At the end of April I compared my top two picks for Apps that let you do model (property, etc.) releases right on your iPhone. Back then I challenged both developers to take the great apps that they had created and add just a few missing things to make their Apps the "Ultimate App." Well today, I get the pleasure of reviewing the first major update out of the gate by Michael Shiffler and it's actually a NEW App called Contract Maker Pro. I have to give Michael credit for not only "listening" to my advice and implementing every single thing I asked for, but also for going beyond what I was asking for and developing a great new "multi-purpose business tool!"
Totally Customizable Contracts
Photographer's Contract Maker (PCM) was already ahead of the competition in terms of the number of placeholders (fields) that you could insert throughout your Contract, however, this new Pro version blows away everything else out there. Not only do you get all the same types of placeholders as with PCM, but now you get 10 "Custom" text fields that you can assign to whatever data you want to capture, 5 Roller fields (you know the kind that give you the wheel to spin to select a value), 6 custom checkboxes and even a Counting Number placeholder to automatically increment the value (ie. Contract Number). You even get to choose between 5 different fonts to format your contract in. This goes way beyond model and property releases. The idea here is that this is not only a great tool for Photographers and Videographers, but it's also great for ANYONE that needs to generate a totally customized contract and have clients sign off on them electronically on the spot.
I got what I wanted! – One of the things that I really hoped for the most in the update was the ability to easily add a photo on the spot to the contract. Maybe it's a shot of the model you just photographed or a drivers license to verify age, etc. They added this ability, while still maintaining the ability to pull the photo from your Contacts. Speaking of Contacts, you can import them as you need them from your Address book and they stay there! You can use them again and again going forward without having to hold on to the old contracts. They also added a custom logo feature with an ON/OFF switch so that I can turn it OFF on the contracts that it doesn't belong on. They even implemented the "shake to clear the screen" on the signature panel if you want to start over.
You can get it here from the App Store: 
What about a native iPad version?
Although this App works on the iPad, it doesn't yet take advantage of the iPad's screen natively. While at first I envisioned that I'd want to run my "model release" app on the iPad, in actuality I prefer doing them on my iPhone for one simple reason. On the iPhone I can snap a photo and immediately include it on the contract. Doing the same thing on the iPad would require multiple steps since the iPad doesn't have a camera. Now with that said, I can certainly see someone that doesn't require the ability to take a photo on the spot, wanting an iPad version and the developer's ears are open. So you can chime in with your thoughts about it in the comments below. For me it's a non issue and even though I had an iPad version of the the competitor's App, I still did it on my iPhone.
The Bottom Line
This is a MUST have for Photographers! It's also the most customizable App out there and the fact that it supports contracts up to 5 pages means that it should work for just about anyone. So whether you're a photographer or not, if you have a need to do digital contracts this is your app! Although there are customization features galore, I'd still like to see a little more work done in the formatting of the final release. Currently there's no way to see if your release spills over onto a second page until you actually generate one to test. A minor thing, but hey since they did so much work on everything else I can nitpick a little 
The fact that they implemented every single feature I wanted (and features I hadn't even thought about) earns this App my coveted 5 Star Rating! I can't wait to use it on my next photo shoot!
Yes it can be awkward signing with your finger so get a stylus!
If you're going to be a doing a lot of these, you might want to make an investment in a iPhone stylus to make it easier for your clients to sign. I got one of these and I LOVE IT! Makes it so much easier to sign!
Contract Maker Pro
Contract Maker Pro lets you create, edit, sign and email custom Contracts (1-5 pages) on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad
- Michael Shiffler
- Get on App Store
- $4.99
All info was collected on 22nd June, 2010 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
This app sounds like just what I’ve been waiting for since seeing your earlier review of model release apps. However, I don’t have an iPhone (no Verizon models… again!) so I’m more interested in an iPad version of this app and an Android version for my phone. My workflow for photography doesn’t necessitate taking a photo with my phone to add a picture to the contract although I admit it would be handy.
Ideally, I’d want a preview function to review the whole contract in the app itself and the ability to save to PDF so it would be displayable in GoodReader, or as a PDF in the new iBooks PDF bookshelf.
So I’m going to wait a bit an see if an iPad version and/or an Android version…unless of course the vendor would be willing to upgrade the iPhone version to an iPad version if I bought the phone version for my iPad now…
Just wanted to say thank you for the great review Terry- I am stoked over this App! I’ve downloaded it and have been playing with it with morning. Terry, one thing I saw on the templates was the ability to generate “sales receipts”. Sometimes I have customers who pay in cash in the field and want a receipt- this App lets me make one digitally now. With just a little set up, I was also able to make a receipt template for when I need one from a vendor. What I am getting is that it can be programmed for just about any type of form and now… no more paper! All sent to my inbox! Very useful and handy. Hats off to the developer and thank you for the review!
Hi Terry,
Thanks for all the great reviews! Is the stylus that you recommend going to work with the new iphone4?
Thanks! No reason why it shouldn’t. It works pretty much on any touch screen that works with your finger.
“Contract Maker Pro Get’s it Right!” should be:
“Contract Maker Pro Gets it Right!”.
I saw the reviews on the Photographer’s Version, but being a designer, it didn’t interest me, your review on this new version piqued my interest. This could be a game changer for me, I am so tired of having to carry my contracts everywhere or trying to keep track of them afterwards. I’ve already transferred my business contracts to it. I have been testing since and it works great. Meeting with a client tomorrow- looking forward to using it in real life. Thanks for a great review and suggestion Terry- I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
Very interesting App since the implementation of all the new features, but!! there are a few languages missing (compare to Easy Release).
I’d love to see two features added in the next release…
1) The ability to create either categories or folders to store saved contracts under. Since I normally need several forms for any particular event, this would allow me to create a folder or category for each specific event and file/organize all forms associated with that event that folder.
2) It would be helpful to have the ability to setup multiple contractor profiles (for example, one for me as an independant contractor, one for my production company, etc.) and create contracts/forms tied specifically to that contractor profile.
Definitely an app I need… but for the iPad! I have very high hopes that Michael will release an iPad version soon… because as far as I can tell,, he’ll corner the market if he does. I haven’t found anything available for the iPad that will do what his app does.
I am trying to get some support. The app works great! Does anyone know how to contact the developer? I have multiple comapnies and would love if there was a way to have 2 or more “contractors” to swith between. That way i can use this app with both companies at the same time….
Hi Terry,
Thank you so much for sharing. I love your blog as well as Adobe TV Episodes!
Would you mind a sharing one of the model releases you use?. Its going to help most people.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks
Venura