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The best photography contract template collection

Professional photography contracts protect your business by laying out the terms and conditions of your agreement from the get-go. By using HoneyBook’s photography CRM software, you and your clients can sign contracts online to get sessions scheduled faster.

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Photography Contracts for Photographers

Design your ideal photography contract

Working with a lawyer is the safest bet when it comes to writing up a contract for your photography business but there are other means of getting a professional, legally-binding photography contract in place. With HoneyBook, you can use contract templates created by attorneys. Just customize the design and content, and share easily from a single dashboard. Have your clients sign your agreements online for faster session scheduling.

Photography Contracts for second shooters

Create your own photography contract for free

If you’re looking to go the DIY route, HoneyBook has a set of free downloadable photography contract templates for you ton customize to create professional client contracts. Select the sample contract that matches your business needs, customize it with your design elements, and populate it with your legalese.

General photography contract Invoice
General photography contract Invoice

General photography contract

Designed for every type of photography niche -- including commercial, wedding, portrait, and stock photography -- this photographer contract template can be customized to any style preference.

Services agreement Invoice
Services agreement Invoice

Services agreement

Establish clear terms for services with a general/standard contract made for independent contractors.

Styled shoot photography contract Invoice
Styled shoot photography contract Invoice

Styled shoot photography contract

Whether you regularly collaborate with other photographers, or you’re preparing for your first styled shoot, this contract template will help you cover all your bases.

Model release photography contract Invoice
Model release photography contract Invoice

Model release photography contract

No matter who you’re photographing, this model release form template will ensure you have permission to publish your photos, share them in your portfolio, and create custom marketing materials without liability risk.

Event photography contract Invoice
Event photography contract Invoice

Event photography contract

Useful for small birthday parties and large corporate fundraisers alike, this photography contract template has all the elements you need to reach an understanding with your clients ahead of time.

Snag HoneyBook’s free photography contract templates

Designed exclusively for professional photographers, HoneyBook’s photography contract templates for weddings, real estate, events and so much more, come equipped with all the fields and customization options you need to create polished contracts for your sessions. Created by attorneys, our contract templates allow you to take the stress out of the agreement process and get on with doing what you do best - capturing those special moments.

HoneyBook’s Free Photography Contracts
HoneyBook’s Free Photography Contracts

The best software for photography contract templates

When you’re responsible for photographing once-in-a-lifetime events, precious moments, and content for digital marketing campaigns, you need to have contracts in place to protect your business and give your clients peace of mind.

HoneyBook goes beyond being just a photography CRM software. You can create and send professional photographer contracts in a matter of minutes. Using the photography contract templates available for use, build out the agreements to include your specific terms and conditions, such as payment requirements, photoshoot and editing timeline, and client responsibility.

HoneyBook also helps you manage your entire clientflow, so you can share your contracts along with your invoices and payment processing to make the process easier on everyone.

As a result, you'll spend your time capturing your clients’ important memories, rather than arguing over session details and stressing about potential lawsuits.

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Why you need a photography contract template

When you have a photography contract in place, it solidifies your right to use and sell your images in writing, and it protects your business against payment disputes and liability issues. At the same time, it gives your clients peace of mind that you’ll hold up your end of the agreement.

But if you don’t know what to look for in a photography contract template, you can end up wasting a lot of time creating a document that won’t actually protect you.

So, to make things a little easier for you, here’s a list of 8 things every photography contract template should include:

  • Both parties’ full legal names
  • Both parties’ full legal names
  • Your client’s contact information, including phone number, email address, and physical address
  • Photoshoot details, the agreed date, time, and location of the event
  • Payment terms and additional fees (for added requests like travel, extra photographers, and videography), as well as payment due dates
  • Your cancellation policy and refund or discount terms
  • Built in photography model release forms and standard liability indemnification clauses
  • Your client’s responsibility to your contractual agreement
  • Space for you and your clients signature

How to create a photography contract

Creating a secure contract can be intimidating if you don’t have a legal background, but it doesn’t have to be with the right tools and templates. In fact, with HoneyBook’s contract management tools, you can draft up professional photography contracts in a few simple steps.

