Photographer's Opinon on Photography Contract?

It's quite common for many professionals outside the legal community to pull contract language and terms like this out of the back of books or Internet websites.

Some might consult lawyers to establish standard language for a form they'll use for every job, they certainly aren't going and asking them for advice on each job they get.

And it's not rare that some of the people who've come up with contracts from books or the Internet don't fully understand these contracts. I've found on the rare instance that I do read contracts, they almost always ask me to accept giving away rights and not hold the other party liable for things that I know would never hold up in court. Even of if I did sign that I agreed, I know I still have the legal right to sue regardless, they're just trying to play some game of convincing people not to. But you'll find language like that in many contracts, probably put there by lawyers.

So, if you have some concerns about the contract, you should ask for a modification, draft that modification and send it to them for agreement, with explanations of your expectations and why you want those revisions. Most likely, they don't really care and will just agree.