Free Shoot And Usage

Q:

I did a free shoot with a celebrity who has a restaurant for a magazine story. When they asked to use the image for a virtual beer tasting event, we kindly allowed them to use it for free. They took that as a blanket usage for all social media without our permission. What kind of contract can we use for approved usage terms with a zero balance? What is the best way to deal with this when we are not charging for the initial use?

A:

Assume when you are photographing in the editorial, portrait, and entertainment industry, you work with people who do not understand copyright and usage terms. Begin with the perspective that you must put everything in a signed contract no matter your fee. Every photographer must have an estimate form signed by the client BEFORE starting the job. “Freelancers” do not mean free from protecting our business. A freelancer means you create your contract with legal terminology available to us on resources like blinkbid.com.