Free lance Liability

I just shot a wedding for a studio. The client was under the

impression I was employed by the studio. I had a camera malfunction

which I was not aware of till the film was processed. My shutter on

my Bronica etrsi was not working properly. The shutter was hanging

up, staying open longer that the setting. I was shooting at 1/125

sec and the shutter was like 1/8 sec. I could not hear the shutter

due to all the noise at the wedding. The owner of the studio

promised 300 proofs, there are only about 160 to deliver. The studio

owner is afraid of a lawsuite. Can I be liable or is it the studio

who the contract is signed with? I wanted to contact the wedding

party immediately but he is going to wait till they come into his

studio to view the proofs. I think it would be wiser to tell them up

front of the problem. Please respond to both questions. Thanks!

Did the studio owner (manager) send you to the wedding with one camera body?

 

 

 

 

Did you test the camera a few days before the wedding?

 

 

 

 

If you are lucky, the 160 proofs may be enough to keep everyone in a good mood......

 

 

 

 

(Best bet is contact a lawyer on who is liable for what -- if no contract of employment existed between you and the studio, the client may or may not have a 'great' time.)

Hard lesson learned I'd say. Always check you kit before you do a wedding and if you have 2 bodies, use both for differing types of shots (just in case......).

 

Liability (IMHO, and not a legal answer) lies with the studio. It is, in the end, their contract. You, however, could be sued in a second suit by the studio. That would depend on your relationship with them legally.

 

You may try offering to do another shoot of the couple and their family/friends etc. for free (as a peace pipe offering). You are really the one who should be responsible for your kit. Best to make up for it however you are able, IMHO.

 

Hope you fair well. Regards.

Bummer. This is a fuzzy area of responsibility that only a lawyer armed with all the facts

could advise you on. However, I wouldn't engage a lawyer until you see what happens and

how the studio handles it. No use spending money until there is a defined problem.

 

The only advice I would forward as a precaution is to write down every piece of

information pertaining to the hiring and actual shoot that you can recall right now while it

is fresh. Note the age of the gear and any maintenance records.

 

Every studio should have a contingency clause written into their contract concerning

liability. Unfortunately, vague things like this can and do happen. A shutter could fail at

any time, even after you run tests the day before a wedding. As the gear we use becomes

more and more electronically dependent, it seems reasonable to expect the instances of

failure to also increase. At least digital warns you of some failures on the LCD, but not all.

A CF card could be bad and you'd never know it until downloading later.

 

Best of luck.

I appreciate the information. I have a very good relationship with the studio and I was received very well with the bridal party when the day ended. I was told I did a "great job". I hope they remember this! I told the studio I will do whatever is necessary to make the bride and her family happy. I will keep you posted. Again, thanks for your response.

Let the studio deal with the problem. If they handle it carefully, there might not

be a problem. I wouldn't worry about a lawsuit yet, the studio is probably has a

contract that protects them in event of mechanical problems. I don't think that

anyone could sue you, the worst that could happen is that the studio does not

pay you for the job because you did not provide the neccesary amount of

shots.(or they could pay you for a lesser amount of work)

Yes you and the studio both can be sued. Actually if you were an employee of the studio you probably would be MORE protected from a lawsuit since the only business entity would be the studio. As a freelancer you are a unique entity.

 

Were you covered by the studio's insurance when shoting the wedding?

 

Is the studio pretty successful? Lawyers typically want to get paid, and follow the money trail. If the studio can pay, but you can not, they are likely to go after the studio.

 

Make sure you are included in any agreements the studio makes with the wedding party. As a separate entity the wedding can file two separate lawsuits.

 

The last point, and most important. Do whatever you can to AVOID the lawsuit in the first place. Make sure the studio and you have an offer ready for the couple when they arrive. Something like saying you screwed up the shot, and here is what you are going to do to make it up. Things like a major discount and a free studio shot to make up for the lost photos. You might even agree to do the work for cost only (discounting the wrongly exposed film of course). If the 160 working proofs were good, they are even more likely to go for this.

Always, always, always have a contract with your client that releases you from any and all liability. In this case, your client was the studio. Spend the money on a lawyer to draw up a services contract with blanks for names, locations, and services. This way you have a contract that's ready for every client. It will also spell out rights and any other term you request. In addition, call your insurance company and buy a policy that covers your equipment, negligence, and accidents you may cause at an event. Many reception venues won't let you inside without this insurance.

Also, in a situation like this - regardless of a contract, and with a mad client - the client would most likely be placated if the studio refunded some of their money. In this case, you probably wouldn't be paid. And, I wouldn't blame the studio since it was your equipment that failed. Most people won't bother spending the time to sue a photographer, but I have seen crazier things happen.

I'm sorry you have had a problem and I hope it all works out. No reason

why not with a little carefull diplomancy.

 

Now just a couple of points.

 

1st the couple had no contract with you, their contract is with the studio

simple as that.

 

So they can sue the studio but not you. If the studio is reputable

professional and established they will have contracts and insurance to

cover this type of eventuality.

 

Now if they don't and the studio is sued, you had a contract with the

studio so they could sue you to recover their costs.

