Anyone mind sharing sample contracts for 2nd shooters

Vail, I wouldn't try to offer a percentage unless you want to.
What you are doing is hiring a creative to do things your way, not their way. You are in charge, you call the shots. Also, I wouldn't be to quick to put anyone I haven't worked with in a position to do a lot of shooting I may have to depend on. wink! wink!

What I think you need is a simple work for hire agreement, you could find them online and amend them as you see fit.
See you on Sunday!!
D

Ok, so here's what I came up with, in case any one else is looking for this type of info. The names have been changed for the protection of the innocent...

PHOTOGRAPHER'S WORK FOR HIRE AGREEMENT

FOR JOHN DOE

This AGREEMENT is made this 28^th day of May, 2010, by and between PHOTO STUDIO NAME ("Employer") and JOHN DOE("Photographer”, and collectively, the “Parties”).

WHEREAS, Employer wishes to engage Photographer as a second shooter at the Wedding (“Event”) taking place on May X^th, 2010 (the “Work”) as a “work for hire”;

AND WHEREAS, the Parties both intend for Employer to be able to place the Photographer’s Work from the event on the Photography Studio's Zenfolio website for the purpose of viewing and ordering prints of the Photographer’s work, and for the purpose of incorporation into albums.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises, covenants, warranties, and other good and valuable consideration set forth herein, the Parties agree as follows:

1. Work for Hire. After the execution of this Agreement, Photographer shall commence production of the Work. The work shall be a work for hire, and Employer has the sole rights to the profits from the sale of prints of the Photographer’s work placed on PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO's Zenfolio website. The Photographer may not sell prints, associated products, or the rights to the images created during the Work. The Photographer may use images from the Work for his website and any other promotional materials for JOHN DOE. During the Event, if the Photographer is asked for his card, he must indicate that he is a second shooter contracted by PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO to work at this event, and may provide his own personal business card. The Photographer will only be permitted to provide his personal business card if he is explicitly asked for it by one of the guests at the Event. The Employer will not use the Photographer’s Work in any promotional materials for the Employer.

2. Assignment. The Photographer will arrive at the Community Center, XYZ Road, City, State, at X:00 pm, May X, 2010. The Photographer will cover the event until X:30 pm. The Photographer will provide his own equipment. Any damage or theft incurred to the Photographer’s equipment or injury incurred while covering the event is at the Photographer’s own liability. During the event, the Photographer will take photos at his own discretion and assist the Employer when requested.

3. Delivery

a. The Work shall be completed and delivered to Employer on or prior to June, 29, 2010 (the “Scheduled Delivery Date”). The work will meet the following criteria in terms of form and quality upon delivery: RAW image files will be uploaded to the Photographer’s own website so that the Employer may download them and edit them as necessary.

b. If Photographer fails to deliver the Work to Employer by the Scheduled Delivery Date, Employer shall have a right to terminate this Agreement as set forth in Subsection (b) of this Section 3, and to recoup the Advance from Photographer. In the event that Employer wishes to terminate this Agreement and recoup the Advance from the Photographer due to failure to deliver the Work by the Scheduled Delivery Date, Employer must send written notice of such termination and desire to recoup (the “Termination Notice”) to Photographer within 14 days of the date of termination.

c. If Photographer delivers the Work to Employer after the Scheduled Deliver Date, Employer accepts deliver of the Work, and photographer has not yet received a Termination Notice from Employer, then Employer’s right to terminate this Agreement and recoup the Advance pursuant to Subsection (b) of this Section 3 shall become null and void.

4. Independent Contractor. Photographer is an independent contractor providing services to Employer, and is not an employee of Employer. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to create or demonstrate an employment relationship between Photographer and Employer.

5. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with, and governed in all respects by, the laws of the State of X, without regard to conflicts of law principles.

6. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute one agreement.

7. Severability. If any parts of this Agreement shall be held unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. If any provision of this Agreement is deemed invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, and if limiting such provision would make the provision valid, then such provision shall be deemed to be construed as so limited.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed the day and year first above written.

