Photography Session Agreement
Agreement reference: [REFERENCE]
Date of agreement: [DATE]
Parties
The Photographer: [STUDIO NAME], the trading name of [LEGAL NAME OR COMPANY NAME AND NUMBER], of [BUSINESS ADDRESS]. Email: [EMAIL]. Telephone: [PHONE]. In this agreement, "we", "us" and "our" mean the Photographer.
The Client: [CLIENT 1 NAME] [AND [CLIENT 2 NAME]], of [CLIENT ADDRESS]. Email: [CLIENT EMAIL]. [IF BOOKING FOR A BUSINESS: on behalf of [BUSINESS NAME AND ADDRESS].] In this agreement, "you" and "your" mean the Client and, where two people sign, both of them.
1. Your session
2. What is included
2.1 Your [PACKAGE NAME] package includes:
- a session of up to [DURATION] at the location above;
- [NUMBER] edited photographs delivered in a private online gallery, [OR: a viewing and ordering appointment];
- [PRODUCTS, PRINT CREDIT OR OTHER ITEMS, OR DELETE].
2.2 Extra photographs, prints and products can be bought from your gallery or our price list.
3. Fees and payment
3.1 The total fee is [FEE]. [CHOOSE ONE: This includes VAT at the standard rate. / We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged.]
3.2 Your session is reserved once we have received this signed agreement and the booking fee of [BOOKING FEE]. The booking fee is part of the total fee, not an extra charge. It covers holding the date for you and the preparation we do before the session.
3.3 The balance of [AMOUNT] is due [ON OR BEFORE THE SESSION DATE / WITHIN [NUMBER] DAYS OF OUR INVOICE]. You can pay by bank transfer to [ACCOUNT DETAILS] or by card using the link on your invoice.
3.4 We may hold back delivery of your gallery until the fee has been paid in full.
4. Rescheduling
4.1 You may move your session once without charge by giving us at least [48] hours' notice. Further changes may carry a fee of [AMOUNT].
4.2 If anyone in your party is unwell on the day, please tell us as early as you can and we will rearrange at no charge. We would always rather reschedule than photograph a child who is poorly.
4.3 For outdoor sessions, we will check the forecast and decide with you by [TIME] the day before whether to go ahead. If we postpone because of the weather, there is no charge.
4.4 If you arrive late, we will extend the session if we can, but cannot always do so.
5. If you cancel
5.1 You may cancel by telling us in writing (email is fine). The following charges apply, which reflect the time we have reserved and our likely loss:
5.2 You will not be charged for products we have not yet ordered. We will refund anything you have paid above the cancellation charge within 14 days.
5.3 This clause does not affect your rights under clause 7.
6. If we cancel
6.1 If illness, injury, bereavement or another event outside our control means we cannot photograph your session, we will tell you as soon as possible and offer a new date. If no suitable date can be agreed, we will refund everything you have paid within 14 days.
6.2 If we cancel for any other reason, we will refund everything you have paid, including the booking fee, and pay you an additional amount equal to the booking fee as compensation.
7. Your right to cancel within 14 days
[DELETE THIS CLAUSE ONLY IF SIGNED IN PERSON AT OUR BUSINESS PREMISES.] If this agreement is made other than face to face at our business premises (for example online or by email) and you are booking as a consumer, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you these rights.
Right to cancel. You have the right to cancel this agreement within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period will expire 14 days after the day on which this agreement is made. To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us ([STUDIO NAME], [BUSINESS ADDRESS], [PHONE], [EMAIL]) of your decision by a clear statement, for example a letter sent by post or an email. You may use the model cancellation form below, but you do not have to. To meet the deadline, it is enough to send your message before the cancellation period has expired.
Effects of cancellation. If you cancel, we will reimburse all payments received from you without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the day on which we are told of your decision, using the same means of payment you used unless you have expressly agreed otherwise. You will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
Sessions within the 14 days. If your session is within the cancellation period, we can only photograph it if you ask us to by ticking the box below. If you then cancel, you will pay an amount in proportion to what we have provided until you told us, compared with everything this agreement covers.
8. On the day
8.1 Children. Parents and guardians remain responsible for supervising their children throughout the session. We will never ask a child to do anything unsafe.
