Videographer Contract Template: The Clauses a Photo Contract Forgets

Ten years of freelance video taught me that a photographer's contract and a videographer's contract are about 70% the same document. The other 30% is where the work actually goes wrong.

Photographers deliver a gallery. We deliver a film, which means sound, music, an edit with opinions in it, and a client who will watch it nine times and want to change the third song each time. A photo contract has no clause for any of that. So when videographers borrow one (and plenty of us did), the gaps show up in month two of editing.

Here's a videographer contract template built for weddings and events, starting with the clauses that are specific to video. Skip to the template if you just need the text.

The Clauses Video Needs

1. Deliverables, Described Like a Spec

"A wedding film" is not a deliverable. This is:

• A highlights film of 3 to 5 minutes.
• A full ceremony edit, multi-camera.
• Delivered as a download link, 1080p or 4K, within 10 to 12 weeks.

Every word there prevents a conversation. Length, format and timing are the three things clients imagine differently from you, and they all imagine it the day they sign.

2. Revision Rounds

This is the clause I'd tattoo on the inside of my eyelids if that were a thing. (It isn't. My 14-year-old has confirmed, with unnecessary visual research.)

Include one or two rounds of revisions. Each round is one list, sent within a set number of days. Changes after that are billed at your rate. Without this, an edit has no finish line. It just slowly turns into a hobby the client runs on your time.

The reason this goes wrong isn't that clients are greedy. It's that "edit the film" doesn't say where editing ends, which is exactly what scope creep usually is.

3. Music Licensing

Couples want their song. Their song is often owned by a label that will happily mute your film on YouTube.

Say it plainly in the contract: the film uses music licensed for online sharing, chosen by you, guided by the couple's taste. If they want a specific commercial track, they understand it may be blocked online, or it needs a license they pay for. Set this at signing. Not when the couple's highlights film turns up muted on Instagram.

4. Audio

Vows matter more than any shot you'll get all day, and you usually can't control the sound. Write down what you need: a lavalier mic on the officiant or the groom, access to the venue's sound desk, a feed from the DJ. Then add that you aren't responsible for audio lost because of venue or third-party equipment.

5. Raw Footage

Excluded by default. If the client wants it, it's an add-on with a price and a delivery format. Raw footage is hours of unedited material, and once it's out of your hands, someone's cousin will cut it to a ringtone. Say what you're selling: a film, not a hard drive.

6. Multi-Day Shoots

Weddings increasingly run over two or three days: a welcome dinner, the ceremony, a farewell brunch. A contract written for one day breaks on day two.

List each day with its date and hours. Say the retainer reserves all the booked days. And say that cancelling one day out of three counts as a cancellation of that day, so the cancellation tiers apply to it. The cancellation policy post explains why a booking that shrinks needs that exact sentence.

The Clauses Every Booking Needs

These are the same as any date-based job, so briefly:

• A retainer that reserves the date. 25% to 50% is common, paid at signing, credited to the total, non-refundable if the client cancels. Why it works that way.
• A balance due before the event. Two to four weeks out.
• Cancellation tiers tied to notice, and one reschedule allowed with the retainer carried over.
• If you can't attend: a qualified replacement, or a full refund.
• Usage: the client gets personal use, you keep copyright and portfolio rights unless they opt out at signing.
• Drone footage, if you fly: subject to weather, venue permission and local aviation rules. In the US that means an FAA Part 107 certificate for paid work.

The Template

Not legal advice. I'm a freelancer, not a lawyer. Have someone qualified in your state or country review it once, especially the cancellation and refund terms.

VIDEOGRAPHY AGREEMENT

1. DATES AND COVERAGE
[Videographer] will film [Client names] on the following dates:
[Date 1, hours, location]
[Date 2, hours, location]

2. DELIVERABLES
- Highlights film: [X] to [X] minutes
- [Ceremony / speeches] edit: [description]
Format: [resolution], delivered by download link within [X] weeks of
the final booked date.

3. REVISIONS
[X] rounds of revisions are included. Each round is one written list,
sent within [X] days of delivery. Further changes are billed at
$[Rate] per hour.

4. MUSIC
Films use music licensed for online sharing, chosen by the
Videographer. Specific commercial tracks requested by the Client may
be blocked or muted online, or require a license at the Client's cost.

5. AUDIO
The Client will arrange [microphone on officiant / access to sound
desk]. The Videographer is not responsible for audio lost because of
venue or third-party equipment.

6. RAW FOOTAGE
Raw footage is not included. It is available as an add-on for
$[Amount].

7. FEES AND PAYMENT
Total fee: $[Total]. A retainer of [X]% ($[Amount]) is due at signing
and reserves all booked dates. The retainer is credited toward the
total. The balance is due [X] days before the first booked date.

8. CANCELLATION AND RESCHEDULING
The retainer is non-refundable if the Client cancels. Within 90 days
of the first booked date, 50% of the balance is also owed; within 30
days, the full fee. Cancelling some booked days is treated as a
cancellation of those days. The Client may move the booking once, with
the retainer carried over. Notice is effective when sent in writing to
[email].

9. VIDEOGRAPHER UNAVAILABLE
If the Videographer cannot attend because of illness or emergency, the
Videographer will try to provide a qualified replacement. If none is
available, all payments are refunded in full.

10. USAGE AND LIABILITY
The Videographer keeps the copyright. The Client receives a license
for personal use. The Videographer may use the footage for portfolio
and marketing unless the Client opts out in writing at signing. If
footage is lost despite reasonable care, liability is limited to a
refund of the fees paid.

SIGNED: ________________ (Client)        DATE: __________
SIGNED: ________________ (Videographer)  DATE: __________

The Conversation About Revisions

Bring it up before they sign, not when the fourth list arrives.

Said up front, it sounds like a process. Said in month three, it sounds like a bill.

The Move

If your current contract started life as a photography contract, check it for four words: revisions, music, audio, raw. Any of them missing is a gap that will cost you edit days.

Add the missing clauses from the template above before you send the next contract. Then, at the next signing, say the revision script out loud once. It's the cheapest editing you'll ever do.