EMPLOYER PHOTOGRAPHER

__________________________ _____________________________

Signature Signature

__________________________ _____________________________

Date Date

_________ ______________________________

Print Name Print Name

D'oh, too late to fix it in the edit. I realized I didn't have in there the line about compensation. You should indicate how much you are going to pay the person. Whoops.

is not employee of Employer

You are not what you are. Hilarious.

Photographer will cover the event

It kind of reads like a farm out contract rather than a second shooter gig. Is the photographer to provide additional material, duplicative back up material, or different style images of the same scenes. In the section called assignment, the only assignment given is to "cover" an event. Who needs the first shooter when the "photographer" is going to "cover" it. No mention of assistance, taking direction, ect. The photographer could show up, cover away at their own whim and discretion and supply the images on time. Mission accomplished.

WHEREAS, NOW THEREFORE, and henceforth IN WITNESS WHEREOF, another legalese and authoritative sounding 'free' contract found online is nominated for the Hall of Shame.

In the end I realized I needed to be more explicit with the whole cover the event thing for the exact same reasons you put forth. Being an employee and being an independent contractor are two separate things by the way. If people have constructive suggestions for changes, that'd be great to have. Just saying it's bad isn't very helpful. That's why I was looking for examples that people have actually used.

saying it's bad isn't very helpful. That's why I was looking for examples that people have actually used.

The fact that people used some contract doesn't mean anything. Contracts are either expertly drafted or they are not. Someone using one doesn't change that. Even when a contract is challenged and deemed enforceable, it often relates only to a very narrow issue.

Unfortunately no one can draft your legal documents for you, even if they qualified to do so, because you haven't even supplied a single bit of information as to what it is you are trying to accomplish.

The first step in having a suitable contract is to determine what you need it to accopmlish. Some things you may know already. It is likely that some not known. Do some research on what issues are important when using second shooters. Even here in these forums are postings of pitfalls people have run in to as to second shooting. One you have that list together you can look at samples of contracts covering these issues. These samples should be provided by professional photography associations and in books and other sources authored by experts. Then you can assemble and organize such samples into a comprehensive draft. Once that is done, take it to a local attorney for review. It will cost much less for a review than it will be to draft it from scratch. Once done, then you will have a suitable contract.

One concern I'd have relates to the section covering what happens if the 2nd fails to deliver on schedule. You state that you can cancel the agreement and recover pre-paid fees. Fine, but what happens to the photos the 2nd took? Does the 2nd then own those images? That is, if you terminate the agreement, do you understand that to mean that the work is no longer "work for hire" and that copyright rests with the 2nd? To me, this seems to provide far too much leeway to your 2nd.

Moreover, the portion requiring you (the Employer) to send written notice seems to over-emphasize this possibility, almost to the point of making it just one option included in the contract.

Your original post says your husband is really busy "this weekend," meaning May 29-June 1. I infer, then, that the gig is this weekend. So why allow the 2nd a month just to deliver RAW files? The contract does not state any expectation that the 2nd will do any post processing work -- the only requirement is delivery of RAW files. Why not require file transfer on site? (Just bring a laptop and download after the gig.) Or require that the 2nd use memory cards supplied by you and that he or she hand them to you on site?

Concur with John except for this:
"It will cost much less for a review than it will be to draft it from scratch."
Really ?
When you review you have to start with a document you're unfamiliar with. Figure out what it is trying to say. Figure out if it "works". Figure out how to fix it if it doesn't without the other side thinking you're making a substantive change. Identify the various issues. Talk to the client and explain what it says and where you might need to push back. Mark it up. Etc. etc.
When you draft "from scratch" you start with something you are comfortable with and mark it up to adjust for the present deal.
Which one do you think the average attorney can do faster ?
I'd say the more complex the agreement the quicker it is to "draft from scratch." But even a relatively short and simple agreement like a "2nd shooter agreement" would probably be, for a lot of attorneys, quicker to draft from scratch.