We got called out by a client once…

It was our first few years of photographing weddings and things were really starting to take off. But after we met with this one couple, we got our first “hey…can we hop on the phone and talk about your contract?” email. 

Gulp.

On that call, the groom (who was a lawyer) told us that they really wanted to work with us but there was no way they could sign our contract. No, they weren’t nitpicking little clauses – he essentially said the whole thing was trash.

And it was. 

I had frankensteined my contract together based on a bunch of free wedding photography templates I found online.

And apparently…according to the language in my contract, he said I could go around intentionally hitting everyone with my light stand and not get in trouble…

Whoops… not my intention at all.

This couple proposed a $1200 discount on their wedding photography package in exchange for a new contract. This was HALF of their collection price, which was HUGE for us at the time. But I knew it had to change…

So, we took them up on it and we got a customized contract that made us legally legit. 

Hi by the way, I’m Cassie Torres, a copywriter for female photographers and creative entrepreneurs. I’m not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice – I’m just sharing my experience after photographing weddings for a decade, including what we put in our own wedding photography contract. I’ve also teamed up with The Legal Paige so you don’t have to make the same mistakes we did!

Do wedding photographers need contracts?

Ok so maybe you’ve learned from my story to not write a crappy contract. Got it. But what about just not having a contract at all? Maybe you understand that a frankenstein contract can invalidate itself, so why even try? Why not just forgo the contract all together?

Well…maybe not the best idea.

Sure, an email thread might be able to hold up in court as an agreement between you and your client, but why not take the professional route and fully protect both of you by having a contract that lays out all the expectations and procedures. Let me explain…

What are the benefits of having a wedding photography contract?

Other than just making you look professional, a solid wedding photography contract can manage client expectations and even launch you into the next phase of your business.

Increase professionalism and client protection

If I’m handing over thousands of dollars to someone, I’m gonna want them to have a contract. I want to feel safe and secure knowing that my money isn’t just going into the void somewhere and I want my clients to feel this way as well. By having a legit contract, it increases your professionalism. You’re not just a hobbyist with a camera but a business person who wants to do things right. A contract shows that you treat both your business and your client with respect. 

Manage client expectations and procedures

This is the mothership document – the place you can always point back to when you get questions about what your clients can expect. From image delivery to what happens if it rains, your policy on RAW photos to how you handle archives, you can lay it all out here!

Quit your day job (maybe)

You know what happened thanks to our contract overhaul?

I was able to confidently quit my teaching job just MONTHS after booking that couple and getting our new contract. (I also raised my prices, don’t worry). 

Having a contract that was buttoned up, professional, and lawyer approved gave me the confidence to book more clients and finally take my business full time.

What should I include in my photography contract for weddings?

Whether you decide to be brave and go the DIY route, purchase a template from an online lawyer like the Legal Paige, or hire your own lawyer to create one from scratch, here are some clauses that you should be sure to include in your wedding photography contract:

Fees and retainers

Here’s the place where you can clearly lay out what your clients will be paying, including any deposits, retainers, and payment plans. 

Since I’m not a lawyer, I’m gonna refer you to the legal Paige who has a great explanation of when to use deposit vs. retainer.

What we did for years was 25% to book and then three more payments of 25%.

It kept money consistently coming in before the wedding and spaced it out enough for the couple. Easy peasy.

What happens if there is bad weather on the wedding day

Your couple should have a rainy day plan with their venue, and you need a rainy day plan for photography as well. You can outline what this means for your gear as well as what this might mean for lighting. 

If the couple wants to be wild and free and get soaked on their wedding day, good on them. Guest experience aside (I probably wouldn’t want to attend such a wedding), what does that mean for you and your gear? Can your camera’s weather sealing handle a hurricane?

This clause also manages expectations with where photos will be taken if it rains. If all photos have to be moved inside, your client needs to understand that the photos may not look like the golden hour in a field vibe they were hoping for. 

Likewise, you should include that you can only capture the wedding that happens.

Weather aside, other things may fall out of your control like hair and make up delays, missing or uncooperative guests, inadequate lighting, etc. You’re there to document what happens – you’re not a magician or an orchestrator of details.

Take this opportunity to also recommend your favorite wedding planners so all the details are taken care of!

Artistic style

Your client needs to understand that they are hiring you for your artistic style. You can briefly describe it here like light and airy…photojournalistic…cinematic….dramatic etc. 

Remember #sepiagate? The tiktok bride who was unhappy with the editing style of some of her photos?Whether or not you agree with her gripe, you have to admit that the editing style was consistent with what the photographer produced. Having your clients acknowledge that they are hiring you for your style is crucial.

