Terms of Sales
ARTICLE 1: PURPOSE
The Photographer provides private and public photography services as detailed on his website.
ARTICLE 2: ORDER
Unless stated otherwise in writing, the Photographer’s estimate shall remain valid for one (1) month from the date of issue.
All estimates, studies and proposals shall remain the property of the Photographer. Under no circumstances may they be reproduced, copied or executed without the Photographer’s prior, written consent.
Bookings for photography services shall be placed exclusively by email or telephone (using the contact details published on the Photographer’s website) or via the fotostudio.io client interface.
Where the Client books a shoot, he/she shall be considered to have placed a formal order and to have accepted the terms of this contract in full, unless the Photographer and the Client have agreed special terms.
Only this contract shall have legal force. Any other documents, such as catalogues, prospectuses, advertisements and notices, shall be nonbinding and provided for information purposes only.
An order shall only be confirmed upon signature of this contract (online via fotostudio.io or signed and returned to the Photographer by email) and receipt of the deposit.
Should the Photographer not receive the deposit and the contract signed by the Client within 7 days of issuing the contract, the Photographer shall be under no obligation to provide the service or to honour the date requested by the Client.
ARTICLE 3: PRICE AND PAYMENT
For the photo shoot detailed in Article 1, the Photographer shall charge the agreed price, inclusive of taxes.
Travel and/or accommodation costs may apply. Where relevant, such costs shall be included in the estimate and in the price stated above.
Where the Client requests additional retouches after the photographs have been processed, a fee of 20€ per retouched photo shall apply.
A deposit of 30% may be payable in order to confirm an order. The deposit may be paid by bank transfer or online payment.
The Client shall pay the balance in cash on the day of the shoot. Where the Client fails to pay the balance, the Photographer shall be entitled to suspend the photo shoot, to withhold delivery of the photographs or to treat the contract as null and void pursuant to Article 9 herein, without prejudice to any compensation due by the Client for the harm caused. Final delivery of the photographs shall only take place once the order has been paid for in full.
Any invoice not contested by registered letter within 15 calendar days of its issue date shall be deemed to have been accepted in full.
Failure to pay an invoice by its due date shall have the following consequences, which shall apply simultaneously, automatically and without formal notice: all other invoices issued and not yet due shall immediately become due, late-payment interest shall be charged at a rate of 10% per annum, and a fixed charge shall be applied by way of compensation to cover administrative costs, calculated as follows:
- Less than 4,000€: 10% of the outstanding principal
- 4,000€ or more but less than 12,500€: 7.5% of the outstanding principal
- Between 12,500€ and 25,000€: 5% of the outstanding principal.
Where the invoice remains unpaid, the Photographer shall be entitled to terminate the contract and any other contract with the same Client, with all consequences of termination to be borne by the Client. The Photographer shall also be entitled to compensation for the harm caused by the termination in addition to the penalties set out above.
Where the Client is a consumer, he/she may claim the compensation and interest set out in this clause in the event that the Photographer fails to fulfill his/her obligations.
ARTICLE 4: PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICE
The photographs shall be taken by the Photographer or, in the case of a force majeure event as provided for in Article 10, by any other Photographer appointed with the Client’s agreement.
The Photographer shall not be bound by a performance obligation, but shall use his best endeavours to provide high-quality photographs appropriate to the purpose stated in Article 1 and in accordance with his artistic judgement. Consequently, the Client cannot reject the photographs on grounds of taste.
If the Client wishes to change any aspect of the photography service, he/she shall send the request to the Photographer by text message or email no later than 7 days before the scheduled date of the shoot. Any requests sent after this date cannot be accommodated. Only changes approved by the Photographer in writing shall be accepted.
The shoot must start at the agreed time. If the Client is late, the shoot may be curtailed accordingly. Should the Client be more than 30 minutes late, the shoot shall be cancelled and the deposit withheld.
The Client hereby declares that he/she is legally an adult and is posing for the photographs of his/her own free will. Where applicable, the Client authorises the Photographer to take photographs of his/her children in their preferred photographic style.
