Main contract
Photography services agreement
Shoot scope, deliverable count, delivery timeline, payment and deposit, usage rights, cancellation terms, and liability. The document every shoot needs.
Commercial and portrait photographers — model releases, usage rights, event coverage agreements, and licensing terms. AI-generated. Free.
Free. No registration. No card. No catch.
What makes photography contracts different
A photography contract has to handle three distinct legal areas: service delivery (the shoot), intellectual property (who owns the images), and likeness rights (model and property releases). Generic service templates handle one of the three.
Model release language, property release, usage rights by platform and duration, raw-file delivery terms, date-lock and cancellation fee, overtime rate, second-shooter terms. These are the clauses that protect photographers specifically.
Commercial advertising, portrait sessions, wedding and event coverage, editorial licensing, stock photography, and agency subcontracting. Each has different IP, delivery, and cancellation structures.
BizDraft asks about shoot type, deliverable count, raw-file inclusion, usage scope (web, print, advertising), whether model releases are needed, and your cancellation and rescheduling policy.
The photographer stack
Generate once. Adjust per shoot type and client. Never show up on-site without a signed agreement.
Main contract
Shoot scope, deliverable count, delivery timeline, payment and deposit, usage rights, cancellation terms, and liability. The document every shoot needs.
Likeness consent
Written consent to use a subject's likeness in commercial, editorial, or advertising contexts. Required for any published image featuring an identifiable person.
Location consent
Permission to photograph and commercially use images of a private property, interior, or identifiable location. Required for advertising and some editorial uses.
Image licensing
License existing images for specific uses — advertising, editorial, social, print — with defined platform, duration, territory, and exclusivity terms.
Second shooter
For bringing in a second photographer on large events. Flow-down IP terms, confidentiality, and rate terms.
Pre-shoot
For pre-launch product shoots or confidential brand work where the client needs assurance before sharing brief materials.
Common deal types
Commercial
Usage rights are the main deliverable. Photography services agreement with explicit usage scope: platform, duration, territory, exclusivity. IP typically licensed, not assigned.
Portrait
Headshots, family portraits, personal branding. Defined image count, print or digital delivery, limited usage rights for personal use.
Event
Date-locked contract with deposit, cancellation tiers, overtime rate, delivery timeline, and second-shooter terms. One of the highest-stakes photo contracts to get right.
Editorial
One-time or multi-use editorial license. Defined publication, issue, and territory. Moral rights and credit-line requirements included.
Stock
Licensing existing images with defined use restrictions. Royalty-free (unlimited use within scope) vs rights-managed (per-use fee) structures.
Retainer
Regular shoots for a brand's social and marketing needs. Monthly shoot quota, deliverable count, usage rights rolling with each batch.
The photographer risk map
Client uses images for advertising after licensing them for social only. Fix: explicit usage-rights clause with platform, duration, territory, and a fee schedule for expanded use.
Client cancels the day before a booked event. That date is now unbookable. Fix: non-refundable deposit and tiered cancellation fee based on days before the shoot.
Publishing an image of an identifiable person without consent. Fix: model release signed at the shoot — before the images are delivered or published.
Client demands all RAW files — which weren't included in the price. Fix: explicit clause specifying exactly what files are delivered and in what format.
Client publishes images with no photographer credit. Fix: credit-line requirement clause specifying how and where attribution must appear.
Your flow with BizDraft
Commercial, portrait, event, editorial — BizDraft shapes the contract around what you're shooting and how it's used.
Deliverable count, usage scope, model release need, deposit, cancellation terms. Plain English, no legal jargon.
Adjust usage rights, cancellation tiers, or delivery timeline inline before downloading.
Word or PDF. E-sign before the booking is locked. Bring the model release to the shoot.
Free. Built for how photography work actually runs.
Draft your agreement