Those of you who shoot gigs for $, what kind of liability protection do you have outside of just the contract? Do you have an LLC, or something similar?

what, exactly, are you afraid of?

lots of things, but in this context i don't want to get sued for something (who knows what, i'm just paranoid) and have the court be able to seize my family's assets. i'm working on getting an actual photog biz up and running, and i'm just trying to figure out the best way to limit what can be taken from me in case someone tries.

then go with an llc.

yeah, I was leaning LLC. i used the contract you sent tonight. thanks for that.

sure thing. if you're worried about liability then there's really no reason not to form an llc really. super simple, ime.

Oh shi, I need to renew my llc.

can you do it online, jer?

what? form your LLC? I don't think so. read here, it's a short summary of what's involved in NY:

http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/forming-llc-new-york

1. form a corporation
2. i'll serve on the board of directors
3. ???
4. go bankrupt

Yeah, I had a lawyer (my, now, boss) put the corporation paperwork together, then just mailed it and proper payment to the State. Got the certificate within a couple of weeks. Really simple.

Even internet jokes were hit by the economy. Nothing is safe.

i chuckled. xbox is in rare form these days.

FWIW, I have an LLC and I also have insurance that covers my equipment and provides some liability insurance. In my opinion, having the business insurance is well worth it (if not only for the piece of mind). Think of it this way, what if your camera gets destroyed at a gig?

I would just like to point out that we don't call them 'gigs', we call them 'shoots'. unless you are photographing a concert, in which case 'shig' and 'goot' are acceptable replacements.

i was always just nervous of using "shoot" in my mob-influenced neighborhood.

This is true, at least for more professional photographers. I still hear gig used a lot by amateurs though.

that's why they're called amateurs.