7 Key Money Terms Every Photography Agreement Must Have to Generate a High Income
Want to know what you need in your photography agreement to get the most out of your photography projects and make more money? These are the key money-making terms you need as a photographer.
Creating a business out of your passion as a photographer is extremely fun and exciting, and if you’re anything like me, you want to get the most out of your deals and earn a high income while having fun. As a lawyer myself who drafts photography contracts for photographers like you, I am telling you about all the money-making terms you need in your photography agreement to earn more!
You will learn the key essential you need in your photography agreement, regardless of whether it’s a photography contract for wedding events or a portrait photography contract.
After learning about all these essentials to make money for your photography agreement, you will be a master photographer and earn the most from your photography projects!
This post is all about the key terms a photography contract must have to earn more money.
Money-Making Photography Agreement
Money terms for any general photography contract
This blog post is for any type of photographer, whether you are a wedding, corporate, product or event photographer.
The terms I will be talking about can be applied to any type of photography agreement, such as the following:
photography contract for wedding
photographer contract for event or event photography contract
portrait photography contract
commercial photography contract
product photography contract
newborn photography contract
general photography contract
any other photo session agreement
Some terms may be used more in certain types of agreements than in others.
These clauses (or at least not all) may not be relevant for a freelance photography contract where you get paid by the hour. It’s just for photographers that work on a project basis.
Now, you know whether this blog post is relevant to you, no matter what type of photographer you are. Let’s get right into the essential elements of your photography agreement to earn the most!
1. License vs assignment
Usually, you will license the right to use the photos from your photoshoot to your clients. With a license, as the photographer, you remain the owner of those photos; thus, you can decide what your clients may do with the photos, under which conditions and for how long.
Sometimes, a client may want to have full ownership of the photos and have you assign all intellectual property rights to the client. In that case, you lose all ownership over the photos and can not decide what your clients may use the photos for.
The client may also ask for an unlimited license, meaning that you remain the owner of the photos, but the client has the right to use the photos for however long they want, which can still be restricted by certain conditions you set in the photography agreement.
I recommend licensing instead of assigning the photos for several reasons. However, suppose the client will pay a good price for the photos. In that case, it might be worth assigning your rights to the photos, especially if you would not use those photos yourself for other purposes. You might just want to use those photos for your portfolio and your own marketing purposes. In that case, you can include in your photography agreement that the client gives you a license in return for the assignment, so you can still use those photos for those purposes.
But what would be a reasonable price for an unlimited license or an assignment? That depends on a multitude of factors, like the specific photos, the client, what the client will likely use the photos for, and the industry standards, which may change over time.
If you choose to assign the rights to the photos, ensure that your photography includes a (royalty-free, irrevocable and perpetual) license for you as the photographer to use that photos for your portfolio.
If the brand asks for an assignment, suggest an unlimited license instead. With photos, it is highly unlikely in most cases that a client will use them for more than 3 to 5 years. When you tell clients that they will probably only use the photos for a few years, they will likely choose an unlimited license, as it is cheaper than an assignment.
But then, what is a reasonable price for an unlimited license? That also depends on multiple factors when it comes to photos, but tripling the fee for the estimated usage period would be a good place to start. If the client is unwilling to pay that amount, then the client can continue to pay you for the term the client uses the license.
With an unlimited license, you can still control what your clients may use the photos for, which brings me to the following money-making term for your photography agreement.
2. Usage rights & timeframes
This one and the next one may be more relevant for a commercial photography contract or event photography contract than a photography agreement for wedding events or bar mitzvahs.
For these photography agreements, it is important that you can control what your clients use the photos for. Depending on the type of photographer you are, this may be one of the most important factors for earning more money.
If your client is a business or you are shooting an event, then you can state that the photos may only be used for the website of that business or event but not for advertisements, at least not without paying an extra fee.
Sometimes, you may want to set a fixed fee for a certain timeframe. In that case, when the client wants to use the photos for a longer period, you can, again, charge an extra fee for the extended period.
3. Fixed fee AND royalties
For the photoshoot, editing and delivery of the final photos, you charge a fixed fee.
But, depending on the type of photos and what the client will use the photos for, you might want to ask for an additional recurring fee for the time the photos are used. Such recurring fees are called royalties.
