WRITTEN BY WORKING PHOTOGRAPHERS
in collaboration with a top British Law Firm
about our products
Our core product is the Photography Portrait Contract. We offer this as a Standalone product, or bundled with Model releases. We are confident that this is the most comprehensive contract template for UK portrait photographers on the market today – covering everything from cancellation, proofing and payment policies, to intellectual property rights and even conduct!
THE PORTRAIT CONTRACT IS FOR YOU IF…
You are a portrait photographer based in the United Kingdom
You have a contract – or T & C’s, but it’s something you made up and you have no idea whether it actually complies with legislation
You don’t have time or funds to get a lawyer to write you a contract from scratch
You want clarity & peace of mind when dealing with clients
You are a professional and like things done properly
You have enough on your plate without additional worry about what could happen to your business if you are NOT protected
BENEFIT FROM
Contracts and model releases include a step-by-step walk-throughs to customise the contract for your business easily.
Supplied as Word docs & Pages documents so that they’re easy to print on your headed paper or easily transferred to an online form like Machforms. Now also supplied in .xml format for Light Blue users
Light Blue compatibility
Dedicated Facebook Support group
OUR NEW PRODUCT IN STORE NOW - CHECK OUT OUR BRANDING CONTRACTS!!
why do I need this for my business?
We know you need this, because we know what a photographer's life is like (we live it every day!) ...
One minute you’re running out the door to a rescheduled family shoot while the sun’s still shining. The next, you are sitting in a studio that looks like a small tornado has hit it, and you wonder if it’s even possible for a newborn baby to wee on quite that many blankets! A few hours later, and you’re editing like a crazy person so that your client can choose the portrait they want to have framed in time for Mothers Day. In France.
Yes, we get it. That’s our life too – always running. Trying to get stuff done.
We know exactly how frantic it is, when you want to do your best work for clients – and you’re wearing all the hats: marketer, Facebook ads creator, SEO guru, photo editor, accountant – oh, and photographer. And that’s without even mentioning having a personal life.
You’re probably like most UK photographers: decent and hardworking, running a successful portrait business with happy clients.
THIS CAN CHANGE IN A HEARTBEAT.
A client throws a wobbly when they don’t get the raw files. Or they say they had no idea the sitting fee did not include all the files and threatens to trash you on Facebook and Google reviews. Gulp.
That last one – that’s the one we live in fear of, right? Even though we run our businesses with honesty and and integrity, in a few stomach-churning moments, our work lives can be turned upside down. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Even though we might not talk about it – and its easier not to think about it (who wants to tempt fate, right?), it’s still there.
THERE IS AN EASIER WAY.
Use a contract. We wrote this contract with a UK legal firm, which covers everything we could reasonably think of. It took months of our time and days of expensive lawyer time, so you’re getting a bargain. The contract gives you and your clients clarity. It spells things out in simple language, so everyone is clear up front about all the aspects of working together including those hot buttons of image rights, raw files and what’s included in your sitting fee.
Buy our contract template and adjust it – all you need to do is follow the detailed walk-through so that it fits your business; it takes less than an hour. Then use it. It protects you and it protects your client. Did you know that this is a thing? That a contract cannot be one sided and needs to protect both sides?
Let’s face it – contracts are not glamorous. They are a bit like life insurance – no one wants it really and you are hoping you will never need to actually use it! But if you are running a professional studio, and want your clients to understand how you work, and commit to working with you on YOUR terms – then it’s really worth having one. It encourages best practice, and it means that any misunderstandings can be kept to a minimum – and you can run your business knowing that you have done the best you can to protect you and your family in case any issues arise. So get yourself sorted for 2019, and start the year as you mean to go on!
read our reviews
Vicki Knights - Vicki Nights Photography
Reviewing my client contract has been something that has been on my to-do list for a few years now! I do have a contract that I get clients to sign, but it is one that I have fumbled together using resources online and things that have come up during my 10 years in business. But it’s never been checked over by a solicitor so I’ve never been certain how much of it was actually legally accurate. I once enquired with a lawyer to see how much it would be to put together a contract for me and it was over £1000 so I didn’t go ahead!
I think this template is a fantastic resource and will mean that the family/lifestyle photography industry really steps up it’s game and has a legally approved contract. I hear too many stories in forums of things going wrong for photographers and this contract means that the client and the photographer are protected.
The contract is written in easy to understand language, you don’t need a law degree to read it! And it comes with a foolproof step-by-step guide to using it and shows you how to amend it so it’s completely bespoke to your needs. Most contract templates that I have seen before are either US based or wedding focused which both have completely different requirements. This contract is solely focused on portrait photographers and even covers aspects such as online galleries and newborn shoots. It also covers new regulations such as the 14 day cooling off period and privacy policy changes, which I now realise weren’t in the contract I have been using.
Thank you, I can now rest easy that I have a legally viable contract and that both my clients and myself are fully protected and on the right side of the law!
Gary Hill - Art of the Portrait
Having looked through the contract, both the actual form and notes and the t’s and c’s. They are incredibly comprehensive and user adjustable (for the relevant sections) that I cannot see where a photographer could not personalise it to suit their individual needs. Took me about 20 mins to adapt it to suit myself and my work and was so easy to do.
Most importantly it fits the guidelines on fairness that the Office of Fair Trading would insist on. A truly fantastic product that I would be more that happy to recommend to any trainee or photographer seeking advice.
Well done on a quality product!
Nina Mace - Nina Mace photography
I was recently asked by Maria & Sally to be one of the beta testers for the soon to be released Portrait Contract by Harmony & Blue and just wanted to leave some honest feedback here and an insight as to what to expect when you purchase it.
The contract comes with a very straight forward and easy to understand step by step guide as to how to amend certain parts to fit in line with your own business. I even found the language used throughout the main contract easy to understand which was great for me but also great for clients to not feel overwhelmed when presenting them with it as it was not cluttered with too much legal jargon. I would say that you need to allow approximately 30 mins to complete the initial amendments to be in line with your own business and just to familiarise yourself with the contract and the different sections. I was impressed at how thorough the contract is, it covered pretty much every scenario of working practise right from bookings to delivery and satisfaction of products. Having read thoroughly through it I also found that all options offered fit well with my personal way of working but also would have worked with many other different methods.
In summary, it is great to finally have a portrait contract available that is in line with UK legislation, well thought out, easy to use and thoroughly covers all steps and scenarios that may be faced. After purchasing and spending just 30 minutes to get it set up, I would say it is well worth the initial outlay and set up time to give you piece of mind that you know that you have a solid contract in place for both you and your clients.