Photo Session Booking Terms & Conditions

The Session Fee

To book any session, we charge a session fee. The session fee is our commission fee to reserve time in the calendar as your service provider.

It’s a non-refundable booking fee that holds your booking in the diary. After the session, you’ll buy the photos you love at your in-person ordering session in a format that works for your family. No digital images or products are included in the session fee.

As we are a business that creates custom portraiture for clients and book out months in advance, we do not allow last-minute rescheduling unless in exceptional circumstances or in the case of bad weather. For reasons outside of illness or bad weather, you will forfeit any session fee paid unless four weeks or more notice has been provided, and we will charge a new session fee to reschedule.

You may request a refund of your session fee if you do not want to proceed with your portrait session, provided you give notice with more than four weeks to your session. 

If you book your session less than four weeks in advance, your session fee will be refunded if you give notice that you do not want to proceed with your session within three days of making the booking.

If you are dissatisfied with your photos, we will refund your session fee.

Rescheduling & Cancellations

What if I need to reschedule or cancel my booking due to personal circumstances?

As we are a small, self-owned business, we only have a limited amount of session times and other appointment types available each week. We work with families and understand that flexibility around session/appointment times is important. However, we also ask that you consider what rescheduling or cancelling sessions/appointments means for us and our business.

As we book out months in advance, we do not allow last-minute rescheduling of sessions by clients except due to illness (including COVID-19 isolation).

Session cancellations for reasons other than illness will result in any session fee being forfeited unless four weeks or more notice has been provided.  Clients who reschedule with less than four weeks’ notice for a reason other than illness will need to pay a new session fee to rebook and current pricing at the time of taking your new booking will apply.  If you have a credit on your client file we can use the available credit toward a new session fee for you. 

Because we take initial bookings up to 3 months in advance, this may mean that our availability for rescheduling sessions is limited. We ask families for some flexibility, as we may not have the same range of appointment/session times to choose from as when you initially booked your original session.  We also ask that you take the soonest available appointment if possible.  We cannot allow sessions to be left unbooked or significantly delay rebooking unless there are genuine circumstances as this affects our ability serve you and our other clients.

We ask that your rescheduled session be rebooked within 48 hours of your original booking. If the rescheduled session is not booked within 14 days then you will forfeit your session fee.  A new session fee will be payable on rebooking and current pricing at the time of taking your new booking will apply. It is helpful if you let us know your circumstances so we can work with you and extend compassion and grace to you and your family.

If you fail to turn up to your photo reveal and purchasing appointment without notice we will attempt to contact you to reschedule.  We cannot store client photographs indefinitely. If you do not respond to our rescheduling contact within 14 days we cannot guarantee that your photos will remain available for purchase.  We reserve the right to charge an archive retrieval fee should you wish to purchase your photos more than 14 days after this point.

We do not continue to work with clients who are no shows, and this applies to all appointment types.

Should we become suddenly unavailable due to personal circumstances, we will notify you immediately, and we will reschedule your session to the closest available date within the next month.  If you have hair and make-up booked with us, we will contact you before your hair and make-up appointment. 

What if my session needs to be rescheduled due to weather

We know that you have every finger and toe crossed for good weather for your photography session.  However, there are days that the weather will be unfavourable for shooting in, and when that happens, we will contact you to find another time.

We consider bad weather to be anything we cannot shoot in, such as heavy rain or stormy weather. Some months in Canberra can be warm one minute and cold the next, so we encourage you to plan your outfits with the weather in mind as we do not reschedule sessions if it is cold.If we decide the weather is unsuitable for your session we will message you about two to three hours before the session time. While the weather forecast is a great guide, we find it better to wait until the day of the session to make a final decision.

Because we take initial bookings up to 3 months in advance, this may mean that our availability for rescheduling sessions is limited. We ask families for some flexibility, as we may not have the same range of session times to choose from as when you initially booked your original session.  We also ask that you take the soonest available appointment if possible.  We cannot allow sessions to be left unbooked or significantly delay rebooking unless there are genuine circumstances as this affects our ability to serve you and our other clients.

