question about rights/pay--portrait shoot.

[Trackerxx]

Hey guys. I am being paid to take photos of a couple with their baby by a third party. A local hospital is paying me and offering this to the couple as a "perk."

What contract, if any, should I have the couple or hospital sign?

They want digital images as well as prints.

I have never done this before and was hired because they liked my work on other projects.

In those instances I have not made the hospital sign anything either. Partly because I wasn't sure if this little experiment would take off. As it turns out they like my work and seem to be wanting more and more.


They pay what I consider to be a fair rate ($150-$175 an hour for the disc).

So many questions. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[WMS]

Any contract is probably going to get the hospitals legal department involved. Unless you think that you might want to use the photographs for something else I would suggest a simple employment contract making you the 'Official Maternity staff photographer' and as such all rights to the photographs are the Hospitals as a work for hire. Good for the hospital not good for you as you would not have any copyright or usage rights, but there is little for a legal department to object to.

Now in the absence of any other agreement you do have your copyright and could in theory sell the photographs IF they were news worthy (in the absence of a modeling agreement there would be some restrictions on your usage) but should a celebrity have birth there you might be in for a secondary market for your photographs, but there could be problems with this also. Consider the wonderful works of the tabloid photographers......

Wayne

[breathless]

Standard contracts (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=standard+photographer+contract&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=standard+photographer+contract&aqi=&fp=1mZ_-PL2Zjc) are easily found on the web. Or, you could just shoot for them on good faith and bill them. Most importantly, discuss how they prefer doing business.

[Trackerxx]

As for retaining rights to use my own photographs in the future. I suppose this is a common issue addressed in a contract?

[breathless]

What rights and uses? I have seen other photographers contracts which include a clause for advertisement/promotional use. I don't have such a clause in mine. If I want to use their images for advertisement/promotions, I ask for a model release.