By Tata Rossi 11 days ago, Photography Tips
If you are searching for a good product photography services contract template for your business, this post will be of great help to you. Contracts are very important for professional product photographers as they protect your and your client’s interests.
Thanks to a contract, photographers and their clients are in equal conditions, which should satisfy both sides during cooperation. The product photography contract also lists all the stages of the working process.
It can be quite difficult to find a good product photography contract template if you have never used it before. Such contracts contain detailed information about your agreement. In this article, you can find 3 templates that will come in handy for anyone who deals with Amazon product photography or any other type of shooting.
Use this template if you want to customize your contract. In the draft, you can write your information and create editable sample paragraphs. The template has empty fields for indicating the price, name, and other details that are important in product photography.
The detailed contract includes a full description of all the most important points, which allows it to protect both a photographer and a client. Besides, this contract is rather universal and will be suitable for photographers who are interested in any type of photography.
This template allows you to indicate details of your product photography project. It is not suitable for other photography genres. For more convenience, save it in PDF format and make sure the file is editable. This way, you and your client will be able to sign it digitally if needed.
However, this template doesn’t have a professional look. You can add file parameters to the payment list so that your clients could know what services they pay for.
This contract briefly describes important aspects of the working process, from the beginning to the end. The fill-out fields are marked with lines so you don't need to waste time looking for the required lines and can get started as quickly as possible.
It’s a great product photography contract for those who work with fine art images. If you are going to shoot a statue, artifact, or some museum installation, this contract is what you need.
With a properly written contract, your clients are sure that the services you provide are worth the money they paid. When drafting a contract, you can describe clients' expectations about results and deadlines before you start working.
It’s safer to put all the details of the agreement in a written form as it guarantees legal protection.
It’s important to state some details about you and your work so that your clients know what you can offer. Make sure you write the following:
For legal purposes, provide the client’s data too:
Don’t forget to write the correct date and, optionally, the place where you have signed the agreement (city, state).
A product photography contract has to state the type of work, the deadline for the project, and any other deadlines you need to meet. Besides, make sure to indicate the following:
Many photographers don’t mention this aspect in their contracts but it’s better to include it. This way, clients can specify what exactly they want to get as the result, and there won’t be any misunderstanding between them and the photographer about the editing style.
Write down all the changes you want to implement after shooting and indicate what is not included in your product photo retouching services. Also, make sure you state your hourly rate for additional work so that your clients are aware of that.
This is another important aspect to specify in your product photography contract. It has to state the following:
In this section, provide information about the price, deadlines, late fees, taxes, additional costs, and the license. In most cases, photographers don’t grant the licensed rights until they get the full amount. Make sure to indicate it in the contract.
Sometimes a client might need to cancel the project, so remember to include the cancellation conditions and rescheduling terms in your contract.
This way, it will be easier to reach an agreement if any problem arises. Make sure to indicate these aspects:
When drafting a product photography contract, you should indicate how a client will get results.
Make sure your contract has a section that provides the following information:
Usually, you need to use a release form to show photos with recognizable faces. When looking at your product image, a client should see a model's face clearly, so this aspect is really important.
Besides, you need to specify whether you want to use these images in your future work (for example, for your portfolio).
Also, don’t forget to write the date of sending the results to your client so that you both are aware of the deadline.
When working with commercial clients, you have to explain your product photography ideas in detail and state in the agreement that you will hold the photography copyright on these images until you transfer it to a client.
In your product photography contract, it’s important to state how the license renewal work and what you want your client to do when it expires. Only some commercial clients expect that their photographers will give up copyright. This type of photoshoot is called “Work for Hire’” and is popular with small and medium-sized companies. Make sure you indicate your copyright ownership, no matter what type of company you are working with.
Even if you work under a contract, you still might lose your money unless you describe all the important details. If a client eventually loses or damages files, a contract will help you receive payment for the time spent to replace those images. You don’t want to pay your own money for the hard drive and extra shipping. Besides, you need to indicate that you are not responsible for the files that your client loses or damages.
Leave some space at the end of the contract for your and your client’s signatures. You should also indicate the date of signing.
This part indicates the parties involved, states that no other agreements were made, and indicates a fixed amount of costs and how any changes to the project can be made.
You don’t necessarily have to include all these parts in your contract. Together with your client, you should decide what you both want to have there. However, try to describe as many nuances as you can. You need to ensure that all the terms of the contract are clear to your client.
If you still doubt whether you need to use a product photography contract, below, I will tell you about the most important reasons to do so. When drafting a contract, you can indicate your terms and conditions. This way, you can specify the services that you will provide.
Discuss with your client the style, colors, and branding strategy so that you fully understand their goal. You need to ask about the number of pictures, budget, deadlines, place of shooting, clothing for models, and props. Also, ask whether a client wants to use your photos for commercial purposes (e.g. for advertisements, billboards, flyers, etc.).
Sometimes photographers have to spend their money on transportation or extra equipment because they didn’t include it in a contract. When drafting a contract, you need to include the payment for the studio and equipment. If your client wants to hire more models, makeup artists, and stylists, make sure to tell them about possible extra fees.
Contracts protect commercial photographers from spontaneous requests from clients. If they want to have a longer photo session, you can ask for an additional fee if it was mentioned in the contract.
A formal agreement will allow you to protect yourself from any troubles. Thanks to a contract, both a photographer and a client will be protected from risks. The contract legitimizes and completely regulates the relationship of both parties.
After selecting a product photography contract template, you need to customize it so that it suits your brand and meets your client’s requirements. It will help you save time in the future.
This is a contract for images that will be used to sell or promote a business or organization.
Nowadays, many people think that after hiring a photographer, they own the images. However, this is not true. Thanks to a contract, photographers can notify a client about copyright ownership.
The price for e-commerce product photos ranges from $20 to $50 per photo depending on the level of difficulty. A creative photoshoot might cost $500 – $3000 per day plus additional costs.
You definitely can. However, there might be some mistakes. For instance, many such contracts say that a client has to pay a deposit first and then make the final payment after receiving photos.