8.2 Newborns. Safety comes before any pose. A parent or assistant stays within reach of the baby at all times, and some poses combine two photographs so the baby is always supported.
8.3 Locations. If you choose a location that charges a fee or needs permission, you are responsible for arranging and paying for it unless we agree otherwise.
8.4 Safety. We may pause or end a session if conditions become unsafe. If we end it early for a reason outside your control, we will offer to complete it on another date.
9. Your photographs
9.1 We will deliver approximately [NUMBER] edited photographs in a private online gallery within [NUMBER] weeks of your session. The final number depends on the session, so this is a guide rather than a guarantee.
9.2 You are booking us for the style shown in our portfolio. Each photograph is edited for colour, exposure and cropping. Detailed retouching, such as removing objects or reshaping faces or bodies, is not included unless agreed. We do not supply unedited photographs or raw files.
9.3 Your gallery will be available for [NUMBER] months. Please download your photographs and keep copies in at least two places.
10. Copyright and your licence
10.1 We own the copyright in the photographs, and this agreement does not transfer it to you. [PHOTOGRAPHER NAME] asserts the right to be identified as their author.
10.2 Personal use. We grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence, with no time limit, to use the photographs for personal, non-commercial purposes: printing them at any lab, framing and gifting them, and sharing them with family and friends and on personal social media. Please credit [STUDIO NAME OR SOCIAL HANDLE] when you post online. You may not sell the photographs, use them commercially, enter them into competitions or apply filters or edits other than cropping.
10.3 Business use. [DELETE IF NOT APPLICABLE.] Instead of clause 10.2, we grant [BUSINESS NAME] a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the photographs for [PERMITTED USES, FOR EXAMPLE: YOUR WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA, PRINTED MARKETING AND PRESS] in [TERRITORY] for [DURATION]. Paid advertising, packaging, resale and use by third parties need a separate written licence.
10.4 If you commissioned these photographs for private and domestic purposes, section 85 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 gives you the right not to have them published or shown in public without your consent (clause 11).
11. Our use of your photographs
11.1 We would like to show a selection of your photographs on our website and social media and in our printed marketing, but only with the consent you choose below. Saying no will not affect your booking or price.
11.2 You can change your mind at any time by emailing us. We will stop new uses straight away and remove your photographs from our website and social media within [30] days, but cannot recall printed material already distributed.
12. Our responsibility to you
12.1 We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill, using professional equipment with backups.
12.2 If, despite these precautions, your photographs are lost or damaged, we will offer a replacement session without charge or, if you prefer, a refund of the fee you have paid. Our total liability is limited to that refund.
12.3 Nothing in this agreement limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law. This agreement does not affect your statutory rights.
13. Events outside anyone's control
Neither of us is responsible for failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control. If such an event prevents your session, we will rearrange it at no charge or, if we cannot agree a new date, refund what you have paid.
14. Your personal data
We are the controller of the personal data you give us, including the photographs. We use it to provide your session and keep business records and, only with your consent, for the uses in clause 11. Our privacy notice at [PRIVACY NOTICE URL] explains your rights, including the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
15. General terms
15.1 This agreement, with [YOUR QUOTE OR PACKAGE DETAILS], is the whole agreement between us. This does not affect anything we told you about our services that you relied on when deciding to book.
15.2 Any change must be agreed in writing (email is fine). If a court decides any part of this agreement is unenforceable, the rest still applies. No one else may enforce it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
15.3 This agreement may be signed electronically, and each signature has the same effect as a handwritten one.
15.4 This agreement is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.
Signatures
Session within the 14-day cancellation period (clause 7)
Use of your photographs (clause 11). Please tick one:
Complete and return this form only if you wish to cancel this agreement within the 14-day cancellation period.
To: [STUDIO NAME], [BUSINESS ADDRESS], [EMAIL]
I/We hereby give notice that I/we cancel my/our contract for the supply of the following service: a photography session on [SESSION DATE].
Agreement made on: ____________________
Name(s) and address: ____________________
Signature(s) (only if this form is sent on paper): ____________________
Date: ____________________