If they hire you and then all of a sudden are requesting that you edit dark and moody when your style is clearly light and airy, then that’s no good. 

Side note: you should always send your client FULL wedding galleries that show your style and skill in all lighting scenarios. This helps set up their expectations for what they can expect from you. 

If you only show golden hour glorious photos on your instagram, they’ll probably be a bit disappointed when their indoor family photos don’t look like that. Or if you never share reception or indoor photos publicly, they may be disappointed that their getting ready or reception photos don’t match the outdoor photos you take. 

Raw image handling

While we’re on the topic of #SepiaGate…let’s chat about RAW image handling. If I remember correctly, Sepia bride wanted all the raws so she could edit them herself. 

It’s totally fair for a photographer to NEVER allow their clients to access the raw images. It’s like the first draft of your manuscript, or the ingredients that go into your award winning cake. Because you own the copyright (see below), you are handing over your own rights. 

This clause can also discuss how you handle all the raws. Include the fact that not every image will make the final cut. Duplicates, unflattering looks, test shots, or other ways they don’t fit your quality standards will hit the cutting room floor. 

Timeframe of photo delivery 

Lay it out plain and simple when your client can expect their full gallery.

NEVER say “within 6-8 weeks” because then they will be expecting it by the 6 week mark so if you happen to deliver on week 7, it will already feel late (even though you were technically a week EARLY).

Instead, set the expectation for the MAX they can expect to wait without any hint at the minimum – this way when you’re able to deliver early, it’s an unexpected treat for your client! 

Another hot tip: in every follow up email, reiterate whatever you have in this clause. Chances are they won’t have it memorized or printed and framed above their bed. For example, after you photograph their engagement session, you say “I had such a wonderful time photographing you two today! As a reminder, your sneak peeks will be delivered within one week, and your full gallery will be delivered by X date.” 

We’ve done these two things and have NEVER received a “hey…when can I expect my pictures” email in a decade. 

Maintaining copyright ownership of your photos

Even though the couple is hiring you for their wedding, you still own the copyright of any photo that you take! What legally happens here is that you give your clients a personal license to use the photos for basically whatever they want – sharing, printing, circulating hilarious photos of Uncle Sal in the family email chain.

You can give them personal printing rights up to a certain size, meaning they can print the images wherever they want (Walgreens, Costco etc.) up to 8×12 size, and anything above that, they should order through you so you can make sure they are getting the highest quality.

If a client wants the copyright for the images, it should cost them accordingly, because you are giving up your ownership rights to them. Once they own the copyright, they are then able to do whatever they want with them, including selling them for monetary gain. 

Sometimes all they want is to not have the images shared, which brings us to our next clause…

Model Release

Hot take: it’s okay if your client doesn’t want to sign the model release. Some photographers might charge a fee to remove the model release because that means they can’t advertise or share the photos at all. But here’s the thing…it’s the couple’s wedding day and they are not responsible for your marketing. Set your ego aside and serve your client.

In fact, it’s actually pretty freeing to shoot only for the couple and not for the gram.

If you need help shifting gears into a Client-Focused brand, I am here to help you narrow it down with my Client-Focused Brand Guide. I’ll interview your favorite clients to find out just what they love about you so you can hire more just like them, even if they won’t let you share their images! 

Exclusive photographer

You’ve done all the work to book the couple, prepare them for their photos. You’ve made the timeline, gotten to know them at their engagement session, lugged your gear to their wedding, found the best light, and then…the bride’s cousin who is a budding photographer shows up and follows you around…or gets in the way…or posts the images first…or steals the couple during your allotted portrait time.

You might be all easy going and loosey-goosey and like “who cares who shows up with a camera!” And sure…it’s true…guests are allowed to bring cameras and have fun taking photos at their loved ones wedding. It can get tricky though in a few situations…

You can avoid these things when you are the only photographer for hire: 

• Conflicts with who is in charge of posing and location etc.
• Timeline issues if the other photographer needs private time with the couple
• Copyright issues – who really owns the image if you set everything up and someone else is just shooting over your shoulder?
• Sharing photos – We’re not gonna be able to compete with the sharing speed of a guest with an iphone photo, but it always stings a little when the couple shares DSLR photos from another photographer when you were the one they hired and paid

We love when guests are taking photos at the wedding. It’s all fair game…just don’t get in the way of the hired photographer or shoot over their shoulder. 

What about content creators?

There’s also a new phenomenon in the wedding world in which more and more couples are hiring content creators. These are usually folks who show up, iphone in hand, ready to make the wedding share-worthy. They’ll help the couple create trending reels and get lots of behind the scenes footage.

