Photography Terms and Conditions

As the creator of your photographs, you inherently own the copyright held in them and they are automatically protected under the Copyright Act 1968 until they are formally assigned.

As such, it’s recommended to specify in your photography terms and conditions that you retain copyright ownership over your photos until the amounts are paid in full and you then assign the copyright over to the clients at that point.

Find out more about copyright infringement here.

Also, you have what’s called moral rights in the photos, which means you have the right to be attributed as the creator of the works. It’s at your discretion whether you wish for your clients to acknowledge you as the photographer of the photographs, for example, when they post photos you took of their wedding on their social media.

Do you use a very specific and unique name or logo to identify your brand as a photographer? If so, you should consider registering your name and logo as a trade mark. In your photography terms and conditions, you should also mention that this is your brand, and your customers are not to use it on photos without your approval.

Find out more about trade mark protection here.

All photographers have a certain style they apply to their photographs and require a certain level of reasonable artistic freedom when capturing and editing their photographs, so it’s important to make your clients aware of this.

You should clearly specify the scope of your services in the photography terms and conditions.

Most photographers’ editing process includes colour grading of the photos, but will you also include cropping or advanced editing/retouching in your services or will this be for an additional fee? For events, does your client have a list of certain shots they require of the event? Are you expected to produce a certain number of photos or spend a certain amount of time taking photos? How will you deliver the photos – as e.g. .jpeg files only or will you provide prints?

It’s important to include how you will charge for your services, whether you require a deposit, how you accept payment and when payment is due.

It’s worth considering what your cancellation policy entails. Is there a certain time period before the event date where a cancellation fee applies? For example, if a client provides less than 48 hours’ notice of cancellation, they are required to pay a cancellation fee.

Keep in mind that the cancellation fee must be reasonable to account for your administrative and other reasonable costs. If it’s too high, it could be considered a penalty and not legally enforceable.

Including a Force Majeure clause is very useful as it essentially states that you, the photographer, are not liable to your client in the event you are prevented from performing your services due to an event beyond your control, such as government restrictions on non-essential trade due to COVID-19 case spikes.

Related Article: Force majeure clauses and COVID-19

There are a number of disclaimers you should include specific to your services, such as:

• Circumstances beyond our control (such as inclement weather, availability and willingness of subjects)
• Equipment and technical failure
• Restrictions are imposed by churches and other venues

There are many more disclaimers we have – the above are just a few to consider.

Your terms and conditions should also include a clause that seeks to limit and exclude your liability to the highest degree possible.