As with starting any business, opening a business as a Pet Photographer requires setting up a legal foundation to not only keep yourself and your business safe, but to protect your clients, too.

Some of these are different from say a business as a people photographer, too.

That’s why I wanted to create this post, which outlines several legal must haves if you decide you want to start your business as a pet photographer (and include a couple you may not have even thought of).

For all the important things I talk about throughout this post, keep on reading. Or if you prefer, you can watch the companion video to this post here.

PS. If you want a checklist of all that I talk about in this blog post (and more!), be sure to get your free copy of my Start Your Pet Photography Business Checklist here.

Pssst…. love this post? Be sure to pin it for later!

Legal Must Haves For Your Pet Photography Business

CONTRACT

Listen, do yourself a favor and get a contract! You might think you don’t need one, but at some point throughout your photography journey it’s not if, but when, something will happen where you wish you had a contract to back you up. Sometimes it’s people being malicious, but more often than not, it’s lack of knowledge on behalf of your client, so when that happens, you have your contract to fall back on.

The contract also elevates your business, so you look more professional. It includes all the things about what you do, what you don’t do, what they can expect, what they can do with the photos, etc. It can pretty much covers anything you want it to in your business.

For instance, I had a friend who had a client manipulate her photos via Photoshop and completely change them and then proceed to pass them off as her own. Yikes. Not a great situation to be in, but fortunately, my friend had a contract and had a leg to stand on legally when it came to protecting her work. That’s just an example of how someone can take advantage of your work even though you never expect it to happen.

My pet photography contract is from TheLawTog. They have awesome pet photography contracts created by actual lawyers, but of course, if you want to create your own, be sure to have a lawyer look over it for you to ensure you’ve covered all of your bases. You’ll find that their contacts are a little pricey upfront, especially if you are just getting started, but do join their email list, because a couple times a year they will do sales and discounts on their products!

VACCINATION CLAUSE

Riding along the coattails of the first must have, you also want to make sure your contract has a vaccination clause. I learned this from a photographer who does studio photography where she photographs babies and pets. When working with pets, for safety, you want to make sure that these pets are vaccinated before they come into your studio.

This is in the event something happens, you’ve done your due diligence, but also if you are photographing multiple pets in a day or in a week that you aren’t passing something contagious, like kennel cough, to other dogs, which for younger pups could be really worrisome.

So, just make sure when drafting your contract, you require from the owners proof of vaccination. If you purchase a contract from TheLawTog, I’m fairly certain they do include this inside of the pet photography contract you purchase from them. As always, double check to be sure.

PET MEDIA RELEASE

Next up, you’ll want to have a “model” release, but for pets, you’ll want pet parents to sign a Pet Media Release. This just gives you the ability to use their imagery in your marketing materials, on social media, websites, etc, but also for commercial use such as licensing the images.

The pet media release just gives the pet owner the option to say yes or no when it comes to having their pet used publicly. I have found so far, that pet parents don’t seem to mind, but it’s still good to have in the event a client comes back to you and says they didn’t agree for you to use their pet’s images, you have it in your back pocket as proof that they gave you permission.

PRINT RELEASE

You will also want to provide a print release to clients, especially those who have purchased a digital package from you if you want to give them the rights to print their own images.

Personally, I only give the print release to my petite session clients, who usually buy a few select digitals and then my other full session clients generally order products through me. But even though my full session clients only order their artwork, albums, and prints through me, I still want them to have the option to print more prints later on if they choose to do so.

Some labs and printers require people to provide a print release, so it’s helpful if your client has one on hand. But at the end of the day, who you provide a print release to is entirely up to you and how you run your photography business.

PRIVELEGE LICENSE

Depending on where you are located and run your business, you might also need to license your business with your country or state.

In the state of North Carolina, we aren’t required to submit a general business license, but we do have to submit a Privilege License and pay a $50 fee yearly. To me that sounds like paying to be licensed in business, but that’s what they call it in our specific state.

So, depending on where your business operates, you just want to double check with your local municipality on what the requirements are for operating your photography business in your country, state, country, province, etc, and whether or not you need to be licensed or have something like a Privelege License.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

If you’re asleep on me, then wake up now, because this is one of the most important things I will share in this post – you need insurance.

I know, I know, when you are just getting started, you may not have a lot of money to put towards liability insurance, but I would even say before a contract, before your media release, before anything else, invest in insurance.

What happens if you get hurt on a shoot? What happens if your client does? What happens if your gear gets stolen, damaged, or lost?

These are all very real possibilities, so safeguard yourself.

As a pet photographer, as it has been taught to me, you likely don’t need more than $1 Million in liability and then of course, your equipment replacement coverage, not cash value, for your equipment. This way you are given the amount of money to replace your equipment, not what the depreciated value of the equipment is when you are using a five year old camera.

Plus, liability insurance helps you to look more professional and is one way you can stand a part from the competition! In fact, all of my insurance certificates are listed on the very bottom of my website for just that reason, so clients can check them out whenever they want.

PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITS WHERE REQUIRED

Last, but not least, please, please, please invest in your permits. Don’t be that photograph that isn’t following the rules making things harder for everyone else. Many places, especially these days, require a permit for commercial photography.

My county specifically requires a yearly permit for many of the local parks and places I can shoot at. It’s always good to have as they may not always check, but you can get into hot water with your business if you’re shooting something commercially (for money), but you haven’t done your due diligence to ensure you have all the proper permits to be there.

No matter where you are shooting always be sure to double check whether or not pets are allowed, if you need a permit, or even if you need to register prior to photographing at that location. I promise, you’ll be glad you did!

I keep my Wake County photography permit number on my phone, so if ever I am out shooting, I can quickly pull it up and show proof of being permitted. Honestly, it’s $100 per year and takes ten minutes to do, so don’t procrastinate on it and get permitted where you live if it’s something your municipality, city, town, etc, requires.