The Photographer must not be obstructed from carrying out his work during the shoot by amateur photographers. Any children present at the photo shoot shall remain under the sole responsibility of their parents.
In the event that the Client, a child or any other person in the studio causes damage to equipment, the Photographer shall be entitled to reclaim the cost of such damage in full.
ARTICLE 5: POST-PROCESSING
Under no circumstances shall the Photographer deliver unprocessed photographs. Post-processing, like the shoot itself, is specific to the Photographer and an integral part of his work, style and artistic sensitivities. The Photographer shall therefore exercise exclusive discretion over the post-processing phase. The parties shall only be permitted to use the photographs processed by the Photographer.
The Photographer reserves the right to accept or refuse additional retouch requests from the Client, and to charge an additional fee for the extra work involved at the price stated in Article 1.
ARTICLE 6: DELIVERY
The Photographer shall make every effort to deliver the photographs as quickly as possible (within one month).
The selected and retouched photographs shall be sent to the Client via a download link or via a private, password-protected gallery or any other mean agreed upon with the Client. The electronic files shall be delivered in JPEG format. All other files shall remain the property of the Photographer and shall not be handed over to the Client.
Once the files have been delivered to the Client, the Client shall be solely responsible for storing and archiving the photographs. The Client is therefore advised to make back-up copies on various media.
ARTICLE 7: LEAD TIMES
The lead times stated in the estimate and in this contract are expressed in business days and provided for information purposes only. The Client shall under no circumstances be entitled to compensation or have the right to break the contract should delays occur.
Where a lead time is imperative, it must be clearly specified as such prior to signature of the contract. In such an event, where delivery of the photographs is delayed, the Client shall send a registered letter. Where such letter goes unheeded for 15 days, the Client may then claim compensation, up to a maximum of 10% of the total price of the order, provided that he/she can produce evidence of the harm occasioned by late delivery of the photographs. Even in such circumstances, the agreed lead times shall not be binding on the Photographer where the delay is caused by a force majeure event (see Article 10), where the Client fails to adhere to the payment terms, or where the Client requests changes during performance of the order.
ARTICLE 8: DISCLAIMER
The Photographer cannot be held liable for non-performance or part-performance of the outdoor services, as initially agreed in the order and indicated in Article 1, for reasons relating to inclement weather such as stormy conditions or heavy rain. No refund shall be due in such circumstances, but the session may be postponed to a later date by mutual agreement.
Where a technical problem affecting the photography equipment or an accident occurring during performance of the service prevents the Photographer from delivering the requested work, the Client shall be entitled to a refund of the full price. No additional compensation, of whatever nature, shall be due.
Where the photographs are lost or damaged prior to delivery (due to theft, fire, etc.), the Client shall only be entitled to a refund of the price of the service.
Where the electronic files are lost or damaged after delivery to the Client, the Photographer shall bear no liability. The files shall, however, remain available for 3 months from delivery and may be re-sent during this period if necessary.
ARTICLE 9: TERMINATION FOR BREACH
Where the Client breaches his/her obligations, the Photographer shall issue a formal notice. Where such notice remains unheeded for 30 days, the Photographer may terminate the contact automatically and claim compensation for all harm occasioned.
Where the Client cancels the photography service after the cooling-off period has expired, the contract shall be terminated automatically and the Client shall bear the consequences thereof, including payment of compensation amounting to at least 30% of the total price of the order (deposit), except where the cancellation is due to a force majeure event affecting the Client.
Where the Client is a consumer, the same rights shall apply reciprocally between the Client and the Photographer, and according to the same procedures.
ARTICLE 10: FORCE MAJEURE
Where an event beyond the control of the Photographer (illness, accident, death of a relative, etc.) or any force majeure event (strike, lock-out, war, riot, etc.) renders it impossible to perform the contract according to the initially agreed terms, the Photographer cannot be held liable for any resulting delay, and shall be entitled to postpone performance of the photography service or to terminate the contract by registered letter without having to pay compensation.
Where the Client is a consumer, he/she shall enjoy the same right under the same conditions.
