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You’re booking out wedding clients left and right, and are loving capturing such a special and momentous day for your couples. However, you’re also quickly realizing that while your work is great, you can’t be in two places at once.
You want to deliver a wide variety of images to your couples, but you can’t both be far back and up close. You can’t be with both sets of prep at the same time. And you can’t both capture what’s happening as guests mingle during cocktail hour,and get all of the shots with your wedding party.
So, you’re looking to hire a second shooter. Someone who can come alongside you as part of your brand and help you deliver an even better experience for your couples. But, how do you do that legally?
The simple answer is, yes absolutely. When money exchanges hands, you want to ensure that a contract is in place. Having a contract protects both you and your second shooter. And it helps you set necessary boundaries. While your second shooter isn’t an employee, they will be representing your brand, and you’ll want to protect that.
However, the contract that you give your second shooter will be very different from the contract that you give your clients. So, let’s go over what you may want to include in the contract with your second shooter.
When it comes to writing a contract for a photographer you hire, you’ll want to ensure that you have your basics covered. Things like:
Once you have your basics in place, it’s time to think about clauses that would be specific to the needs of your business as you hire a second shooter.
You probably immediately thought back to the code of conduct that existed at the front of your middle school planner, or that piece of paper that your homeroom teacher passed out on the first day of school that immediately got crumbled up and subjected to the bottom of your backpack for the remainder of the year.
And you’re not wrong. For your second shooter contract, you’ll want to be sure that you provide specific details about what is considered appropriate behavior, and what isn’t. Just like your schools likely outlined for you, you’ll outline for them.
Do you have a dress code for weddings that you follow? Do you want your second shooter to dress similarly to you in order to put out a cohesive brand image? If so, you may want to include a clause about attire in your contract.
If you want to be sure you can deliver your clients’ gallery on time, you’ll need the images from the second shooter in a timely manner. To ensure that there are no delays, spell out exactly when and how you want those images to be delivered to you.
When you hire a second shooter, who is going to own the copyright to the photos taken? You? Them? Your client? It might be worth your time to outline this clearly in your contract - as well as how the images can be used. That way there are no misunderstandings about the images in the future.
If the second shooter needs to cancel, how do you expect them to do so? How much notice do you need, are they responsible for finding their replacement? All of these are things you should consider, and then clearly outline within your contract.
Another thing to consider when you write a contract for a photographer you hire is compensation. How will they be compensated for the job? What’s the timeline for payment? Will you pay one lump sum, or multiple? Is compensation dependent on delivery of images? You may want to include that as well.
You may feel like a new agreement for a second shooter is unnecessary, but in order to avoid problems in the future due to potential miscommunications, it’s better to have everything laid out in writing, with a signature from both of you! Curious about what other legal documents you might need as a photographer? Read that blog post next!
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