 

However the exact legal position should be clarified with a lawer if it

looks like there is any chance of you being sued.

 

OK so taking that as the worst scenario it should never reach this point if

the couple are handled openly, honestly and tactfully.

 

What I don't understand however is how the hell you got yourself in this

situation.

 

Firstly any pro but particularly wedding pro's should have professional

indemnity insurance to cover just these instances (it may be called

something else in the US).

 

If you don't have insurance don't put yourself in a position where you

can be sued.

 

Secondly your whole arrangement with the studio seems a little vague.

 

What contract did you have with them and what did you agree to deliver

to them? (what they agreed with the client is irrelevant as you can only

be expected to fulfill your agreement with the studio).

 

Lastly why no backup equipment?

 

Although this one may be a red herring as plenty of things can go wrong

and you may not realise you have an equipment fault until the film is

developed.

 

This thread is an example of exactly how not to do wedding (or any

other pro) photography.

 

I have noticed a lot of people criticise pros when they question why

people on these boards are taking on pro shoots without having any idea

what they are doing.

 

I am not saying this is the case here but certainly none of the basic

professional business practices have been followed here and a mess is the

result.

 

I hope everything works out and feel for you and the stress you are going

through however I hope this thread brings home to some of the wanabe's

out there, there is a lot more to being a professional photographer than

buying the kit.

 

M.

Who says Anthony didn't have backup? he could have had and just not used it, not knowing that he had a problem..

 

p.s. get personal liability insurance, I have it as part of my equipment insurance and it is a big load off my mind.

I did have back-up equipment, another Bronica which I used for available light shots, and a Canon EOS for candids. I also shot some family and groups with this. I was NEVER told how many shots to take!

I had shot a wedding before for this studio, given film and shot it all. I was asked why I shot so many exposures I answered, "You gave me the film." I assumed he want this much film shot. Not the case. The studio owner was alittle upset that I shot so many exposures. I was given the film for this assignment, never saw a contract or told that I must have x many shots. The camera body that malfunctioned during the wedding was working fine the day before on a job I shot. All the exposures were perfect. I had no way of knowing that the camera was not working properly during the wedding. I thank everyone for their imput, but know I am even more worried than before.

Ben,

 

You need to check the terms of your policy.

 

Public liability insurance is not the same as professional indemnity

insurance and does not cover you for this sort of misshap.

 

Anthony,

 

From what you say you have fulfilled your contract to the studio as they

did not specify how many pictures to take or of what.

 

Although this is a moot point and does depend on whether the shots you

have that turned out reasonably cover the event IE you have the key

shots that would be expected of a wedding photographer.

 

A good lawer will be able to argue this point effectively if the worst

scenario happens.

 

It sounds to me that the studio is not very professional in its approach to

hiring freelancers and this could work in your favour.

 

This seems a very odd/lax arrangement.

 

Without mentioning names how does this studio work?

 

Do they just take bookings and palm them off to freelancers or were you

just covering for an over booking.

 

I ask this purely out of interest as there seems to be a number of psudo

studios popping up who are just marketting machines, they have little or

no knowledge of photography and just advertise and book shoots. These

are then passed on to freelancers. They don't even seem that interested in

the freelancers abilities or credentials. Once the film is returned it is

processed and the album put together by a graphics team.

 

This is pack'em and rack'em photography of the worst kind.

 

The outfit you are dealing with maynot be one of these but I find it hard

to believe a reputable studio wouldn't make sure you had adequate

insurance in place before they even allowed you to freelance for them.

 

As said by a number of people here, including me, with careful handling

there should be no legal problem here and the client can be placated so

concentrate on that first before you get to tied up in legal knots.

 

M.

I shoot for a studio and have had my share of equipment failure. When you don't know something is wrong, you can't bring out your backup. It has made me a somewhat paranoid photographer but it is for the best. I now check my shutter and sync several times throughout the day--probably should be with every roll. I do this by taking the back off and looking through the shutter while firing the flash to make sure the sync is timed correctly and that the shutter is firing correctly. Also, without re-cocking, I look at the front of the shutter to see that the blades are intact. I also check a lot of other things too--flash exposure, settings, lens settings, bracket, cords, you name it, all the time. Plus, I try to be very alert to anything about my equipment that would raise a flag. You said you couldn't hear the shutter, but with my camera, I can feel the shutter vibration (opening and closing) even with a lot of noise around. Just try to have your "feelers" out all the time. About the legal situation--my relationship with the studio is one of "independent contractor", so I suppose it could sue me, but in a situation like yours, the studio has backed me up although I have waived being paid if I have a major failure--it has happened to me twice in about 10 years. The studio offered the client reduced payment and extras in prints and digital work on their albums, and most of the time, the client has been OK, if not happy. If the 160 proofs represent the most important shots then your client probably will be OK as well, but if there is a lot missing from, say, the family shots--more concessions need to be made by the studio. I also offered free re-shoots, digital retouching and even paying for digital work. In most cases, the client does not re-shoot, but just deals with the photos that exist. It would be best, in my opinion, to let the studio deal with the client in the way it thinks best. Then offer to help with the situation in any way that you can.