Do you want great wedding photos? Find a real photographer
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Do you want great wedding photos? Find a real photographer

Ostania aktualizacja 27 January 2023

Do you want great wedding photos? Find a real photographer: A wedding is a unique event in the life of every person. The enormity of work and preparations associated with it, finally translates into an amazing celebration. Often stress and emotions make the bride and groom after the whole event admit with regret that they do not remember much about that day. That is why wedding photography is so important, it will capture all the most important moments and leave a lasting souvenir for years in the form of photos, photo books or albums.

How to properly formalize the photographer’s choice for your own wedding?

Photographer’s services are the same as those of a wedding planner or chefs serving a wedding hall. He is the person who provides the service for us, so you should sign a contract with him. Firstly, to formalize all arrangements, and secondly to ensure that even our advance payment is not in vain, and we will not be left without a photographer on the eve of the wedding. It does not have to be a several-page document which is written in legal language, but the most important thing is that it should contain all the most important arrangements, as well as the amount to be paid for the service rendered, but more on that later.

What should be in the contract

Many professional wedding photographers have their own model contracts that they sign with their clients. However, like any other contract, this document should be read calmly. It is to protect not only the photographer, but also the recipient against the effects of any omissions. Key elements of the wedding photography related contract are:

  • determining the parties to the contract – in other words, simply entering your personal details, both by the bride and groom and the photographer himself, preferably together with the address and contact details, such as e-mail or phone number.
  • record of the subject of the contract – it is worth defining clearly in black and white, the scope of a given contract, for example “Wedding photography together with a photobook and outdoor session” such a record will allow you to avoid being understated and will certainly protect us from the photographer’s fulfillment of the entire contract, not just its parts.
  • date and place – in the contract it is also worth including the date of the ceremony, as well as the place and time at which the wedding photographer’s work begins. For example, May 25, 2015, 9:00, 26/5 Piotrkowska St. Thanks to this provision, both parties clearly define when the wedding photography service starts.
  • settlement conditions – all types of advance payments, prepayments and similar issues should also find their place in the contract, together with their percentage share in the total remuneration. It is worth considering at this point. Wedding photographers usually ask for an advance of 10% to 20% of the final amount, which often equals an amount of 500 to 750 zlotys. There is nothing wrong with the fact that the wedding photographer asks for an advance, in the end he also wants to be sure that he will not stay with the “wasted” date, which is for him loss of earnings. However, if the amount of the advance exceeds 50% of the final amount, it is worth considering choosing another photographer or asking where the amount of the deposit comes from.
  • obligations of the parties during the performance of this contract – this record is useful for both a future marriage and a wedding photographer. It may include, for example, a place for a photographer at the table to rest, as well as, for example, taking pictures at certain times of the whole event.
  • copyrights – this point is often overlooked, which can be very disastrous, if we want our wedding photographs to remain only in our album, it is worth trying for a bridegroom’s copyright transfer protocol.

Such a document abolishes any right to claims, as well as the ability to publish photos by photographers. It is worth remembering when signing the contract-replacement and similar random situations in life there are many different situations that can lead to the fact that even without the fault of the photographer we will remain without him at the wedding. A sudden illness, accident or other cause independent of the contractor should provide for possible solutions in the contract. Many photographers in such situations offer a replacement, through their friendly colleagues. Some young couples, however, cannot imagine that someone else could take pictures, in which case it is worth writing down the refund of the deposit, due to the failure of the photographer for reasons beyond his control.

There are of course many more issues that, depending on the service, should be included in the contract with the wedding photographer. However, it is such an individual matter that, wanting to develop it, certainly even a few-page elaborate would not exhaust the topic. However, these basic framework elements will certainly help in signing a contract that will be beneficial to both parties. Such a contract allows you to sleep peacefully and be sure that everything has been clarified and the wedding photographs will be taken as we would like. Photography is, of course, an artist, so you should not impose your will on him, but you should give him direction in your work on the most important day of our lives.

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