We ask that your rescheduled session be rebooked within 48 hours of your original booking. If the rescheduled session is not booked within 14 days then you will forfeit your session fee.  A new session fee will be payable on rebooking and current pricing at the time of taking your new booking will apply. It is helpful if you let us know your circumstances so we can work with you and extend compassion and grace to you and your family.

What if I need to reschedule my purchasing appointment?

For reschedules that occur in the week of your booking due to illness, needing to get tested or isolated.

We will offer you the next available time in our schedule for an in-person appointment. Please take the first available time slot, rather than postponing too far ahead. Delaying your session can create a bottleneck for us, which is especially hard to manage for our ability to take on new bookings.

 No call, no show

If you fail to turn up to your photo reveal and purchasing appointment without notice we will attempt to contact you to reschedule.  We cannot store client photographs indefinitely. If you do not respond to our rescheduling contact within 14 days we cannot guarantee that your photos will remain available for purchase.  We reserve the right to charge an archive retrieval fee should you wish to purchase your photos more than 14 days after this point.

We do not continue to work with clients who are no-shows and cease all communication, and this applies to all appointment types. However, we do extend grace in instances that the appointment time slipped your mind due to extenuating reasons. 

If you need to reschedule for reasons or circumstances not outlined on this page, please refer to our cancellation policies and/or get in touch with us to discuss. Thank you for your understanding and assistance with helping our small business recover from COVID-19 impacts.

Service Time Frames

  1. We retain complete creative control over the styling of the session as the session’s look is part of Little Grasshopper Photography’s creative brand.
  2. Should a session not go to plan, the need for a reshoot will be at our discretion, not the clients.
  3. Full-length family sessions can last up to ninety minutes, but they usually last for 40-60 minutes in most cases. Full-length newborn sessions usually last between 1-3hrs. We have a range of poses and setups that we move through during this time. If there is an example of our work that you are particularly fond of, or if you have particular ideas for your family photo session, please let us know before your photo session. Due to the nature of our photo sessions, we may not be able to accommodate last-minute requests without prior notice.
  4. We discourage bringing outfits to change into or props. We cannot guarantee that we will have time to wear them or use them all, and if multiple changes occur, we cannot guarantee you will receive as many images due to time constraints. We find that small children do not do well with various outfit changes and they will disengage from participating in the session activities.
  5. We will do our best to provide a location that features seasonal elements, such as autumn leaves, spring blossoms. We will schedule your session with our best estimate to take in these elements. However, we’re at the mercy of the environment. Rescheduling a session may mean that we miss out on including these elements. Your session location may be subject to change at the last minute, based upon the best display of these elements.
  6. If you know that you will be running late, please provide notice of at least 30 minutes prior to your session start time and indicate how late you anticipate you will be. This allows your photographer the ability to afford you flexibility if they can. If you are running late for your session, and you are unable to communicate with your photographer, they will wait for 10 minutes at the location and attempt to contact you. If you do not answer your phone or respond to the subsequent text message, your photographer will leave the location 15 minutes past your session start time and we will cancel your booking and you will forfeit your session fee. Please note that if you are running late, your session time may not be extended as there may be other sessions and appointments booked after yours, or your photographer may have personal commitments to attend to. If you are running more than 30 minutes late, and have not provided us with prior notice, we cannot guarantee you will receive a full gallery of 50+ images and you may need to rebook a new session including paying a new session fee (see rescheduling policies above).