Choose a photography contract template
Choose a photography contract template

Choose a photography contract template

Start by selecting a contract template that best fits your business model from HoneyBook’s collection. Then, adjust the design to fit your brand and company theme.
Populate the document with your terms and conditions
Populate the document with your terms and conditions

Populate the document with your terms and conditions

Enter your payment terms, copyright ownership, liability indemnification, deliverables, due dates, and cancellation policy. Then, direct HoneyBook to autofill information to avoid errors.
Share and sign online
Share and sign online

Share and sign online

Once you have a comprehensive contract, share it with your clients online. They can review and sign it from HoneyBook’s client portal effortlessly, and you’ll get a notification the moment their e-signature is submitted.

5 popular contracts for photographers

From basic photography contract templates to image licensing agreement forms, there are a lot of online contract options available to photographers. As a result, it can be difficult to know exactly which document is the best option for safeguarding your photography business against disagreement and lawsuits. Below we share the most popular types of photography contract templates to support your business.

1

A commercial photography contract speaks to the unique relationship a photographer has with a commercial business and includes specific legal forms like an image licensing agreement. These contracts are best suited for brand, product, food, and architecture photoshoots.

2

A portrait photography contract is designed to lay out the terms and conditions of the photoshoot and protect photographers against potential liability arising out of copyright disputes, image usage, and payment issues. These are ideal for family portraits, model shots, and virtually all other types of portrait sessions.

3

A model release photography contract specifically focuses on your right as a business owner to use the model’s likeness in any way you choose. It provides you with coverage to add the images to your portfolio, add them into your marketing materials, and otherwise share them, these contracts are necessary anytime you photograph people.

4

An event photographer contract template is made to simplify the agreement between you and your client when you’re hired to shoot a large celebration. As with a model release contract, event photography contracts often include photography release forms to help you get legal permission to use the images for your own purposes. They can be used for any type of event, such as an anniversary celebration, a birthday, and a graduation party.

5

A wedding photographer contract, like other templates, include the standard terms and conditions sections needed to get a legally binding agreement in place. This includes space for your cancellation policy, refund policy, start and stop times for the session, payment requirements, and final deliverables.

How to personalize a general photography contract

While legalese goes a long way in making your contract look professional, it can come across as dry and impersonal on a blank background. Visually branding your photography contracts takes the administrative side of your business to the next level by reinforcing your unique style and helping you provide your clients with a consistent brand image.

Personalizing can actually be done quite easily with the right tools, as well. Here’s how to do it within HoneyBook's photography CRM software.

  • Pick a template from HoneyBook’s photography contract examples
  • Select a background color that matches one of your brand colors, ideally one of your neutral brand colors to make the contract text easy to read
  • Swap out the stock image in the banner with one of your own photos to showcase your skills and reflect your style
  • Change the text color to match your primary brand color and use an accent color for your headers to give your contract an extra pop of color
  • Upload your logo into the designated space to give your contract the final touch

HoneyBook’s photography contract features

Free photography contract templates

Grab a professional photography contract template free of charge from HoneyBook’s collection. Select the sample photography agreement you like the best (and that fits your business model). Then, you can edit it online to fit your needs.

Customizable design

Play with the contract design elements using HoneyBook’s dashboard. You can trade out the generic banner image for one of your custom photographs, upload your logo, and adjust the font and background colors to match your branding. With HoneyBook, branding your photography contracts only takes a few clicks.

Pre-written terms and conditions

Take the headache out of contract writing by using the standard liability indemnification, intellectual property, force majeure, severability, and photography release form text that comes with HoneyBook’s photography contract templates. Get the sign off from your legal counsel and send it over to your clients for their signatures.

Smart fields

Populate your photography contract template with your clients’ information automatically, using HoneyBook’s smart fields. All you have to do is select the field you want to edit and enter the field value. The contract will update instantly and the formatting won’t be changed in the slightest.

HoneyBook’s Simple Photography Contract Features
HoneyBook’s Simple Photography Contract Features

Photography contract FAQ

Why do I need a photography contract?

How do I write a photography contract?

Why should I not write my own photography contract?

How do I start a photography business and find photography clients?

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Do I need a photography contract?

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