Creatives like us like to think that we know the law. We read something online about copyright infringement or someone’s opinion of contract law based on a Facebook post. Let’s be honest for a second though. When it comes down to it, we don’t know what we are talking about. At the end of the day, if we really want to protect ourselves and our businesses, we had better let a professional help us out with that photography contract.
Most photographers and videographers have made the mistake of not providing a contract to their clients. Sometimes we can get away with it, but all too often we hear stories of clients taking advantage of the fact that no contract was signed or even presented. When we hear these stories we are inspired to put together a contract, but we don’t know the wording to use in order to make it legally binding, as well as provide protection for our business. There are plenty of free templates out on the Internet, but I prefer to have someone who knows what they are doing right of that contract.
That is where Simply Contract comes into the picture. Lynzie, the founder of Simply Contract, holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and is a Northwestern Law School graduate with six years of large law firm experience at the most prestigious firms in the world including Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Sidley Austin LLP. The other founding partner graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and has a JD/MBA from Northwestern Law School. He has also worked at some of the largest and most prestigious law firms in the world.
When Lynzie decided to pursue her passion in photography, she received multiple requests from people in the wedding industry for helping them form their contracts. After much research, she found that there was not an affordable option for quality legal contracts. Like most great businesses, Simply Contract was born out of a need in the industry. They currently offer contracts for all vendors in the wedding industry including florists, caterers, stationers, event planners, photographers, And videographers. They also offer a variety of other contracts for service and creative based professionals.
Are you in need of a photography contract? Contracts from Simply Contract are under five pages, and are user friendly to fill out (on the first page). I feel extremely confident handing these contracts to a client, knowing that Ivy League educated and large law firm trained attorneys crafted the documents.
With regard to the photography contract, it hits on points such as cancellations, liability, model release, social media, editing, loss of files by the client, and even family members getting in the way at the event. I feel comfortable that they have touched on all the issues that I care about with regard to a photography contract.
The other contracts that I was able to view from Simply Contract were the videography contract and the photo and video release form. The videography contract is very similar to the photography contract, and I feel that it also hits on the points that I need to touch on. The photo and video release form will allow you to legally use someone in a variety of publications or uses if they are recognizable in your photos or videos.
As far as price, the longer photography contract and videography contract are currently on sale for $299, and the photo and video release form is on sale for $99. I highly recommend looking into the products from Simply Contract. Whether you are in amateur professional, you owe it to yourself to be legally protected in your creative endeavor.
Check out Simply Contract, and tell them that The Brotographer sent you.