It is very usual for a skilled photographer to get a client who asks for all the photo files from a shooting day to be provided. The photographer will invariably attempt to convince the client against it or even deny it outright. It leaves certain clients puzzled, or maybe even upset. So why wouldn’t your photographer let you have a photoshoot of the whole product?
What is the customer entitled to?
Contents
The client is not entitled to the work in progress. Would you later demand all of the drawings and experiments that go into the final product if you were reviewing a painting? Or would you apply for the Cloth fitting trials or the fabric sawed if you had a dress made?
Or the remaining stone chips from carving a bronze statue? Not necessarily. It is the same thing, though to ask to be granted every shot taken throughout a session. Show the images that are not included, the excrement left behind when an artist works on a stunning piece.
Seeing these discarded, unwanted pieces of content will be of little help.
It would make a photographer appear unprofessional and incompetent to have new, discarded images represented to others as his work, as parts shipped to a client. Using a photography contract is always the best choice. Many of such contracts are available at CocoSign, let’s have a look!
CocoSign Photography Contracts: The Best Solution To Stay Safe As A Photographer
If you do not want to end up horribly like these two photographers, it is always best to sign a contract with your clients. Remember to state all the terms and conditions clearly.
In this digital age, there is no need to write a contract on your own. You can use CocoSign to find your relevant photography contract & edit it as per your need. You can also use CocoSign to download photographer contract that meets your needs & use it without editing.
Moreover, you can invite your clients and other parties to sign them online right at CocoSign!
Now have a look at some horror tales of photographers that happened due to the absence of contract or lack of clarity in the agreement.
Horror Tales of photographer
We requested a couple of fellow photographers to share their shooting experiences without contracts. For every project, you photograph, to prove the value of making this record.
One fellow photographer posted a story that happened to a close friend while filming a project:
Seven years ago, one of my best friends approached me to hire me at sunrise in the woods for an avant-garde editorial style maternity boudoir/nude portrait. Since he was one of my best friends, I decided that we didn’t need a deal.
I didn’t want my friend to be fined, so I paid her a small fee of almost zero. The shoot went well and I discussed how excited I was about the results and including it in my portfolio. She said it’s cool. And then she announced that in an exhibition she intended to use these portraits and print them in her dissertation book.
She asked for the raw files (which I sent her) and then sent me an email with an 8+ legal letter threatening to take me to court if I ever claimed to own the copyright or use the pictures in some way saying it was a hired job. By proposing the transition of any rights to her, I tried to negotiate, but she wanted to be credited as the sole artist in the book and show.
My friend’s lawyer recommended that I let things go to court when there was no contract, but I was a shattered student and a longtime good friend’s legal threats were exhausting and painful. Even though they are now some of my favorite jobs, I never ended up using the pictures.
Needless to mention, now I’m using contracts. Even a basic photography contract would have been enough to rescue me from this dilemma, and if we couldn’t settle before the shoot, we wouldn’t have gone on with the project. Lesson learned!
Another story:
Another photographer stated that,
When I was capturing fun photos at the reception, I had a wedding customer (that was a hobbyist photographer) sneak into my pocket and snatch my portable flash memory card containing photos I had just taken from getting dressed, ceremony, and organized/posing pictures.
I was frank and afraid to tell her that I didn’t have pictures of her wedding and I was losing my mind over it. I see her profile photo on Facebook was an image I had shot, I know my lighting, angles, etc. I thought it was my image. How I found out she took my card was. I searched for her pictures, and all my files were there.
I told her that I had called a lawyer and once she knew she was busted, it was resolved quite easily. The entire point of her stealing it was so they could get free wedding pictures and before learning she had taken it, I refunded them. You bet several specifics changed after that in my deal! “
Conclusion
It might significantly hurt the credibility of the photographer if a client were to show these unedited, cast-off images to friends and family. When all of the very finest pictures have been picked and edited to their full benefit with portraits of the utmost quality and elegance, a talented artist shows his best work.