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Wedding Photography Contract Checklist: Get It in Writing
A wedding photography contract should name the lead photographer and crew, list every event with its date, place and hours, and set out each deliverable with its delivery date. It should also price travel, overtime and extra events as separate lines, and cover file backups, publication and cancellation. Get it in writing before you pay a booking amount; Élan Films puts each of these in its written proposal.
Wedding photography contract checklist for Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala: crew, events and hours, deliverables and dates, travel, backups, privacy, cancellation.
Published · Last reviewed by the Élan Films studio team. How we check facts and price bands
Use this list on any quote, ours included. Every line below should be in writing before you pay a booking amount. For the questions to ask in a first conversation, see what to ask a wedding photographer; for how a booking with Élan runs, see how we work.
Who should the contract name?
The lead photographer by name, the rest of the crew by role, and who replaces the lead if they are ill. A studio name on its own is not enough, because the person you met is not always the person who turns up.
What should the quote list for each event?
Every event with its date, venue and the hours covered, and which crew member covers it. Mark the events that run at the same time in different places, because those need a second camera. A quote for “the wedding” that covers only the muhurtham and reception will look cheaper than one that covers every event.
How should deliverables and delivery dates be written?
Edited photographs as a number or a range, the films by format and length, any album with its page count, and a date for each: the preview, the full gallery, the teaser and the film. Add the number of revision rounds and how long download links stay active.
How should travel, overtime and extra events be charged?
As separate lines with the rate written down: crew travel and stay outside the studio's home city, the hourly rate when a muhurtham runs late, and the price of an event added later. A travel cost folded into one figure makes the quote impossible to compare with a local studio's.
Should the family portraits be in the contract?
Yes. Write in a time slot for a directed family block, twenty to forty minutes, and attach the list of groups that must be photographed. Name someone who recognises both families to gather people. Portraits left until after the meal are the ones that go missing.
What happens if equipment fails or files are lost?
Ask the assigned team to explain backup equipment, recording practices, file copies and retention. Record the agreed process in the scope. A general promise of “unlimited coverage” does not answer how your photographs will be protected.
What should the contract say about publishing our wedding?
Whether the studio may publish your photographs and films, where, and which events stay private, written down before the day. Permission to photograph is not permission to publish, and some families would rather nothing appeared online.
What about cancellation and postponement?
What is refundable, what moves to a new date and by when, and what happens if the studio has to cancel. Get the dates and amounts in writing before you pay the booking amount.
Where does Élan Films work?
Élan Films is a wedding photography and film studio in Nagasandra, Bengaluru. It covers Bengaluru and around (Coorg, Chikmagalur, Mysuru, Hampi, Kabini, Sakleshpur), Goa and Kerala. Outside Bengaluru, crew travel and accommodation are shown separately in the proposal.
Prepare a brief you can send
Include your date window, location, events, guest estimate and the decisions you have already made. Add the questions that would prevent you from booking. You do not need to have every answer before contacting us.
Related services
For a wedding in another region or a separate supplier brief, these independent businesses may help. Ask each studio for its own availability, scope and quotation.