As any entrepreneur will tell you, owning and running a business comes with highs and lows.  And sometimes those highs and lows occur throughout a single year or…on a single day.  One minute you can be celebrating the high of a wonderful session resulting in really happy clients, and the next you can be feeling the lows of a snippy email that leaves you doubting yourself.  While the past 6 years of owning my photography business have certainly been full of success and celebration, the years have naturally had their low moments sprinkled in between.  And at one of my lowest moments I was ready to shut down my business because of three nagging words: photography client contracts.

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Photography Client Contracts : One Secret To Stress Free Contracts

At the lowest point in my business, I found myself crying all the way home from a session after a client literally crossed out sentences of my contract with a pen right in front of me, before signing it.  And being the people pleaser that I am, I smiled my way through it while my body was crumbling inside.  I remember thinking, “I just want to quit photography.”  But then, once I calmed down, I realized that it would be so silly to quit something that I am really good at over a paper with words on it that the client needs to sign.

If there is one thing I have always been a stickler on with my business, it’s having photography client contracts signed and filed for each and every session I’ve ever photographed.  Photography client contracts protect myself and my business, lay out the terms of the session, streamline deposits and balance payments, ensure my copyrighted ownership of all files and give me permission to use client images for marketing…with a lot of other words in between.  I have never had a client not sign my contract, because it is non-negotiable, but there have been a few clients over the years that have tempted a gray hair to grow during the signing process.

So what wasn’t working?  Up until this year, I had a paper contract.  My clients were given the contract at booking and were to turn it in.  More times than not, they would bring it to their session or sign a copy I would carry with me on session day.  While all my clients signed my contract, it was something extra I had to worry about collecting the day of the session and, for the handful of clients who were hesitant to sign, it was more to talk about and clarify on session day.

To be honest, it made me have a recurring thought: I really don’t want to think about contracts at all on session day.

And this is where Honeybook completely saved my business.  Just when I was tempted to not accept another client, I learned of a way that my clients could sign my contract before booking me.  In other words, my clients had to get the contract done and signed before even placing their deposit and getting on my calendar.  And for the clients who don’t want to sign, I can politely turn down their session request.

Honeybook allows me to simplify the booking process with my clients and take away the drama of photography client contracts.  In a click or two, I can send my client their session proposal, contract and invoice for them to complete.  And the best part, it has them sign my contract in order to book their session.  Now, I never have to worry about my clients signing their photography clients contracts because they can take care of it while they are placing their deposit.  I never even have to be involved in the contract process, as they can take care of it on their end.

This simple way that Honeybook has streamlined photography clients contracts literally saved my business.  It took the worst part of my business and made it something that I don’t even have to come into contact with, as my clients can simply sign and turn in their contract at booking.

No more contract reminders.  No more contract explanations.  No more drama.  No more contracts scribbled on.

One of the best parts about Honeybook is that they have a wonderful support staff!  Upon signing up and becoming a member of Honeybook, they encouraged me to send them a PDF copy of my paper contract so they could load it into my workspace for me.  Before my very eyes, my paper contract that I had carried around on a clip board in my camera bag for years was turned into an electronic contract that clients could digitally sign.

Not only is my contract so easy now, but it looks very professional.  Clients can scroll through my contract easily and are shown where they need to fill in their information, place their initials and sign.  Within a few clicks from my client, I have a signed contract and a deposit placed.  The time I used to spend stressing about photography client contracts is now spent on more important parts of my business like editing and marketing.

Honeybook not only gave me one place to collect deposits and contracts, but it also gave me a breath of fresh air.  It took the most stressful part of my business and solved it within a few clicks.

While photography client contracts should be a non-negotiable part of every photography business, they shouldn’t be something that is a source of stress.  Allow Honeybook to streamline your booking process by giving your client a place to sign and place their deposit, while eliminating all the fuss.  I am not saying you won’t ever have a client question your contract or not be willing to sign, but you will be able to work with and hopefully solve their questions long before session day.  Plus, now you can save room in your camera bag for other things rather than contracts and pens and save your stress for more important things like getting toddlers to smile in their family photos!

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