Wedding Contract

[ChowChi-Ching]

Here is what I have on mine....... Is anything missing?? I have done some weddings before but this is the first that is not friend/family...... I want to make sure I cover my bases!



1. This agreement constitutes an order for wedding portraiture services, including the taking of wedding pictures as agreed to by both parties: Katz Photography and Contracting Party (Client). Unless otherwise specified, it is understood that any and all rights to proofs, final or sample prints, thereof shall remain the property of Katz Photography and may be used for advertising, display or any other purpose thought proper by Katz Photography.
2. If Photographer cannot perform this Agreement in whole or in part due to a fire or other casualty, acts of God or nature or terror, or other cause beyond the control of the parties or due to Photographer's illness or injury, then Katz Photography will return all fees to the Client(s) but shall have no further liability with respect to this Agreement. This limitation on liability shall also apply in the event that photographic materials are damaged in processing, lost through camera malfunction, lost in the mail, or otherwise lost or damaged without fault on the part of Photographer. Client(s) agree that an entire wedding cannot be replicated, reenacted or repeated for the purpose of a re shoot and limits Katz Photography's liability to the amount paid under this contract.
3. It is understood and agreed that no other professional photographer will be allowed to photograph or take pictures at the wedding while the Photographer is working.
4. On signing of this agreement by both parties hereto, Katz Photography will reserve the time agreed upon and will not make another reservation for the specific time frame. For this reason, all deposits are non-refundable even if the date is changed or if the wedding becomes cancelled for any reason.
5. The service fee is $_________ which includes _____ hours of photography. A deposit of _$100_ is due at the signing of this agreement, with the remainder to be paid no later then the time of picking up the pictures. No pictures will be released to client until payment is made in full.
I / we, the undersigned Contracting Party, hereby warrant that I am / we are competent to contract in my / our own name(s). I / we confirm that I / we have read the herein agreement prior to its execution and I / we are fully familiar with the contents thereof. This agreement shall be binding upon us and our heirs, legal representatives and assigns. And, we certify that we have received a complete copy of this agreement with all blank lines completed.



Photographer : ________________________________ Date : _______________



Client : ________________________________ Date : _______________


Client : ________________________________ Date : _______________

[AgingEyes]

Here is what I have on mine....... Is anything missing?? I have done some weddings before but this is the first that is not friend/family...... I want to make sure I cover my bases!

1. This agreement constitutes an order for wedding portraiture services, including the taking of wedding pictures as agreed to by both parties: Katz Photography and Contracting Party (Client). Unless otherwise specified, it is understood that any and all rights to proofs, final or sample prints, thereof shall remain the property of Katz Photography and may be used for advertising, display or any other purpose thought proper by Katz Photography.

[snip]

I don't know about the wedding photo business, so it might very well be the regular practice that every one there could be your models in the photos and you can use the photos of them for further profit making in the future. For all that they have to pay you to be your models. Hmmm...not bad.

As a comparison:

http://www.organic-photo.com/index2.php?v=v1

A member here is one of the photogs. Not sure what they mean though by "immediate ownership of digital files".

Hey, you never know, I could be photographing wedding, too

[gahspidy]

I would personally leave out the line "I hope someday to be the person my Chow thinks I am!" from the contract as it might raise some eyebrows. . .

Seriously, here is a website/company that offers contracts and invoice forms. Click on the Free sample pack and select photography. they will send you some sample forms for photographers. they have a couple of different wedding contracts and a few different pay invoices. Worth a look
http://www.nebs.com/nebsEcat/index.jsp

[California L33]

No offense- and I really do mean no offense (please accept my apologies beforehand if I cause offense), the comments below are meant to be jokes, not insults, though the critique is real.

My first question is- when did wedding photographers become such Prima Donnas?

Clause 1- Man, this photographer must be in great demand since he can retain more rights than Annie Liebowitz. What ever happened to the concept of a 'work made for hire'?

Clause 2- Excuses the photographer from taking even the most basic precautions. How about doing work to professional standards and reasonable safeguarding of materials to those same professional standards? If somebody wants to be a pro they should act like one and not be afraid to put it in writing.

Clause 3- After clause 2 gives the photographer the right to mis-address a torn envelope and put every single element in that one envelope, not put his return address on it, leave it in an unlocked car on a hill with the parking brake off, the motor running, and a hungry Chow slobbering on it, he wants to make sure that nobody who can do the job right competes with him.

Clause 4- After clause 2 gives the photographer the right to bail for a hangnail, or an emotional episode or artistic temperament, he expects to get paid even if acts of God, nature, or terror (his own words) postpone the wedding? What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

I'd suggest re-writing it trying to look like a professional with responsibilities as well as well as rights. In a worst case scenario contracts are more likely to be upheld if they're balanced.

[gahspidy]

My first question is- when did wedding photographers become such Prima Donnas?

Probably when a few were sued for everything they have including future profits and their first born because some wimpering Bride claimed that her life was ruined because her wedding day photos did not live up to her dreams and/or the photographer was in a fiery car crash on his way home and lost all the files as well as his equipment and after spending several weeks in the hospital came to realize he lost everything else in a law suit.

In this day and age a contract such as this is not unreasonable.

[California L33]

Probably when a few were sued for everything they have including future profits and their first born because some wimpering Bride claimed that her life was ruined because her wedding day photos did not live up to her dreams and/or the photographer was in a fiery car crash on his way home and lost all the files as well as his equipment and after spending several weeks in the hospital came to realize he lost everything else in a law suit.

In this day and age a contract such as this is not unreasonable.

"Professional standards and reasonable safeguarding," would go a long way in a contract. Since any dispute would likely end up in small claims court where judges assume neither party is legally savvy, a contract which clearly gives one party, a professional, many, many rights, and absolutely no responsibilities, while the non-professional had to pay regardless of acts of God, would likely count for nothing.

My brother is a lawyer. He's told me more than once that two parties can put anything they want in a contract, but it doesn't make the contract enforceable, and the more bizarre and lopsided the contract, the less likely it is to be enforced. (And he said, 'throwing in the kitchen sink' isn't an error only laypeople make; some of the least enforceable contracts he's ever seen have been written by lawyers- probably trying to impress a client and hoping, like 99.9% of all contracts, it never ends up in court).

Look at it this way- nothing will keep you out of court if you have an unreasonable client. "I swear, your honor, I didn't look that fat on my wedding day. He must have done something wrong with his camera." (And that's just the groom's complaint). What you want is a ruling in your favor. Let the judge decide whether the fiery car crash could have reasonably been foreseen by the photographer. (There are nut case judges, too, but my guess is 99 out of 100 would say it couldn't have).