Anyone want to discuss how pet photography contracts may be different from human ones? I did a recent shoot for a Veterinary hospital and discussed pet releases - as I assumed that this would be necessary. I was told that they have had photographers coming at different points over the last 15 years and it was the first time they had been asked about it.

Any words?

-JM

I don't think that they are. Mainly, you want to cover two things in a contract, indemnity and a model release. Some people say you might want to cover what you are going to provide too. smile.

Sample contracts are easy to find on the web, but you want to have your attorney look at anything before you start using it. Do NOT go into business unless you have decided that it is worth having a relationship with an attorney. They are important because not everyone you deal with is as eager to be a good part of the business relationship as you are.

Tim

My contract is on a one page ncr that is also the receipt for the session....by all means tear it apart...as I am not a lawyer...and lord knows it may not be legal or binding. But in all fairness what I have been told is that in the USA...pets are considered to be property, and that property does not have the same privacy rights as do people.

Also that in order to bring a suit for the misuse of an image...the person would have to prove first...malicious usage in the application, and secondly that the animal was recognizable as that particular animal by the general population at large....I have always felt that the liklihood of this happening with a particular animal I have shot is pretty small.

I doubt that the general public at large would be able to identify a photo on any of the Triple Crown Winners from the past century...so the liklihood that they would recognize ANY pet .... is close to nil.... and I have photographed the cat that was used in "The Cat from Outer Space", and half a dozen of the sucessive "Fancy Feast Cats" used by Friskies Pet Foods..so I think there is some question as to the necessity of a model release at all...but I still try to get them.

Here it is:

I understand that i will receive in (time period) (whatever you are giving them).

All prints are mine to keep, and do not have to be returned. I understand the photographers may take additional slide images of my pet for possible commercial usage, and that I may not see those images. I understand that commercial usage of the photos is a significant portion of the photographer's income, and that the price I pay for the session is less than it would be if no additional usages could be made of the images.

Under USA Copyright law, all images are the property of the photographer. Signing this model release, or not, does not alter that fact. I may use the photos for my personal use, display, in paid non-editorial advertising, for personal business cards, stationary, and on my personal cattery web site only. Copyright credit for the photographer must appear in any usages. All other users, including but not limited to books, magazines, articles, calendars, contests, greeting cards, electonic media and product usage are reserved by the photographers, and any potential users must pay a license fee to (your name) before any uses can be made.

I hereby give my consent that (your name) or any person of firms with the consent of (your name) their sucessors, agents, or estate may use photos taken by them (the photographers) of my animals.

followed by signature/address/etc..
top of the form is company letterhead/address/contact info etc. and all my file information....dates etc..

this form also carries my credit card merchant number, and I can just emboss the card right in a blank "notes" area at the bottom of the form.

It is printed two up on standard letter NCR paper, cut to 8.5x5.5, and padded....

Richard

Hi Richard,

Thank you very much for sharing this. I think that the anxiety often occurs when you are dealing with the 'human component' to things. People can be very litigious and it is important to have information such as this.

-JM