038. Photography Contracts + The 3 Steps to Legally Protect Your Photography Business with Andrea Sager
Andrea Sager owns Andrea Sager Law and is the founder and CEO of Legalpreneur and author of Legalpreneur: The Busines.s Owner’s Guide to Legally Protecting Your Business
Being a photographer, business owner, and entrepreneur can be overwhelming. Andrea explained the legal side with the three steps to legally protect your photography business.
These three key points are vital to the health of your business, and I highly recommend you take this episode seriously if you’re a photography business owner.
Why did I invite Andrea to Sustainable Freedom with Photography?
I want you to start your photography business correctly with sustainability and the long-term health of your business.
And if you’re not a new business, but you don’t know that you’re legally protected, it’s time to take this episode very seriously.
Andrea’s experience with creative business owners is extensive. She’s owned several small, creative businesses, has been through law school, and knows exactly what we need to have in place as photographers.
One thing I want to mention specifically is her contract shop. I love her view on photography contracts. It fits EXACTLY what I teach inside Six-Figures Simplified.
The Three Steps to Legally protect Your Photography Business
In today’s episode, Andrea covers three vital steps to legally protect your photography business–your LLC, photography contacts, and copyright.
The legal structure of your photography business
Andrea shares exactly what an LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is and why your business needs to be one.
She explains why the timeline of becoming an LLC is so important and how it will protect you and your business in the long run.
As Andrea says, “You never know what’s going to happen in your business.”
Separating yourself and your business is very important for more than just protecting yourself.
What photography contracts do we need?
Some photographers think contracts are to pull something over your client’s head, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Photography contracts are to protect what you are creating.
Andrea covers when and what contracts should be in place, plus how contracts can be simple for the photographer and the client.
Andrea says simple is best, which by the way, is exactly what I have implemented in my business and teach in Six-Figures Simplified.
Photography contracts can be simple and still protect your business and your work. Let’s avoid complicating things that should be easy.
Your most valuable asset as a photographer
Andrea also reviews intellectual property, copyright, and trademarks and why they are essential to your photography business.
Many photographers don’t realize how important copyright truly is. The moment your camera shutter clicks and the work is created, you have a copyright on that photo.
It’s so important to protect our work, and to do this, we have to understand what type of intellectual property we are providing and what type of license we provide to the client to protect our work.
My new favorite attorney!
It’s not often I say that I love attorneys because let’s be honest, they get a bad rep, but I loved this conversation with Andrea!
Follow her on Instagram, visit her website, and purchase her book! You won’t regret it!
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Have the Legalprenuer FILE YOUR LLC.
Tracy Lynn is a boudoir photogapher for brides-to-be in the St. Louis area, and a mentor + coach for photographers looking to level up their businesses with better systems and processes.
