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Photography contract template

A photography contract has to do something most freelance contracts do not: protect a specific date. Everything here hangs off that — the non-refundable booking fee, the reschedule terms, the weather clause, and the limit on what happens if the worst does.

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This page's agreement text is saved as your default contract template. Your studio and client names, the project, deliverables, revision rounds, timeline and fee are fill-ins from your workspace and the scope; the governing-law jurisdiction stays a blank you write in, on Pro, before the agreement can be marked ready to sign.

You are selling a licence, and keeping the copyright

Unless you have specifically agreed to sell them, the copyright stays with you and the client buys a defined licence: which images, what uses, which territories, for how long. Write the licence in one paragraph a non-lawyer can read. The most common expensive mistake in photography is a client who genuinely believed “we paid for the photos” meant they owned them, because nobody ever wrote down what they bought.

The deposit holds the date, so it does not come back

When you accept a booking you stop selling that day. Say the retainer is non-refundable and explain why in one sentence — clients accept it far more readily when the reason is stated. Then be generous about the thing that costs you nothing: one free reschedule with reasonable notice, subject to availability, and a weather clause on outdoor work.

Cap the disaster clause at a number you could survive

Cameras fail, cards corrupt, people get ill. The industry-standard position is that if you cannot deliver, your liability is limited to a refund of the fees paid and reasonable efforts to find a replacement photographer. This is the clause a wedding client is most likely to question, so be ready to explain that no photographer can insure a once-only event for its emotional value — and carry professional indemnity insurance anyway.

Photography law is unusually local

Model release requirements, image rights, consumer-contract rules for private clients, and enforceable cancellation terms all vary by jurisdiction — and private-client work is often subject to consumer protection rules that commercial work is not. Adjust the numbers to your business and have a local lawyer review it before you use it for a high-value booking.

The contract template

Free to copy and use: nothing to download, no email required. Copy the whole thing, or select the parts you need. Replace anything in [SQUARE BRACKETS] with your own details; the numbers and dates are examples, so change them to yours before sending anything.

Photography contract template

PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES AGREEMENT

Made on [2026-02-10] between:

CLIENT: [Client full legal name or entity], of [address] ("Client")
PHOTOGRAPHER: [Your legal name or studio entity], of [address]
("Photographer")

1. THE BOOKING
1.1 Event or shoot: [description — e.g. "wedding ceremony and reception"
    / "half-day commercial portrait session, 8 subjects"].
1.2 Date(s): [2026-06-13]. Coverage: [10:00] to [20:00], [10] hours.
1.3 Location(s): [venue name and address], [second location].
1.4 Crew: Photographer plus [1 second cameraperson] / [no second cameraperson].
1.5 Deliverables: [approximately 400–600 edited images in a private
    online gallery, colour corrected, with 40 selected images retouched
    to final finish].
1.6 This booking reserves the date(s) above exclusively for Client.

2. FEES AND PAYMENT
2.1 Total fee: $[4,200.00], plus expenses under 2.5.
2.2 Booking retainer: $[1,400.00], due on signature. This is
    non-refundable — on accepting the booking Photographer stops
    offering the date to anyone else.
2.3 Balance: $[2,800.00], due [14] days before the shoot date /
    [14] days after delivery. Delete whichever does not apply.
2.4 Late payment accrues interest at [1.5]% per month, or the maximum
    permitted by law in [jurisdiction] if lower.
2.5 Expenses billed at cost with receipts: travel beyond [50] miles of
    [base] at $[0.67] per mile, parking, permits, accommodation where an
    early call requires it, and any hire equipment agreed in advance.
2.6 Overtime beyond the coverage hours in 1.2 is $[250.00] per hour,
    requested by Client on the day and payable with the balance.