In such an event, the Photographer shall make every effort to postpone the shoot to a future date set by mutual agreement with the Client or, for a wedding photography service, to find another photographer who is available to perform the service.
Lastly, if the photo shoot is not postponed but cancelled due to a force majeure event affecting the Photographer, the Client shall be entitled to a full refund without delay.
ARTICLE 11: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Photographs taken by the Photographer during a shoot with the Client shall be copyright-protected. In consideration for payment of the price stated under Article 1, the Photographer shall transfer to the Client the following rights in the commissioned photographs: the right to print and reproduce the photographs, for private purposes and on a worldwide basis, for the duration of the copyright protection period.
The Client shall obtain the Photographer’s prior, written consent before using the photographs for any other purpose. The Client may not use the images from the shoot for commercial purposes without the Photographer’s prior, written consent.
The photographs shall remain the Photographer’s intellectual property, and shall not become copyright-free, even after delivery of the electronic files. The Client shall credit the Photographer in any and all situations where the photographs are used for personal purposes (publication online, exhibition, etc.). Similarly, the Client may not modify the photographs without the Photographer’s prior, written consent.
ARTICLE 12: IMAGE RIGHTS
The Photographer reserves the right to use the photographs that he has taken for the purpose of promoting his business (website, social media, exhibitions, etc.). The Client gives his/her consent to such use by signing this contract.
Where the Client specifically withholds consent for such use in writing, he/she cannot prevent the Photographer from using photographs in which he/she cannot be recognised or that he/she has published online or on social media.
ARTICLE 13: PERSONAL DATA
The Photographer shall process the personal information and contact details as received from the Client. The purposes of the processing shall be to perform this contract, to manage the Photographer’s clients including tracking bookings in order to guarantee proper performance of the ordered service, and to maintain accounting records. The lawful bases for the processing are performance of the contract and compliance with legal and statutory obligations. The controller is the Photographer.
The above-mentioned personal data shall be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and shall only be shared with clients and/or third parties on a strictly necessary basis in line with the above-mentioned purposes of the processing. The Client shall be responsible for ensuring that the personal data provided to the Photographer is accurate and up to date.
The Client hereby confirms that he/she has received adequate information about the processing of his/her personal data and about his/her right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure and right to object. In accordance with Article 7 (3) of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to withdraw their consent at any time. Where consent is withdrawn in this way, the Photographer shall refrain from any further processing of the data.
Withdrawal of consent shall have no bearing on the lawfulness of the processing carried out on the basis of that consent before it was withdrawn.
ARTICLE 14: COOLING-OFF PERIOD
Where the Client is a consumer, he/she shall be entitled to withdraw from this contract, where entered into remotely, within 14 days and without having to give a reason for his/her withdrawal. This right shall not apply if the photography service has been provided in full with the Client’s agreement and on the understanding that the Client will lose his/her right to withdraw within the cooling-off period if the Photographer has fulfilled the contract in its entirety.
In order to exercise this right under the cooling-off period, the Client shall notify the Photographer of his/her intent to withdraw from this contract by any unambiguous means (e.g. by post or email). To be entitled to withdraw under the cooling-off period, the Client must merely serve the notice of intent to withdraw before the period expires.
The Photographer shall refund the deposit to the Client within 14 days of receipt of the notice of intent to withdraw from this contract, via the same payment method as used for the initial transaction.
ARTICLE 15: FINAL PROVISIONS
For the purposes of this contract, the Client shall be considered a “consumer” if he/she is an individual acting for purposes which are outside his/her trade, business, craft or profession.
Where any of the above provisions is declared null and void, the remainder of this contract shall remain valid. In such an event, the parties shall renegotiate a valid clause to replace the clause declared null and void.
This contract is governed by the law of the country in which the Photographer is established or, if the Client is a consumer, in which the Client resides.
Any disputes arising in connection with the performance or interpretation of this contract shall be referred to the courts having jurisdiction over the country in which the Photographer’s business is established or, if the Client is a consumer, in which the Client resides.