Photography Question - Making a Contract!

Here's the latest question... Hi, one more quick question for you. :) I was wondering if you had a lawyer write up your contracts that you have clients sign. I developed my contract by reading every photography contract I could find on the internet and I pieced together my own. Then, I had my brother-in-law (who's a lawyer) look it over to make sure I wasn't missing something incredibly important. After I completed it, I kept changing/updating the contract because new things come up and I'm learning as I go.

I thought of another one...do you have a contract for people to sign asking permission to put there photo's on your website..like a model release contract? For 2007 I explained in the consultation that I reserved the right to use any image, at any time, for any purpose but, for 2008 I'll have all clients sign a model release so that I can put images on istock.com and other websites. I'm planning on expanding this year by making images to available to companies/graphic artists and the rules are pretty strict.

I don't know if you'd be interested in doing the same but, here are the guidelines:

Model Release:

  1. All photographs where an identifiable human face is present require a model release. There are no exceptions.
  2. If the photograph is of a minor (a child under the age of 18), a model release must be signed by a parent or legal guardian.
  3. If the photo is of the photographer (a self portrait), a model release is still required.
  4. A model release should be uploaded with each file. If you're uploading successive shots of the same model, the model release should be uploaded with each shot.
  5. A valid witness signature must appear on the model release. It must be someone other than the photographer.

Note: iStock does not accept digitally created or digitally signed model releases (this includes using script fonts as signatures, e-signatures and scanning signatures and then pasting into the model release).

I hope this is helpful...keep those questions coming.

www.noemiphotography.com

Noemi Hedrick

Noemi Hedrick is a passionate wedding and portrait photographer based in Minneapolis. Noemi loves capturing the beauty inside every person. Her vibrant energy for life, love and family are grounded in her own values and loved ones. Noemi has been proudly serving as a wedding photographer for over 15 years and also offers a wide range of photography workshops for professional and amateur photographers.