wedding shoot - legalities

[Cr8tor]

A friend of mine recently decided to get married. They can not afford anyone to take pics and asked me to do the picturues. I have already discussed with them that im an amature and will do my best but can not garantee anything. I am not charging them anything and look forward to it as good practice both in taking pics and dealing with the pressure.

My question is: Since im not charging and simply plan to burn the pics to a cd for them, do i need to worry about putting anything on paper releasing me of liablity? i figure it wouldnt hurt but i feel akward asking them to sign something when its being done for free.

[Falkon]

they are not hiring you to do anything. The photos you are taking are a favor to them so just treat it that way. Asking them to sign a paper might be a bit too much.

[Harry Settle]

Paper is good, sometimes. You do always need to be aware of the "handshake" type contract. If they ask you to take pictures and you agree, then you have the basis of a contract. It is easier for them to claim that you made promises, it is for you to claim that you didn't.

You could put together a short agreement of what they are asking for and what you are giving. You can always sneak in some small print to help handle the liabilities. At this point I always suggest "keep it simple".

[cmM]

liability? What liability? Would your friend sue you for screwing up the shots for which they didn't pay for? possible, but not likely. I'd just leave it alone.

[Harry Settle]

Originally Posted by cmM

liability? What liability? Would your friend sue you for screwing up the shots for which they didn't pay for? possible, but not likely. I'd just leave it alone.

I have read some instances of this very thing happening on some other forums, possibly even on this one. Maybe if you just sit down with them and have a good heart to heart talk about what to expect, and conveniently have a person with you that could act as a silent witness.

[cmM]

Originally Posted by Harry Settle

I have read some instances of this very thing happening on some other forums, possibly even on this one. Maybe if you just sit down with them and have a good heart to heart talk about what to expect, and conveniently have a person with you that could act as a silent witness.

Yes, but they really have no grounds to sue. there's nothing written. A contract creates obligations on both sides (which is great for most), but with no contract there are no obligations.

This whole thread would be pointless if there were any morals left in this country. We're talking about a 'friend' for God's sake.

[IndyJeff]

I have to side with cmM on this one. How can they sue you, and for what? What losses or damages did they incurr? None, they didn't get their wedding pictures which they weren't paying for in the first place.
As my good friend Bloo Dog once said a judge said to someone suing him, "it's a wedding not a moon shot."

Just cross your fingers that you do the best you can do and it is good enough for them. Besides what are you worring about, your shooting digital right? You can see if it look decent or not almost instantly.

[Cr8tor]

well i spoke with them about it and explained that i would feel better if we had somehting on paper for both of us so that we know exactley whats expected. i was able to spin it as more of a "practice for future occasions" and they are ok with it. figure its better to be safe then sorry.

[Harry Settle]

Originally Posted by cmM

Yes, but they really have no grounds to sue. there's nothing written. A contract creates obligations on both sides (which is great for most), but with no contract there are no obligations.

This whole thread would be pointless if there were any morals left in this country. We're talking about a 'friend' for God's sake.

You're wrong. You are trying to interject common courtesy and logic into todays letigious society. (I think that means that people like to sue a lot for no reason at all) What makes sense to most of us doesn't apply. "Fair doesn't count."

First of all, it doesn't take a piece of paper to make a contract. I sat on the jury for a civil case involving a guy that built a gas station without any written contracts between himself and the Bank or anyone else for that matter. This was a 1/2 million dollar investment. We were flabbergasted when the Judge explained to us what exactly constitutes a contract. We never did figure out how he got that much money from the bank without a paper trail.
In small claims court you could be 100% in the right and still lose your shirt. Judge says "did you ask him to shoot your wedding?", they say "Yes". Judge asks you "did you agree to shoot the wedding?" You say "yes." Then everything spins around and around and if you're lucky you get by without losing a substantial amount of money.

I'm not trying to scare anyone into becoming paranoid with friends, but stuff happens. BTW, I'm one of the last people to put anything in writing. It's just something to think about.

[Cr8tor]

along those lines, the proof comes in admitting to the contract. i know when to forget things. but like i said, we agreed to a nice plain english contract that states im doing it as a favor without pay and can not be held liable for anything including loss of pictues.

Thanks for the advice all!

[Harry Settle]

Sounds like that would work.

[queenbee288]

I think that if they are getting free photos that they couldnt afford otherwise, a little something on paper was not too much to ask for.

[jim47]

forget about the money end of this for a minute , if you have something on paper outlining just what is expected from all parties, this just might save a good friendship, I have had business dealings with friends in the past , and believe me you can get jamed up with friends just as easely as you can with a stranger. an ounce of prevension is worth a pound of cure.

jim

[RichardtheSane]

Originally Posted by cmM

This whole thread would be pointless if there were any morals left in this country. We're talking about a 'friend' for God's sake.

Very well said.

[DocFrankenstein]

You're attending a wedding of a person who you think can sue you over a verbal agreement, and you call him your friend?

In small claims court you could be 100% in the right and still lose your shirt. Judge says "did you ask him to shoot your wedding?", they say "Yes". Judge asks you "did you agree to shoot the wedding?" You say "yes." Then everything spins around and around and if you're lucky you get by without losing a substantial amount of money.

Doesn't work that way... and even if it does, it doesn't hurt to lie once in a while.

Did you agree to shoot their wedding?
No, I just brought my camera

It's one thing to cover your ass with a model release, the other is being paranoid about everything