3. RESCHEDULING, WEATHER, AND CANCELLATION
3.1 Client may reschedule once at no charge with at least [30] days
    written notice, subject to Photographer's availability. The retainer
    transfers to the new date.
3.2 A second reschedule, or any reschedule with less than [30] days
    notice, incurs a rebooking fee of $[400.00].
3.3 Outdoor shoots: if conditions make the shoot unsafe or unusable and
    both parties agree on the day to postpone, the date moves at no
    additional fee. Non-refundable costs already incurred — crew,
    permits, hire — remain payable.
3.4 If Client cancels: the retainer is retained in all cases. Cancelling
    within [30] days of the date also makes [50]% of the balance
    payable; within [7] days, [100]% of the balance is payable.
3.5 If Photographer cannot attend through illness, injury, or emergency,
    Photographer will make reasonable efforts to find a replacement of
    comparable standard at no extra cost to Client. If none can be
    found, Photographer refunds all sums paid, and clause 8 applies.

4. COPYRIGHT AND LICENCE
4.1 Photographer owns the copyright in all images, before and after
    delivery. This agreement does not transfer copyright.
4.2 On payment in full, Photographer grants Client a non-exclusive,
    [worldwide] licence to use the delivered images for:
    [personal, non-commercial use, including prints, albums, and social
    media] / [Client's website, social media, and internal
    presentations], for [perpetuity / two years from delivery].
4.3 The licence does not include: [paid advertising, out-of-home and
    print media, packaging, resale or licensing to others, or use by any
    third party or affiliated brand]. Extensions can be quoted.
4.4 Client may not: sell the images, enter them in competitions as their
    own, remove or crop out a required credit, or apply filters and
    edits that materially alter them. Cropping for format is fine.
4.5 Photographer may use images from this shoot in a portfolio, website,
    social media, competitions, and printed samples, unless clause 4.6
    applies.
4.6 [Optional privacy limitation: Photographer will not publish images
    of [named individuals / minors / the interior of [location]], and
    will remove any published image within [10] business days of a
    written request.]
4.7 Raw and unedited files are not delivered. Photographer's editing
    style, as shown in the portfolio Client selected from, is part of
    the service.

5. DELIVERY
5.1 Preview gallery: within [5] business days of the shoot.
5.2 Full gallery: within [30] business days of the shoot.
5.3 Retouched selections: within [10] business days of Client's
    selection.
5.4 The gallery stays online for [90] days. Client is responsible for
    downloading and backing up the files.
5.5 Photographer keeps a backup for [12] months. Retrieval after the
    gallery closes: $[75.00] per request, subject to availability.

6. ON THE DAY
6.1 Client will provide a schedule, a contact on site, and details of
    any restrictions imposed by the venue by [14] days before the date.
6.2 Client is responsible for obtaining venue permission for
    photography, and for any venue fee.
6.3 Photographer has creative discretion over the images made, working
    within the brief and any must-have list supplied in advance.
6.4 Meals and reasonable breaks are provided for shoots over [6] hours.
6.5 Client will ensure a safe working environment. Photographer may
    stop work where conditions are unsafe, abusive, or unlawful, and
    fees remain payable.

7. RELEASES AND CONSENT
7.1 Client confirms it has, or will obtain, consent from everyone
    appearing in commissioned images for the uses in clause 4, and will
    tell Photographer in advance of anyone who must not be photographed.
7.2 Where a model release is required for commercial use, [Client /
    Photographer] is responsible for obtaining it, and a copy is shared
    with the other party.
7.3 Images of minors are only made and used with the written consent of
    a parent or guardian.

8. LIABILITY
8.1 If Photographer fails to deliver through equipment failure, data
    loss, illness, or any cause outside reasonable control, liability is
    limited to a refund of the fees paid for the affected work, plus
    reasonable efforts to arrange a replacement.
8.2 Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss.
8.3 Photographer's total liability under this agreement is limited to
    the total fees paid by Client.
8.4 Nothing limits liability for death or personal injury caused by
    negligence, for fraud, or where the law does not allow a limit —
    including any consumer rights Client has that cannot be excluded.
8.5 Photographer holds [public liability and professional indemnity]
    insurance and will provide a certificate on request.

9. GENERAL
9.1 Governing law: [jurisdiction].
9.2 Changes must be in writing and agreed by both parties.
9.3 This agreement is the whole agreement between the parties.
9.4 If any clause is unenforceable, the rest stays in force.

CLIENT                             PHOTOGRAPHER
Name: ______________________       Name: ______________________
Email: _____________________       Email: _____________________
Signature: _________________       Signature: _________________
Date: ______________________       Date: ______________________

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