E-signatures for photographers

What paperwork does a photographer get signed?

For wedding and portrait photographers, the booking contract is the big one. It covers the date, hours of coverage, deposit and cancellation terms, delivery time for the gallery, and what happens if the photographer is ill. Couples should both sign it, because both are the client.

Commercial and editorial work leans on releases. A model release lets you use someone's likeness in advertising; a property release covers a recognisable private building. Licensing agreements set out where and for how long a client can use the images.

• Wedding or portrait booking contract
• Model release
• Property release
• Image licensing agreement
• Second shooter or assistant agreement

Where photographers get caught out

Releases for minors need a parent or guardian's signature, not the child's. At a shoot with a family or a school team, that means several parents, each signing on the spot before the camera comes out.

Stock agencies often want the release to carry specific details: the shoot date, a description or thumbnail of the model, and a witness. Check your agency's own requirements, because a release that is missing the right details may be rejected however it was signed.

How a photographer gets a release signed at the shoot

This assumes you have the release saved as a template on the Full plan; on Light you upload it each time.

• Open the release on your phone, add the model's name and email and send.
• The model gets the email, enters the six-digit code and signs with a finger on their own phone.
• For a minor, add the parent or guardian as the signer instead, with a free-text field for the child's name.
• Add a witness as a second signer if your stock agency asks for one.
• The sealed release lands in your inbox before you put the camera away.

What does it cost a photographer?

A wedding photographer booking one or two weddings a month can use Light at $5 a month, which covers 2 sent documents. The couple signing together counts as one document.

Commercial photographers sending a release to every model on a shoot will want Full at $10 a month: unlimited documents and templates for each release and contract. Being monthly, you can move up for the busy season and back down in winter.

What photographers should know before switching

We do not handle bookings, invoices, deposits or client galleries. Studio management tools that photographers use for enquiries usually include contracts and payments in one place, and if you already pay for one, its signing may be all you need.

We do not send by SMS, so the person signing needs an email address they can open on their phone at the shoot. There is no native app; the phone browser does everything.