The Photo Session

  1. We retain complete creative control over the styling of the session as the session’s look is part of Little Grasshopper Photography’s creative brand.
  2. Should a session not go to plan, the need for a reshoot will be at our discretion, not the clients.
  3. Full-length family sessions can last up to ninety minutes, but they usually last for 40-60 minutes in most cases. Full-length newborn sessions usually last between 1-3hrs. We have a range of poses and setups that we move through during this time. If there is an example of our work that you are particularly fond of, or if you have particular ideas for your family photo session, please let us know before your photo session. Due to the nature of our photo sessions, we may not be able to accommodate last-minute requests without prior notice.
  4. We discourage bringing outfits to change into or props. We cannot guarantee that we will have time to wear them or use them all, and if multiple changes occur, we cannot guarantee you will receive as many images due to time constraints. We find that small children do not do well with various outfit changes and they will disengage from participating in the session activities.
  5. We will do our best to provide a location that features seasonal elements, such as autumn leaves, spring blossoms. We will schedule your session with our best estimate to take in these elements. However, we’re at the mercy of the environment. Rescheduling a session may mean that we miss out on including these elements. Your session location may be subject to change at the last minute, based upon the best display of these elements.
  6. If you know that you will be running late, please provide notice of at least 30 minutes prior to your session start time and indicate how late you anticipate you will be. This allows your photographer the ability to afford you flexibility if they can. If you are running late for your session, and you are unable to communicate with your photographer, they will wait for 10 minutes at the location and attempt to contact you. If you do not answer your phone or respond to the subsequent text message, your photographer will leave the location 15 minutes past your session start time and we will cancel your booking and you will forfeit your session fee. Please note that if you are running late, your session time may not be extended as there may be other sessions and appointments booked after yours, or your photographer may have personal commitments to attend to. If you are running more than 30 minutes late, and have not provided us with prior notice, we cannot guarantee you will receive a full gallery of 50+ images and you may need to rebook a new session including paying a new session fee (see rescheduling policies above).

Post-Production & Editing Of Files

  1. We retain complete creative control over determining which images to provide from your session and do not share, sell or release unedited RAW files. Images are not released until customised since the final artistic style is part of our brand and reputation.
  2. Only images that are printed will be Master Retouched. (Master Retouching is defined as spot removal, skin smoothing, liquefying and minor detail edits directed by the client). Standard editing and portrait retouching is included (lighting, colour correction, standard sharpening and Little Grasshopper Photography’s special recipe to provide images similar to what appears in our portfolio).
  3. Further retouching may require an additional fee to be paid before editing can be completed.
  1. We present only the images from your session that fit our professional and artistic standards. These will be presented in their fully edited format, and original/rejected images will not be available.
  2. Stephanie Hogg of Little Grasshopper Photography owns the copyright of all images. Little Grasshopper Photography may use images for advertising or portfolio purposes. However, if for any reason, be it personal or legal, you may not wish photographs of you or your children used for marketing purposes by Little Grasshopper Photography, the model release may be amended. You will have had the option to opt out of this when you confirm your session appointment.
  3. Should you be unable to make your purchase at your photo reveal and ordering appointment, a $250 archiving payment will be required to retain the images for 30 days. Photos not purchased will be deleted after the ordering session appointment.
  4. Digital images remain our intellectual property. The purchase photographs may be downloaded for personal use only. Ownership of the copyright is retained by Little Grasshopper Photography, but it releases the photos for personal use only to the customer.

Price Guide

  1. Prices are subject to change without notice if you have not booked a session. Prices and offers quoted at the time of enquiry will be honoured for three days. Prices quoted at the time of booking your session will be honoured. Prices quoted in your price guide apply to each session booked – PRICES ARE PER SESSION.
  2. Promotions that include complimentary included product is our gift to you with the purchase of your printed products and digital images. 

Delivery Of Proofs

  1. Your ordering session is when you will choose and purchase your products. This is when payment will be made for your purchase of products from the session.
  2. Our preferred method of payment is Credit Card (VISA, MC accepted), or EFTPOS.
  3. While cash is accepted as a payment form, please note we DO NOT hold cash on our premises and cannot offer change.
  4. Your Ordering Session (at the studio in Macgregor ACT) is an in-person experience to view the fantastic images we’ve captured for you, see our products, design your wall art and other products, and place and pay for your order. Proofs will be delivered to you via an in-person ordering appointment where you will provide us with your choice of images and products by placing your order. We ask that all decision-makers be present at the Ordering Session so that we can finalise your order.
  5. We do not release images that have not been purchased and do not provide these via an online gallery for you to choose from in your own time. This is so we can provide you with our expertise, advice and guidance and to put it directly, it gets the job done faster!
  6. Prices are non-negotiable; please don’t try to negotiate on pricing as refusal often offends.

