When you, the bride, finally make that leap of faith :-) and decide on one photographer over all others, in most cases you will be presented with a contract to sign.
"Why do we need a contract?" you may ask yourself. Well, there are two primary reasons: one legal and one practical. I think it's important not to mix up the two as you read the contract for the first time.
The legal reason is obvious: if either of the parties (the bride & groom or the photographer) feels that the other party didn't live up to that party's end of the bargain, the offended party may take the offending party to court and attempt to resolve matters there. Since it is the service provider, the photographer in our case, that provides the form contract to the customer, you will see that there are a lot of provisions there designed to protect the photographer from a particularly litigious customer. You should read the entire contract carefully, but you shouldn't worry yourself silly over those kinds of clauses. If you are concerned, by all means, ask the photographer about the provision that has you up in a knot and even negotiate it, if you feel that strongly. Some photographers will negotiate with you; others won't. It depends on the specific provision that you pick on and how comfortable they are with their own contract. You have to pick your battles and I would suggest worrying more about the "practical" provisions (below) and less about the "legal" provisions. (This is not my legal advice--only my personal common-sense approach.)
Practically speaking, very few Wedding Photography Services contracts are going to end up being litigated in court. It's simply too expensive to go through the legal system to resolve this kind of a dispute, and usually not worth it. Not completely unheard of or impossible, but unlikely. So, again, practically speaking, the reason for a contract from the perspective of the bride is to lay out the actual terms of her agreement with the photographer. You will be surprised to see how small a part of the Wedding Photography Services contract the actual "substantive" terms comprise. :-)
So what are some of the contract provisions that you should care about as a bride:
(1) Price & Options. Starting with the obvious, you should make sure that the price you agreed upon with the photographer is listed in the contract (or a schedule to the contract) and that it lists very clearly the services, products, upgrades, and options that are included in this price.
(2) Payment Schedule. Not only should your contract specify the price, it should also be very clear about the payment schedule. I have yet to see a bride who pays for her entire wedding up-front at the time she enters into the contract. When you enter into the contract, you will pay a nonrefundable retainer (or deposit). That's quite standard. The rest of the payment schedule is not, however. You may be asked to make the final installment payment on the day of your wedding, before you ever see the first photo. Or you may be able to hold on to the last installment until your proofs are ready (giving the photographer an incentive to surface with those sooner). There is no right answer. You should just be clear about what the schedule is and find it to be acceptable.
(3) Wedding Day Details. The time and location when the photographer (and any second photographers and/or assistants) arrive and leave (and not just the sum total number of hours) should be specified in the contract (or a schedule to the contract). If your contract is with a studio that has more than one photographer and you are paying for a specific photographer, that should be in the contract as well.
(4) Timeline for Products. Check that there is a timeline included for when the services and products will be delivered to you and that the timeline is acceptable to you. How soon after the wedding will you receive your proofs? How soon will the album be ready, if you ordered an album?
(5) Privacy. Most contracts will include a "modeling release"--a provision that the photographer may use the photos from your wedding (engagement, trash-the-dress, etc.) for the photographer's portfolio, website, blog, and any other marketing purposes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this provision, and in fact, it's quite standard. However, if you are concerned about privacy and specifically don't want to give the photographer the right to use your photos, you should ask that this provision be changed to this effect. Since in order to get new work, photographers have to show what they've done in the past, and they expect photos from your wedding to help them market themselves, don't be surprised if your photographer requests you to pay extra for your privacy.
(6) Rights in Digital Images. Not to be confused with the prior point, a lot of brides today worry and ask about the "transfer of copyright" in the images from their wedding. Most of them are purchasing a CD/DVD of the images from the wedding and are really only concerned with the ability to (1) use those images on the web (such as on Facebook or their personal home page) and (2) print them for personal use. That is not a transfer of copyright--your photographer is still the copyright holder. But if you are purchasing a CD/DVD of the images of your wedding from your photographer, you should make sure there is language in your contract specifying that the photographer will give you a license to make personal use of the images.
That's all that comes to mind as I try to reverse the roles and think through the Wedding Photography Services contract from the bride's perspective. This is my first attempt to tackle this topic, so if you, either as a bride or a photographer, have any thoughts, comments, or suggestions, I welcome those. Let me know what you think. Obviously this is not a comprehensive guide, but I hope it will make the often too-long Wedding Photography Services contract less intimidating. You know my interest in all this--let's move past the paperwork and start shooting! :-D
Now, you can't have a discussion of anything pseudo-legal these days without a disclaimer, so here goes. The advice, overview and "demystification" of Wedding Photography Services contracts provided here is not meant to constitute legal advice. I am not your lawyer; I am the magician behind the lens. :-) If you are worried about your Wedding Photography Services contract, you should consult an attorney.
Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/
Visit us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
