts:

Important Clauses

1. Usage Rights – detail exactly how your clients can use their photos after they receive them. Copyright laws vary in every country, and you never want to assume that anyone is going to know what that means.
2. Rescheduling + Cancellation Policies – so many things can be learned from what it was like during the pandemic. Having rescheduling and cancellation policies in place is one of them!
3. A Safe Working Environment Clause – as wedding photographers, we interact with all sorts of people. It’s important to protect yourself and set boundaries for what type of behaviour will and will not be tolerated. Don’t forget to also include what will happen in the event a situation occurs where you or your team are unsafe. You may never have to enforce it, but it’s so important to have just in case!

What I Do…

I don’t book a wedding, session, or coaching session without a contract in place at the very beginning. It gives my client information that’s so important for our time together to be successful. That’s not a step I’m ever okay with skipping!

The templates I purchased from The Legal Paige are amazing and I can’t recommend them highly enough! It is a US-based company, but Canadian and international users can change the templates as needed. They are thorough and easy to understand which I love!

Looking for more wedding photography education?! Check out my new podcast! Keeping It Candid: Wedding Photography Unfiltered with Sandra Henderson

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