Purchased Photos

  1. Products will be placed into production within fourteen days of your order. They are created through external photographic labs that Little Grasshopper Photography has sourced based on locality, quality, and reputation.
  2. Digital files that are purchased will be sent via an online gallery within seven days of your purchase. Your responsibility is to download these to your computer and back them up appropriately. We endeavour to keep digitial copies of purchased photos for 12 months.  We take all due care and commitment to maintaining archives of purchased images but hold no responsibility for the failure of our hard drives and external cloud services.
  3. Certain delivered images may not suit specific products, but Little Grasshopper Photography will provide advice on the best image for the chosen products.
  4. You must place all orders at the ordering/purchasing appointment. Due to the custom, one of a kind nature of the products produced, all sales are final, and no refunds are provided for change of mind.

Payment Plans

PAYRIGHT

You can purchase a payment plan through PayRight, which incurs a variable fee between $29 to $59 and a transaction fee depending on the frequency of transactions (weekly, fortnightly, monthly). Payright will subject you to a credit check before approval, and financing availability is subject to PayRight’s terms and conditions for the life of the payment plan.

LAYBY

Choosing a lay-by plan is our way of giving you and your family flexibility so that you may safeguard your treasured family photographs, which we know will become even more valuable to you with time.

  1. This Layby Sales Agreement is made between the customer and Little Grasshopper Photography for the supply of photographic works.
  2. The minimum total purchase price for eligibility for this agreement is $990.
  3. There will be no interest charged on the total cost of the items.
  4. The customer will be provided with a statement showing the balance owing, which will be provided free of charge.
  5. The customer must provide an initial payment of 25% of the total purchase price of the goods within 3 days of the signing of this agreement unless otherwise agreed.
  6. Payments pursuant to this agreement are to be made in equal weekly, fortnightly or monthly amounts for a period of up to 12 months.
  7. Partial order fulfilment is not available with Layby. The goods will not be released to the customer until all payments have been made pursuant to this agreement.  This includes any complimentary product offered such as a canvas or framed print.  This is our gift to you WITH the purchase of a photo package and is not available on its own with no additional purchase. 
  8. The customer has the right to withdraw from this agreement at any time before receiving the goods.
  9. If the client chooses to cancel the purchase the photographs will not be retained or archived and will be purged.
  10. In the event that the customer cancels this agreement, or the customer fails to make payments at the frequency and amount as required by this agreement, or otherwise breaches a material term of the agreement, Little Grasshopper Photography will:
    1. refund the amount already paid by the customer; and
    2. charge a cancellation fee, calculated based on the reasonable costs incurred resulting directly from this agreement (“the cancellation fee”)
  11. The cancellation fee is based on reimbursing Little Grasshopper Photography for labour and resources spent in processing the order and in the post-production process. It also covers materials and resources used by Little Grasshopper Photography. Customers will be informed of the cancellation charge before cancelling their plan, by approximation cancelled orders typically cost around $200-$500.
  12. Little Grasshopper Photography may deduct the cancellation fee from the amount already paid by the client.

    Gift Certificates

    1. Gift Certificates with a credit amount can be used for any session type including mini sessions, on-location sessions and in-studio sessions. The credit amount of the gift certificates is used as credit towards your session fee and photographs (digital files, wall art, albums etc.). Pricing varies based on how many photos you love.
    2. Gift certificates for a specified session type and/or with specific products included can only be used for that session type and those products and cannot be redeemed for credit or other products or session types.  Additional products can be purchased.
    3. There is no obligation or insistence to buy everything. However, it’s very common for families to end up loving all of their photos and buy them all. 50+ images will be provided for the gift certificate recipient to choose from. A gift certificate does not include digital pictures but these can be purchased at the ordering session.The gift certificate will stipulate if the session fee is covered or not. If the gift certificate has a credit value only then the value can be applied toward the session fee and any credit remaining can be applied as credit toward their photo package purchase.

    4. The photography session is to be held at a time and location agreed to by the photographer and is non-refundable but can be rescheduled due to weather or illness in accordance with our rescheduling policy above.

