Photo Booth Contracts Explained
A Photo Booth Contract Agreement is a fundamental legal document or instrument for both parties (providers and clients). It is a formal arrangement within which an agreement is recorded between two parties and basically serves as a legal piece of evidence for the services rendered by the photo booth provider.
However, a Contract Agreement also stipulates the obligations of both parties, the provider and client, under which they are bound to. This means that the service provider and client must perform their roles in accordance with the terms in the contract agreement .
In practice, a contract agreement is seen as a simple written piece of paper, but it is much more than that as it is crucial to formalizing an agreement between all involved parties and helping them to avoid miscommunication. It is also very important that a client does not misrepresent its ability to comply with the obligations of the contract. An example would be misrepresenting the ability to make payment for services to be rendered.
As a result, a contract agreement is fundamental, especially in the event of breach or non-compliance with the terms, as the aggrieved party can rely on the legal document to enforce the rights or obligations of both parties. Further, the court will always have an interest in enforcing the terms and conditions of a contract.
The Purpose and Components of the Photo Booth Contract
You’ve successfully marketed your photo booth business, and now you’ve landed the big gig for a wedding or some other event. Your client is making arrangements for a photographer prior to your booking them and provides you with a deposit. That’s when it hits you that all you have at this point is verbal contract. What is that? Essentially, it means you don’t have a legal contract and may not be able to hold your client to any terms or conditions of your services if something were to happen to cause you to miss the event or present unfavorable circumstances, such as, you didn’t show up with an operational photo booth or no booth at all, etc. Until you have signed documentation in place, you don’t have a contract; it’s merely a handshake deal. Don’t let this happen to you.
Photo booth contracts can vary from company to company, but the most important elements remain consistent across the board.
Your contract should include the services you are providing, the total price, amount of the payment, and schedule of payments.
Some of your payment options may include:
You should also include the date of service, whom the agreement is between, who is expected to sign the contract, and any required taxes.
Other items to include are a description of services, including:
You’ll also want to describe the amount of time and hours of service your services will be available. For instance, you may be providing your photo booth services from 7pm until midnight. If the parties agree to have your booth available from 5pm to 8pm with a possible extension to midnight, you should include an additional fee for extending the hours. For example purposes, let us say your total agreement price is $2000. Your contract should include the fees to extend your services from the agreed amount, or a set fee for overtime that is agreed between the parties.
List any additional costs under the pricing section of your contract. For example, you may include the cost of having a GST/HST registration number. Other extras may include online photo galleries, photo albums, additional travel costs, etc. The list could be endless.
Include a cancellation clause in the contract. A good rule of thumb is to have a six-month notice period for cancellations without penalty. For cancellations within six months, the client forfeits their deposit, and if it’s two months prior to the event, they forfeit their entire deposit. Anything further is at the owner’s discretion and written into the agreement.
Disclose how many people will be setting up the photo booth and the required space for the booth. For instance, if your booth requires an area of 1.5 meters by 2 meters, you need to disclose this requirement. Your client should provide you with a floor plan of the designated area for your photo booth, if applicable. If you need electrical outlets, you should specify how many you need and which wall they should be located on.
It would be a great idea to include a liability waiver. You may want to include a clause that protects your booth from weather damage or location changes. It would be helpful to state you are not liable for any injuries or illnesses caused by using the equipment or taking photographs. If you intend to own the copyrights of the photos you take, mention that in your contract. If you intend to claim a lien against the venue for unpaid services, you should also specify this in your contract.
Legal Cliff Notes for Photo Booth Operators
When operators are not required to comply with California law with regard to the use of a photo booth, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they do not have other legal obligations. Depending on the nature of the agreement, the parties might be subject to rights and obligations that are imposed by state common law. The parties’ inability to contract contrary to the law or public policy is also a relevant consideration when evaluating whether the agreement is in compliance with local requirements. For example, operators will want to verify that their exclusion of all measures of liability (other than intentional conduct) is enforceable. Much like agreements in other contexts, many courts are unwilling to enforce provisions that would circumvent statutes with regard to insurance. As such, it is important to understand the nature of the events so that the operator can properly allocate liability and obtain insurance. Additionally, even though the parties may be free to contractually allocate liability, the agreement may be held to be against public policy if it excludes liability for injury to a child.
