A plain-English photography services agreement for weddings, events and portrait sessions: what's covered, the fee and deposit, cancellation, delivery, copyright and liability. Edit it, then download a PDF to sign.
Template, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and state — have it checked by a lawyer where you work before you rely on it.
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________________ (________________) books ________________ (________________) for ________________ on ________________. The date is reserved once this agreement is signed by both parties and the deposit is paid.
Coverage: ________________. Location(s): ________________. Travel and expenses: ________________. Anything not listed here is not included unless both parties agree in writing.
The total fee is ________________. A deposit of ________________ secures the date and is deducted from the total. The balance is due ________________.
The client may cancel by writing to the photographer. If they do: ________________.
If the client wants to move the date, the photographer will move the booking to a new date they are free on, and the deposit carries over. If they are not free, the change is treated as a cancellation.
If illness, injury or another serious reason outside the photographer's control stops them attending, they will try to arrange an equally experienced replacement, with the client's agreement. If no replacement is agreed, every payment the client has made is refunded in full, and the photographer has no further liability.
The client receives ________________ edited images within ________________ of the date, by ________________. The gallery stays online for ________________; the client should download and keep their own copies.
The photographer chooses which images to deliver and edits them in their own style. Unedited (raw) files are not delivered.
The photographer keeps the copyright in every image. The client receives a licence to print, share and display the delivered images for personal, non-commercial use, including on their own social media with the photographer credited where possible. Selling the images, using them in advertising or licensing them to anyone else needs the photographer's written permission.
The photographer may use the images in their portfolio, on their website and social media, and to enter competitions. If the client does not want this, they say so in writing before the date.
The client gets any permission the venues need for photography, shares the schedule and key people at least two weeks before, and makes sure the photographer has a meal and a break during coverage longer than six hours. The photographer is not responsible for shots missed because of venue rules, weather, the schedule running late or guests getting in the way.
Images are delivered once the balance is paid in full.
If images are lost or damaged for reasons within the photographer's control, the photographer's liability is limited to refunding the fees paid for the affected part of the service.
This agreement is governed by the law of ________________. It is the whole agreement between the parties; changes must be in writing and agreed by both.
Signature lines for client and photographer are added at the end.
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Open Get clientsBuilds a photography services agreement from the booking details: who, what, when and where; the total fee, deposit and when the balance is due; cancellation; what happens if you can't attend; what the client receives and when; copyright and the client's licence; portfolio use; and a limit of liability. Every clause can be edited, and optional ones can be left out.
The clause list is the contract: what you see, numbered in order, is what the PDF and copied text contain. Signature lines for the client and photographer go at the end.
A photography contract records the booking: who is hiring whom, for what date and coverage, at what price, and on what terms. Most also cover cancellation and rescheduling, what happens if the photographer is ill, when and how the photos are delivered, who owns the copyright and how the client may use the images.
This template is written for one-off bookings — weddings, events, family and portrait sessions. Commercial work for a brand usually needs more on usage, licensing fees and approvals.
A clear contract makes the deposit, the delivery time and the copyright explicit before anything goes wrong. It's also a sign of professionalism: clients booking a once-in-a-lifetime event expect one.