As of 13 August 2026, AI can draft a photography usage agreement.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a document and gather the photographer's and client's full legal names and addresses, the image file names, the agreed fee, the intended uses, the territory and the period of permission.
   2. Ask the photographer who owns the copyright and whether any agency, second photographer, model, child, private property owner or other rights holder needs to give permission.
   3. Copy the gathered facts into the prompt's bracketed slots, replacing every slot with an answer or writing "unknown" where the parties have not agreed it.
   4. Paste the completed prompt into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and ask for the draft, unresolved questions and solicitor checklist in the same response.
   5. Send the unresolved questions to the other party, agree the missing terms in writing, and paste the answers back into the chatbot for a revised draft.
   6. Compare the revised agreement clause by clause with the agreed fee, image list, permitted uses, territory, duration, exclusivity, editing rights, credit, delivery and cancellation terms.
   7. Ask a UK solicitor to check the final document where the use is commercial or high value, the images show identifiable people or children, privacy is involved, rights are transferred or a dispute is possible.
   8. Send the checked agreement to both parties for signature, retain the signed copy with the image list and all model, property or other permissions, and do not publish until the required permissions are held.

   Prompt

   Draft a plain-English photography usage agreement for England and Wales based only on the information below. Do not invent facts, rights, permissions, fees or legal requirements. If information is missing, list a clear question instead of guessing.
   
   Parties:
   - Photographer: [full legal name and address]
   - Client or licensee: [full legal name and address]
   
   Photographs covered:
   - Description or file names: [details]
   - Who took the photographs and who owns the copyright: [details]
   - Are any other photographers, agencies or rights holders involved: [details]
   
   Permission requested:
   - Exact uses: [website, social media, advertising, editorial, print, packaging, internal use or other]
   - Media and channels: [details]
   - Territory: [UK, worldwide or other]
   - Start date: [date]
   - End date or duration: [details]
   - Exclusive or non-exclusive: [details]
   - Whether the client may edit, crop, add text, sublicense or transfer the rights: [details]
   - Any prohibited uses or approvals required before publication: [details]
   
   Payment and delivery:
   - Fee and currency: [details]
   - Payment date or instalments: [details]
   - Expenses: [details]
   - Files or prints to be delivered, format and delivery date: [details]
   
   People, places and privacy:
   - Does the work show identifiable people, children, private property, trademarks or sensitive material: [details]
   - What model, property or other permissions have been obtained: [details]
   - Who is responsible for obtaining any missing permissions: [details]
   
   Other terms:
   - Cancellation or termination arrangements: [details]
   - Credit required: [details]
   - Dispute process and governing law requested: [details]
   - Any other agreed terms: [details]
   
   Produce:
   1. A complete draft with numbered clauses.
   2. A short schedule listing each photograph or set of photographs and the permitted use.
   3. A list of unresolved questions, assumptions and permissions still needed.
   4. A plain-English explanation of what the agreement does not settle.
   5. A final checklist of points for a UK solicitor to check before signing.
   
   Keep the draft balanced and do not describe it as legally sufficient. State clearly that this is not professional advice and that a solicitor should review it where the fee, campaign, exclusivity, privacy, children, commercial rights or potential dispute makes the consequences significant.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.