However, it needs to be made clear that you are the hired PHOTOGRAPHER for this wedding. They shouldn’t be shooting photographs over your shoulder with their phone. If they want to make content over your shoulder, they can do so like a videographer. And if they want to take still photos or direct the couple, your couple just needs to know that this will take away from your time with them and may amend the timeline.

Meals and breaks

Ya gotta eat. And it is reasonable for your couple to allow you to eat (preferably at the time that they are eating…but that’s a whole other conversation to be had with the catering and venue).

We had it in our contract that any wedding event coverage more than 4 hours (which would be like a little elopement) would include a vendor meal. And if they refuse to give you a meal on site, you should be allowed an allotted time to go get a hot meal.

One cannot live on granola bars alone.

Harassment clause

Yes we want to protect you to make sure you get paid, but we also want to make sure you are protected…PROTECTED. My wedding photography experience was unique in that I spent a decade photographing weddings with my 6’4” husband. I had one or two weird experiences with drunk guests over the decade, but I know that this isn’t the norm for so many female wedding photographer who find themselves on a late night dance floor.

So girl (and guy! I know this isn’t gender exclusive), I want to make sure that you are protected!

If you need to leave because you are concerned with your own safety, I want you to LEAVE. And I want you to make sure that you are protected in the event that you couldn’t finish photographing the wedding because a guest (or anyone else!) was harassing you. 

A clause like this will include a procedure for what happens if a guest makes you feel unsafe. Something like telling the couple, having the guest removed, and then finally leaving yourself if it isn’t resolved.

Limitation of liability

This is the clause that I THINK was worded so incorrectly that I was allowed to beat up the wedding guests and not be held liable. What the limitation of liability clause does is cap the amount that you owe in case something goes wrong – like losing files, equipment malfunctions etc. Your couple can’t sue you for a million dollars if their photography collection was only $5000. 

Archiving

Confession: I still have every single photo I’ve ever taken since 2013, backed up on an external hard drive and in Backblaze, my cloud backup system. I’ve had hard drives fail, which I’ve had replaced and recovered, but now that I’m retired from weddings, I will probably just let them keep failing. 

Maybe you’ll go overboard like me and back up and archive every photo ever taken. But maybe you want to be a more reasonable and sane person and include a time frame in your contract.

Fun fact: my contract actually says I will keep their photos for 90 days.

The main thing is that it’s up to the couple to keep their photos safe. This is a plug for making sure they print their photos or order an album from you. They can also order a USB drive with all their photos and back up to their own cloud storage or hard drive system. 

If something happens on their end and they lose their photos in 10 years, it’s not on your head to keep a copy of them…especially if you close your business by that point.

Rescheduling

Let’s all cross our fingers that there isn’t another mass-illness-that-shall-not-be-named reason why weddings will be mass rescheduled. 

BUT…stuff happens. Family members get sick. Babies get made. Weddings may need to be rescheduled from time to time.

This type of clause will lay out what happens in the event a client needs to reschedule their date. You can include any fees, the timeline for when they can reschedule (like, within the year, not the next decade), and if you will uphold the current pricing or if they’ll be subject to your then current pricing.

This way they know that if things need to change, they can…there are just some rules.

Which leads me to another one…

How to cancel your wedding photography contract

We’ve had it happen only one time where a couple canceled their wedding before it happened. It’s always super duper sad and also completely out of your control. In your original contract you should have language and a procedure/fees for a cancellation, but then you also need a separate cancellation contract that voids the relationship and original contract.

The Legal Paige has a simple wedding photography cancellation contract HERE so you don’t have to guess! 

Don’t do it yourself – go to the Legal Paige (and use my discount code!)

So now that you know the big things you need to include in your wedding photography contract, it’s time to get cracking!

You can either

1. DIY your contract (not recommended)

2. Hire a lawyer to create one from scratch (the going rate is around $3000 these days) or

3. Purchase a lawyer crafted template to get you started. (My recommendation!)

Purchase a full lawyer drafted contract template online for a fraction of the cost and then bring it to a local lawyer to just have a look over. You’ll want to make sure there isn’t anything that needs to be amended for your particular state.

This will save you the most money! You don’t have to spend $1200 (or more!) like we did. My friend, the Legal Paige, has all the contracts you need for your wedding photography business.

Plus, with a 10% discount when you use code CASSIET10, you have no excuse!

This is a nobrainer. Grab the contracts you need to make your wedding photography business legally legit and boost you AND your clients’ confidence.

Never get called out by your clients like we did! Happy Booking!