Insurance question for paid shoots?

[Swisstony10]

Glyn,

You need to be careful with the idea of contracts being legal and binding once they're signed. It's entirely possible for clauses in a contract to be considered unfair and/or void, particularly if they contradict each other or legal requirements. For example, if you included in a contract:

"Customer agrees that if images are reproduced without permission, photographer is entitled to stab customer repeatedly with a chef's knife."

You wouldn't be able to get away with stabbing the offending customer and then saying in your defence "But I have a signed contract that says I can..."

Ok, that's an extreme example - but still, it's worth getting professional advice, from someone who's an expert in British law. You might find some good UK-specific advice with the following organisations:

Association of Photographers - The Association of Photographers - Home

British Institute of Professional Photography - BIPP - British Institute of Professional Photography

Societ of Wedding and Portrait Photographers - Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers - SWPP and BPPA -


In terms of the advice given regarding setting yourself up as what's referred to as an LLC in the US - the two main options for our kind of work in the UK are being either a Sole Trader, or a Limited Company (Ltd), and you'll find more information than is probably healthy regarding that on the HMRC's website - HM Revenue & Customs: Home Page

They're also pretty helpful if you phone them up, or if you're not currently in employment, your local Jobcentre Plus ought to be able to put you in touch with some free business advice.

EDIT - If you're working out and about, or at peoples' homes or places of work, you'd be silly to NOT have insurance. You only need a light-stand to fall over and the the prong of an brolly to go in someone's eye, and you'll be glad of it. Or you could do what I did on Monday night at my local Carnival - stepped backwards to frame a shot slightly better and walked into someone. Luckily, they fell into someone else, I apologised, and we all laughed, but if it'd been an elderly person, or a child, or we'd all fallen badly and they'd broken something, and I'd had no public liability insurance, then I would've been in a bit of bother..

Good luck!

Russ.

[gturner]

British law usually only allows for someone to be sued if there is an act of negligence. This means you need to have done something a reasonable person would have foreseen as a bad idea.
If you over promise your abilities it is misrepresentation, which you can be sued for.

You cannot contact away responsibility for negligence. Even an "enter at your own risk" sign means nothing if the staff/ facility is operating in a negligent manner.


The US is different (it is a minefield in comparison)