Non-compete · Photography
Non-compete in photography: what is normal
A broad non-compete is inappropriate for a freelance photographer; confidentiality plus a narrow named-competitor bar is the healthy scope.
Typical range
No general non-compete. Confidentiality over the client's materials and unreleased images, and at most a narrow, short restriction on shooting for a named direct competitor.
Off-market
A clause preventing the photographer from working in the client's whole industry for months or years after a single shoot, uncompensated.
One-line fix
"Photographer will keep Client's materials and unreleased images confidential, and is otherwise free to work with other clients, including in the same industry."
What we see
A photographer's business is built on shooting widely, so a post-engagement non-compete asks them to surrender future work for a single fee. Broad non-competes on independent contractors are also increasingly disfavored or unenforceable in many places.
The client's real concern is almost always confidentiality: keep unreleased images, campaign plans, and product shots private until launch. An NDA scoped to those specifics protects the client without freezing the photographer out of their own market.
Where a genuine competitor sensitivity exists, especially in an ongoing commercial relationship, the healthy version is narrow, short, named, and ideally paid. The clause to refuse is the broad, industry-wide, long-duration, unpaid non-compete attached to one shoot.
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