New Photographers: Signed Contracts Needed at the Start of Every Project

I recently heard a question from a new photographer. They are new to the business and focused on building their brand and rapport with potential clients. Their question was, “Should I have a contract on hand at the beginning stages of my business?” My response was an emphatic: “Yes!” Photography Contracts: Every Job, Every Time… [Continue Reading]

Photographer Disputes: What Happens If You Don’t Deliver

As I was researching photographers’ legal questions, I stumbled onto a question posted by an upset client: “The photographer hasn’t given me my photos. It’s been six months. What can I do about that?” Whoa! That sounds exceptionally bad. I’m curious how complex this project was and when the photographer said they’d deliver images to… [Continue Reading]

Lawyer Responds to Photographers’ Problems

Last week, I saw a thread in an online photography group that started with a simple question: “What problems do you face as a photographer?” After reading hundreds of the responses, I wanted to respond to some of their problems as both a lawyer and an entrepreneur: Competition – Other Photographers Offering Half the Price… [Continue Reading]

How to Give a Discount on your Photography Services without Discounting your Value

Sometimes photographers, like all service providers, want to provide a discount for their services. Perhaps it’s for a friend, someone you’ve always wanted to work with, or an organization you know can’t afford you and you want to help. Nothing Wrong with a Discount There is nothing wrong with offering a discount for your photography… [Continue Reading]

Clarify What Your Photography Client is Buying: Prints vs Digital License

Professional portrait photographers generally need at least two contracts when working with a client: one for the sitting and one for the deliverables. For the latter, make sure the client is crystal clear about what they are, and equally important, what they are not buying. Having clarity on the front end will prevents problems on… [Continue Reading]

How to Respond When Someone Steals Your Photo

Photographers need to be mindful of the possibility that some people may use their photos without permission. People will pull images to use on their website and social media posts. Additionally, there are people who think they have rights to a photo merely because they’re in it. I’ve even heard of hair and makeup artists… [Continue Reading]

Who We Are

Sunset in AZ by Miguel Folch

Carter Law Firm is the umbrella company for my professional speaking and writing activities. My goals are to give people the legal foundation and educational tools they need to run with their ideas and to empower people to pursue their crazy … [Read More]

Speaking Engagements

You’ve read my blog posts and you’ve seen my YouTube videos, now you can hire me to speak at your event or organization. I am available to speak at conferences, continuing legal education events (CLEs), trainings, webinars, podcasts, radio shows, TV … [Read More]

Books

I have been a passionate blogger since 2009. After contributing to several books, I decided to become an author myself. My books expand on many of the topics that have appeared on my blog posts over the years and breaks down legal concepts so … [Read more]

Featured Posts

Can You Trademark a Hashtag?

I spoke at TechPhx on Social Media Horror Stories from the Legal Trenches. One of the stories I told was Turner Barr’s experience with having his blog, Around the World in 80 Jobs, essentially shut down because another company registered the trademark in the same name. At the end of my talk, someone asked if […]

Checklist for Social Media Influencers

Some people, including a lot of average joes, have such a strong social media following that brands want to send them free products to review or to partner with them for a native advertising campaign. If you are lucky enough to get such an offer, you need to understand the rules and read the fine […]

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