This is one of the major reasons you want to license your photos instead of assigning them. If you assign the rights, you can only ask for a one-time fee, as the client becomes the owner of the photos. In that case, if your client uses the photos for advertising or other purposes (not agreed upon or not communicated to you), you cannot ask for an extra or higher fee. However, if you give a license to use the photos, you still are the owner and can ask for royalties.
Again, whether it’s appropriate to ask for royalties depends on the type of photography. If it concerns a portrait photography contract or a newborn photography contract, royalties are unusual, as the photos are just used for personal purposes.
Suppose it concerns a commercial photography contract, product photography contract or a photography contract for event photography. Royalties are market practice in those cases, as a business may use the photos for multiple purposes.
A fixed fee is often negotiated if a company wants to use the content for a one-time placement on its feed on Instagram. However, if the company wants to use the photos for advertising, you should ask for royalties for each month or quarter that the company uses the photos for advertising.
Your photography agreement template should have both options.
4. Deposits
This one is important for EVERY type of photography agreement, and this may be the most important term.
You need to require each and every one of your clients to pay at least part of the fixed fee before you start the project, i.e. before the photoshoot. This is your insurance, your security, for if the client cancels or reschedules the photoshoot or, worse, ghosts you. For the cases where a client cancels or reschedules the photoshoot within a certain number of hours/days before the photoshoot, you can state in your photography agreement that your client will not be refunded the deposit or only a percentage thereof.
Here is what you need to understand if you are a beginner or feel too awkward to ask for deposits. 1. It’s normal. 2. Your clients will respect and see you as a professional 3. You are entitled to a deposit because you forego other opportunities by scheduling that photoshoot for that day and time, and you need to do preparatory work for that photoshoot.
5. Fees for future or additional edits
Another money-making term you may want to include in your photography agreement is the exclusive right that only you may edit the photos if your client wants that in the future. In your photography agreement, you want to explicitly state that your client may not edit the photos. Why? That is where there’s an opportunity for more money.
For example, in the case of product photography, your client may make new colours of that same product in the future. You can then get paid to edit the colour of the product you photographed in the existing photos.
In the case of wedding photography, your clients may not want black and white versions of the photos initially, but maybe in the future, they will change the interior of their home, and they want a black and white photo that better fits the interior.
So, even if a client does not want additional edits at first, ensure your photography agreement includes such a clause for edits. You never know when a client will change their mind!
6. Price increases
If the photos are used for a longer period, say more than one year, you may want to incorporate price increases in your photography agreement.
This term may be more relevant for a commercial photography contract than a photography contract for wedding events, as it’s unusual to include this in a photography contract for photos that are purely for personal use.
If you shoot photos for a company that may be used for its website or advertisements for more than a year, price increases start becoming interesting.
In that case, you can include annual price increases in your photography agreement, according to which the royalties increase by a specific percentage each year. For example, if you get paid $2,000 a year in royalties and include an annual price increase of 2%, then that means you get an extra $40 next year for literally doing nothing!
Ensure your photography agreement template includes a price index (if it’s relevant to your type of photography).
7. Travel costs and other expenses
Depending on the type of photography you do, you may have your own studio, but you will inevitably have to travel for certain or all photography projects.
Therefore, your photography agreement should also include travel costs.
If you already know the exact travel expenses you must make for a project, you may include that in the fixed fee. If you don’t, ensure you add any travel costs you will incur as an expense your client must reimburse in your photography agreement.
This may not seem like a big money-maker, but if you don’t get it right in your photography agreement and you have to pay your travel costs for each project, that could become a big money-drainer!
Photography contract template Word
If you are looking for a photography agreement with all the money-making terms discussed in this blog post and all the protection you need so you can protect your money and energy, I’ve got you!
I am selling a photography contract template in Word in my contract shop that is super affordable and includes all the essential terms I discussed!
You can get yours on this page of my contract shop!
Freelance photography contract
If you are a freelancer who gets paid by the hour, you need a freelance agreement for your photography services.
You can get your freelance photography contract on this page of my contract shop!
This post was all about the key terms every content creator contract template must have to earn the most from your brand deal.
Get your Photography Agreement on this page of my contract shop!
Are you taking photos of a person for your social media? Then you need a photo release form. Read this blog post on the 10 Key Reasons You Need a Photo Release Consent Form for Social Media.
Has someone asked you for a work-for-hire agreement? Read this blog post on What Is a Work For Hire Agreement | The Ultimate Guide (Including 6 Key Essentials).
Are you (also) a videographer? Read this blog post on the 7 Must-Haves for Every Videographer Contract Template.
