PARENTS INFORMATION

 

 

Whether this is you first high school senior portrait experience,
or your last, the following information will be most helpful.


  • High school senior photographs are a celebration of your son or daughter's senior year!
  • We highly recommend that you and your senior schedule a Free Design Consultation at our studio. You will have the opportunity to see examples of our work and go over everything in great detail!   Click the above schedule link to schedule that FREE Consultation!  At that time we will receive your session fee payment and have you sign a working agreement.  This agreement will show what you should expect to receive from us as what we expect to receive from you as well as a acceptance to use the images we've taken in our advertising if we so choose.
  • Most sessions last 1 to 3 hours. On-location sessions vary in length based on location and travel time.
  • Session payment is due in full no less than 1 week prior to the session, does not include sales tax, and is not refundable.
  • Since we work by appointment, you get our full undivided attention.  We make sure we have sufficient gaps in our schedule in case we are having so much fun that it takes a little longer than the norm.  You should never show up at the office and have to wait for someone else to be finished with their photos.  Our client in front of the camera is our main goal. 
  • Please make sure that you arrive about 15 minutes prior to your appointment time to get everything in the studio and you are relaxed and ready to go.  Our time is very important, so if you are scheduled and are running late, you must call us to let us know.  If you are not ready at the start time of the session, you will forfeit 25% of the session fee that you paid. 
  • If you are purchasing a session that includes makeup application or are purchasing makeup application as an extra, you will be advised what time to arrive to be ready to go for the session time you've chosen, usually makeup will take 30 minutes.  If you are not going to make your session and have purchased makeup, you MUST contact us, by phone no less than 24 hours in advance of the time you were instructed to show up to get your makeup applied.  We are paying an individual to drive to our office and if you do not cancel within 24 hours, you will forfeit the investment you have made for the makeup application. 
  • We understand things come up, but if you don’t call to post-pone, don’t show up, or don't reschedule, you will forfeit 50% of the session fee you paid and will be required to pay the current session rates upon reschedule.  So, if you got a discount on a session and the sessions are no longer discounted, you will receive a credit (50% of what you originally paid) towards the purchase of a session at the current price at the time of reschedule.  The remainder of what you paid is a studio credit, on file for six months.    
  • We encourage all high school seniors to showcase who they are and allow us to tell their story in a photographic collection of images. Bring everything that will help tell that story!
  • All of our sessions include unlimited clothes changes, so feel free to take advantage of that. Find a balance of clothes and styles that are well suited for your purpose (sending to family and friends) and your senior's purpose (giving photographs to friends).   Need some help?  CLICK HERE for some info about what to wear.
  • Our packages give you generous amounts of poses that you can order. We don't restrict how many poses you choose when selecting your wallet purchase.  All we ask is that you purchase them in groups of 8. 
  • Gift Prints  consist of one of the following:  one 8x10, 2-5x7's (of the same portrait), 3-4x6's (of the same portrait), 4-4x5's of the same portrait, or 8 wallets of the same pose.  If you require to split the 5x7's, 4x6's, or 4x5's we do have a split fee of $10 to do so.
  • If you'd like extra poses in a collection, the fee for that is $20 per pose. 
  • A $125 deposit is due at the time of your projection ordering appointment. 50% is due at the time you place your order and the remainder is due upon delivery. We accept Visa & Mastercard and have currently added Discover and American Express.  We also offer 3 or 6 month interest free payment plans. Ask us about details  
  • Normal processing of orders can that up to several weeks, but if you need it sooner, we can have it prints (custom designed albums will take at least 2 weeks) for you between 7 to 10 business. Please ask us and we will try our best to speed up the process for you!  No part of your order will be delivered until the order is paid in full.  This includes the release of your yearbook image to the school.  Your custom designed albums and possibly frame wall art would be delivered after your portrait order.
  • We provide the school a high resolution image of your son or daughter's chosen yearbook image.  We do not turn in a wallet for the yearbook staff to scan.  This way you get the best looking image in the yearbook.

Very important information about photos and usage

While we completely understand that you want to share these fantastic photos with the world, we want you to do it the right way.  That is why each session receives facebook images.  This way you can share the images online with friends and family. 

The Federal Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 101, et seq was enacted to protect the rights of photographers, musicians, film makers and the like from unauthorized reproduction of their work.  Congress revised the Copyright Act in 1976, effective in 1978, for the express purpose of increasing protection for photographers.  The clear provisions of the current Copyright Act establish that:

  • A copyright comes into existence automatically the moment a professional photograph is created.
  • By law that copyright belongs to the photographer or the photographer's studio.
  • A customer who commissioned & purchases the photograph does not herby obtain ownership of the copyright.
  • Any assignment transferring ownership of a copyright to a customer must be in writing.
  • A lab, or other 3rd party, who copies photographs commercially has a legal duty to assure that the requested copy or use is lawful before filling the order.
  • The removal of a copyright notice is illegal (includes logo).

Just like it's not OK to copy a music CD or a DVD movie and give it to someone who didn't purchase it, it's not OK to copy a professional photograph, whether you just post it online,  have it printed, or have something made with the image. 

This also means that the facebook images we give you can not be altered.  They must stay in the form that they were posted.  If you'd like it cropped?  Just ask, we'll be glad to change it for you. 

Want a banner for graduation?  No problem.  With a Collection purchase over $600, we will provide the banner company a high resolution image.  If you don't quite spend $600, we'll be glad to provide the image for a small fee.   Same goes with graduation cakes.  Did you know that even the bakery has to get a release from the photographer to print a photo on a cake? We've had to do it in the past. 

What happens if I violate a copyright and I'm caught?  The penalty we associate with the violation is $650 per violation, by law it’s a minimum of $750.  That means if you crop off the logo and print an image or post it online, the penalty could be $1,300.  Unfortunately there have been some bad apples in the past that have stolen our work, even after they were advised of these rules.  We really pride ourselves on being flexible with clients, but we are sorry to say that we will no longer be flexible with anyone that violates our copyright in any manner.   Please make sure that your senior understands the seriousness of this issue.  Ignorance to the law does not negate the offense.

We provide a viewing site that will be available for 1 week.  If any image is copied off of this site and posted on facebook, the following charge will apply:  We will charge the parent $50 per image.  This fee must be paid before we will release a portrait to the yearbook staff, or deliver your portrait order.  If left unpaid, these fees could be subject to collection where we can also attach collection fees of up to 50% of the fee owed.   

Parents are advised of these same rules when their son or daughter signs up to get their photos taken and the parent must sign that they understand the information.  The release also approves that we can post the photos online.  In the state of Ohio, we must have a model release on file or we can not post the photos.