    5. The photography session will be held within 40km of Canberra CBD unless otherwise stated on the gift certificate.

    6. Gift certificates are not refundable or redeemable for cash.

    7. Gift certificates can be transferred to another recipient, however the expiry date remains the same.

    8. Gift certificates that contain a special promotion, i.e. discounted value or complimentary canvas, are valid for the period stated on the promotion.

    9. Gift certificates purchased outright with no promotion are valid for three years from the purchase date.

    10. Gift certificates that contain a special promotion cannot be used in conjunction with another special offer.

    11. Gift certficates must be redeemed in full within the validity period, and any unused balance will not be refunded or credited on expiry.

    12. Should a recipient wish to purchase other prints/albums over and above the value of their gift certificate, then these will be charged at standard pricing.

    13. Gift certificates cannot be split over multiple sessions.

    14. Photos must be purchased within 60 days of the photography session.

    15. Little Grasshopper Photography is not obliged to offer a refund for gift certificates for a change of mind.

    Gifted Products & Special Offers

    Occasionally, Little Grasshopper Photography runs special offers through giveaways and photography projects. Selected participants are invited to have a photo session and receive a complimentary gift for participation. The following terms and conditions apply to Prize Winners from giveaways, and the selected participants for all photography projects, eg. Celebrating Motherhood Project. Families That Play Project.

     

    1. As part of the offer, our usual session fee is waived and a payment is taken to secure the booking, this booking payment will be refunded back to you at your purchasing appointment in the form of credit. This payment ensures that everybody’s time is valued and that another family does not miss out. If you need to reschedule your session with less than four weeks’ notice of your session date, a session fee will payable on rebooking in accordance with our rescheduling policy.  Your booking payment will be applied to the session fee. 
    2. Digital images are not included in your session but may be purchased at your in-studio ordering session.
    3. Offers are only applicable to new session bookings, not combinable with any other offer or gift certificates, and not transferrable as cash. One (1) offer per family.
    4. Your complimentary included product is our gift to you with the purchase of a photo package.  Complementary product is not available with the purchase of individual printed/digital products or on its own with no additional purchase.
    5. If you change your mind within three (3) days of payment of your booking fee and wish to cancel, you may receive a full refund. You may request a refund of your booking payment if you do not want to proceed with your portrait session, provided you give more four week’s in accordance with our cancellation policy.
    6. If circumstances outside of the control of the photographer and/or client occur, you will be invited to reschedule your session to another date. If circumstances outside of all parties’ control occur and we cannot obtain photos, you will receive a full refund of your booking payment.
    7. Not to be combined with other offers or other gift certificates.
    8. The offer is for one session only and cannot be split between multiple sessions.
    9. Special offers and gifted products are available for three months from the date of purchase. If the expiry lapses, any booking payment made can be transferred to credit towards a new session (normal session fee and pricing applies, any products or items in the special offer will no longer apply).

      Season Special

      1. As part of this offer, our usual session fee is waived. The season special includes hair and make up which is subject to the availability of our preferred hair and make up artist. We cannot guarantee availability of hair and make-up if you wish to have your session on a specific date.
      2. Digital images are not included with this special offer but can be purchased at your in-studio ordering session.Offers apply to new session bookings only and are not combinable with any other offer or gift certificates and not transferrable as cash. One (1) offer per family.
      3. Your included product is our gift to you with your purchase of printed products and digital images.
      4. If you change your mind within three (3) days of payment of your booking fee and wish to cancel, you may receive a full refund. You may request a refund of your booking payment if you do not want to proceed with your portrait session, provided you give more four weeks’ in accordance with our cancellation policy.
      5. If circumstances outside of the control of the photographer and/or client occur, you will be invited to reschedule your session to another date. If circumstances outside of all parties’ control occur and we cannot obtain photos, you will receive a full refund of your booking payment.
      6. The offer is for one session only and cannot be split between multiple sessions.
      7. The Season Special offer is valid for three months from the date of purchase.  If the expiry lapses, any booking payment made can be transferred to credit towards a new session (normal session fee and pricing applies, any products or items in the special offer will no longer apply).