Specifics You Need in a Photo Booth Contract
One size doesn’t fit all. It may be the standard motto with clothes, but it’s fitting for your photo booth contract agreement for a variety of reasons:
- Events differ immensely. The photo booth contract agreement for a couple who married in a lavish ballroom is going to differ from the agreement for a graduation party; the same goes for corporate events, bar mitzvahs, etc.
- Contract agreements for photo booths are legal contracts, and they should act as application and fact finders. If everyone signed the same contract, it would be impossible to properly address your client’s needs.
- People appreciate being able to customize their products and services. Similarly, not providing customizable options for your services can be seen as impersonal or cold, particularly for events like weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
If someone asks your software company for photo booth contract agreement templates, don’t automatically hand over your company contract template. Instead, offer customizable solutions, as every event is different. A high school student renting a booth for a graduation party will have different needs than a couple shopping for their wedding .
Similarly, just because you’ve serviced a specific type of event (like a high school graduation) doesn’t mean the new customer who wants the same service as the last client will buy the same contract. Maybe the new client is on a budget, or maybe they would like to build a package. Your job is to make selling photo booths easy — make it easier for clients to use your service.
Some types of events you can customize contracts agreements for include:
● Weddings: Again, you may be asked to do this package for a wedding. The problem is, they don’t see events as weddings only.
● Corporate Events: Clients often ask for different things based on their company size and industry.
● Bar/Bat Mitzvahs: These events often change quite often. A new photo booth rental is quite common too.
● Proms: This market is also growing rapidly. Customers purchase many events at once.
● Fundraisers: Many of these events require donations, so the packages and offerings need to be tailored accordingly.
The options are endless! Finetune contracts agreements, so they fit for your photo booth rentals. It pays off in the end, you look more professional and polished, and customers feel better about the service they’re receiving.
Common Photo Booth Errors
Failure to Specify What You’re Providing
One of the most common mistakes I see in contract agreements is failing to list the services that the photo booth company is actually providing. If they are providing props, include that in the contract. If they will provide a certain number of props, include that in the contract. If they will have a certain number of hours of attendant time, include that in the contract. The more detail the better.
Getting Too Bugged Down in the Details
While details are important, it’s also important not to go overboard with details in a contract agreement. If you try to list every single thing that you will ever do or provide, your contract agreement will end up being hundreds of pages long.
Not Being Specific About Guarantees
Many people have trouble coming up with a contract agreement for a business that is brand new, or one that will involve some level of customization – for example, a custom-built photo booth or custom backdrop. This can lead to contracts where the photo booth company has guaranteed a dozen extras but the customer isn’t happy with any of them. Often, this is because the client did not specify their preferences in sufficient detail.
What Clients Should Look Out For In a Photo Booth Contract
Due to the rise in popularity of rental services such as DJs, magicians, and other entertainers, photo booths are also offered by people who buy a photo booth on Craigslist without knowing much about them. In order not to be misled on the cost, and to ensure you get a reliable operator, you should be sure to ask these questions as you review contract agreement terms:
How long has the company been in business? Is there a local name and number for the company, or are you corresponding with an out-of-state number? Will the company provide and set-up (and take down) a full studio set-up?
How many lights, back drops, props, and costumes does the price include? Will the company have a "staff" member on site who is trained in photography and lighting? Is the contract agreement in your name, or the name of the company?
Is the contract agreement in your name, or the name of the person you’re working with?
How many pictures will be taken during that time? Is there a limit on the number of pictures taken within the specific time , and if so, how do they save and determine the type of pictures?
Will they provide you with a CD of all the pictures?
Are the pictures printed on-site or sent to you after the event?
What kind of printer is being used: dye sub, inkjet, or laser?
What is the printer speed? A good inkjet will be 3×5 in less than 10 seconds, and 4×6 in less than 15 seconds.
Does the company provide unlimited prints for your duration of service or only one print (as that is the difference between dye sub and inkjet)?
You’ll want to know what kind of software is being used for the photos: How does the program operate, and is it reliable?
You can ask the company if they will provide a test proof-set for your review to be sure their rate is accurate before you commit to a contract agreement.
Ask to see their entire contract agreement beforehand so there are no surprises for details about payment, extras, and other fees.
