Every shoot I take starts with a signed contract, whether it’s headshots, product, or food. Not because I expect trouble, but because it makes sure my client and I picture the same thing: what they get, when, what it costs, and how they can use the photos.
Below is the contract I’d hand a photographer starting out. It’s a plain-English version of the agreements built into Edit, trimmed to the sections that matter on almost every job. Copy it, fill in the brackets, and delete anything that doesn’t fit how you work.
One note first: I’m a photographer, not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice. Laws differ by state and country. Have a lawyer in your state review your final version once, and you’ll use it for years.
The photography contract template
Everything in the box is the contract. Replace each [BRACKETED] item with your details.
Photography Agreement
This Photography Agreement (“Agreement”) is between [YOUR BUSINESS NAME] (“Photographer”) and [CLIENT NAME OR COMPANY] (“Client”). If Client is a company, [NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER] signs on its behalf.
1. The shoot
Type of shoot: [HEADSHOTS / PRODUCT / FOOD / PORTRAIT / OTHER]. Date: [DATE]. Start time and length: [TIME], for [NUMBER] hours. Location: [ADDRESS OR STUDIO]. Photographer provides all camera and lighting equipment and uses professional judgment over lighting, composition, posing, and editing style.
2. What Client receives
Photographer will deliver [NUMBER] final edited images as high-resolution [JPEG / PNG / TIFF] files through an online gallery. Where Client chooses the images, Photographer will share a proofing gallery, Client will make selections within [7] days, and Photographer will deliver the final images within [14] days of receiving selections. Otherwise, final images are delivered within [14] days of the shoot. RAW or unedited files are not included unless agreed in writing.
3. Fees and payment
The total fee is [TOTAL FEE], which includes [SESSION, RETOUCHING, TRAVEL, OTHER]. A deposit of [DEPOSIT AMOUNT] is due when Client signs this Agreement. The deposit reserves the date and is non-refundable, and it is credited toward the total. The balance of [BALANCE AMOUNT] is due [BEFORE FINAL DELIVERY / NET 15 / NET 30 FROM THE INVOICE DATE]. Additional images, retouching, rush delivery, or extra time are billed at [YOUR RATE].
4. Late payment
Any invoice not paid by its due date has a [3] day grace period. After that, a one-time late fee of [10%] of the past-due amount applies. Photographer may hold delivery of final images, and the usage license in section 6 does not take effect, until the invoice is paid in full.
5. Cancellations and rescheduling
Client may reschedule once with at least [48] hours’ notice, and the deposit moves to the new date. Cancellations or no-shows with less than [24] hours’ notice forfeit the deposit. [For commercial shoots: if Client cancels or reschedules within 48 hours of the shoot, a kill fee of 50% of the booked amount applies.] Outdoor shoots affected by weather may be rescheduled at no charge. If Photographer cannot attend because of illness or emergency, Photographer will offer a new date or refund all payments made.
6. Ownership and usage
Photographer owns the copyright to all images. Once paid in full, Photographer grants Client a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use the delivered images for [PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE / CLIENT’S OWN BUSINESS, MARKETING, AND SOCIAL MEDIA]. Client may not sell, sublicense, or transfer the images to a third party, or enter them into competitions as Client’s own work, without Photographer’s written permission. Uses beyond this, such as paid advertising, packaging, or exclusive rights, need a separate usage license and fee. Photographer may show the images in Photographer’s portfolio and marketing unless Client opts out in writing.
7. Editing and AI
Client will use the images as delivered. Aside from simple cropping, Client will not materially edit or alter them, and will not upload them to any AI or machine-learning tool (for training, editing, upscaling, generation, or similar), without Photographer’s written consent.
8. Releases
Client is responsible for any model, property, or trademark releases needed for Client’s intended use, such as employees, models, or locations Client provides, and will cover Photographer against claims that come from not having them.
9. Limit of liability
Photographer’s total liability for any claim is limited to the amount Client paid under this Agreement. Photographer is not liable for indirect or consequential damages. If equipment failure or another cause beyond Photographer’s control affects the shoot, Photographer will offer a reshoot or a refund, at Photographer’s choice.
10. The rest
This Agreement is governed by the laws of [STATE]. It is the entire agreement between the parties and can be changed only in writing signed by both. Electronic signatures count the same as signatures in ink.
Signatures
Client: [PRINTED NAME]
Signature: ________________ Date: ________
Photographer: [PRINTED NAME], [YOUR BUSINESS NAME]
Signature: ________________ Date: ________
What each section does
- The shoot: pins down the date, place, and length, so “a couple of hours” doesn’t turn into four. The creative control line means you choose the shots and the edit style.
- What Client receives: the number of images, the format, and the turnaround. Starting the clock when selections come in keeps a slow picker from making you look late.
- Fees and payment: the total, the deposit that holds the date, and when the balance is due. Writing “credited toward the total” heads off the question every client asks.
- Late payment: a late fee your client never agreed to in writing is one you shouldn’t charge. This is where they agree to it. Check your state’s rules on the amount.
- Cancellations: what happens if they cancel, if they reschedule, and if you can’t make it. The commercial kill fee is optional; delete it for personal sessions.
- Ownership and usage: the section new photographers skip and later regret. You keep the copyright and license the use. Pick personal use or business use, and send a separate usage license for ads, packaging, or anything bigger.
- Editing and AI: keeps your work from being heavily filtered or fed into an AI tool with your name still attached.
- Releases: for business clients, the people and places they bring are theirs to clear. For anyone you’ll use commercially yourself, use a model release.
- Limit of liability: if something goes wrong, what you owe is capped at what they paid.
- The rest: which state’s law applies, that this is the whole deal, and that e-signatures count.
No signature, no shoot
Send the contract with the deposit invoice right when they book. For a company, make sure the person signing can actually approve it. For a couple or a team, everyone who needs to sign should sign before the shoot day.
Send it for e-signature
Edit has the agreements this one is based on built in, twelve templates in all: simple and standard photography agreements, portrait, wedding, event, product and commercial, a commercial master agreement, an image usage license, model, image, and print releases, and AI use restrictions. Tailor the wording once, and the client and shoot details fill in from the project. Clients sign online from a link on any plan, or from their client portal on Studio and Agency. Add more than one signer, counter-sign it yourself, and the signed version is locked and kept with a full signing record.