Expert: Wedding Photographics - 4/12/2009

Question
Hello John,

I read your previous post about nonrefundable wedding photography deposits. Are you saying it is illegal for a wedding photographer to collect a nonrefundable reservation deposit and for deposits paid towards albums which MUST be purchased (I keep all the high resolution JPEGs and do not provide a copyright release) cannot be legally nonrefundable?  My customers must purchase an album or pay in advance for albums so they receive a tangible product from me. Why shouldn't I make payments for albums nonrefundable and have the legal right to do so?

Dan

Answer
Hi Dan,

Thanks for your questions about nonrefundable wedding photography deposits. Here is an excerpt from my old website about this:

"Question: Why do you have a nonrefundable retainer fee to reserve the wedding date and time?

Answer: Most all established professional photographers have a non-refundable reservation retainer. This provides compensation to the photographer for the loss of income the photographer would have received from another wedding date which could have been retained by another customer for a wedding not cancelled. So only the fees paid to reserve us for the wedding date and time are kept as liquidated damages if the wedding is cancelled for any reason. (Legal Foundation: A true retainer "is not a payment for services, it is an advance fee to secure services, and remunerate photographers for loss of the opportunity to accept other employment." If the photographer can substantiate that other employment will probably be lost by obligating himself to photograph a client's wedding on a certain date, then the retainer fee should be deemed earned at the moment it is received. On the other hand, if a fee is not paid to compensate the photographer for lost opportunities and not to secure the photographer's availability, then it is merely a prepayment for services and/or products and not a true retainer).

In order for photographers to legally protect the nonrefundable retainer fee on their contract, the exact amount of the nonrefundable retainer fee MUST be itemized. If this is not done, a court can find on behalf of the consumer that any other payments or deposits by the consumer are refundable.


Wedding Photographer John Wilson
Chattanooga, Tennessee
http://www.weddingphotographics.net
Telephone: 423-468-9621