You will find all of these company policies, terms & conditions, and rules & regulations listed in your contract, but it’s always nice to be able to read through them quickly with the search function (ctrl-F), and to be able to refer back to them on-the-go. All of these company policies are based on company needs, and the requirements to run a successful business, so additional items may be added and/or removed at any time.
There is a creation fee associated with any portrait session*. This fee includes the photographer’s time for communication and planning your session, photographing your session, editing the images afterwards to create the art you chose them for, and your custom ordering session. This fee is non-refundable and non-negotiable. It is collected as a booking deposit to reserve your session time&date and is subject to company policies. Any a-la-carte print items are purchased in addition to the creation fee: it is NOT a print credit. Creation fees starting at 99.
*Mini Sessions have event specific deposit and fee schedules.
Date & time are not secured until the Creation Fee (used as a booking deposit) has been paid. This applies to ALL portraits sessions and birth stories. Event and Mini Sessions have their own requirements per event; see relevant information pages for details. Requests are only put on “hold” for up to 48 hours while awaiting payment, and then the date&time is released to the next person in queue. This non-refundable deposit will be put towards your creation fee. Not to worry, if you change your session type and the initial deposit exceeds your updated creation fee, the remaining balance will be used as a print credit. If you fail to comply with our policies, your deposit is subject to forfeiture.
In order to hold a specific date and/or time, the booking deposit must be paid. It must be paid within 48 hours of selecting a tentative date or the date is released to someone else. For newborn sessions, the creation fee reserves up to 4 weeks of guaranteed availability, and for birth stories it reserves our 24/7 availability surrounding your due date. For more information please view our newborn photography and birth photography details page. Full balance of deposit, creation fee, minimum order (if applicable), taxes, etc. must be paid in full prior to the session taking place. If you fail to provide the full remaining balance due prior to 48 hours before your session, without cause, it is considered a cancellation and your deposit is forfeited. Payment methods accepted: cash, email-transfer, credit, or via our online store (paypal).
To reschedule your session, you must do so a minimum of one week prior to your session and a fee will be required at photographer’s discretion. For rescheduling requests made within 7 days of your session, deposit is subject to a 50% service charge to select a new date, subject to availability. For rescheduling for any reason other than weather or emergency made within 72 hours of your scheduled session, all previously made payments are subject to a forfeiture, and a replacement booking deposit is required to select a new date, subject to availability. Multiple reschedulings (non-weather/non-emergency) will require an additional or larger fee, if permitted. Cancellations result in all previous payments made being forfeited.
If you are late with notice, the photographer may leave the location after 20 minutes and you must reschedule, and you will be required to put forth a replacement deposit to reserve a new date & time. If you are late, your session time is cut short and does NOT get extended by the time you arrived late (ex: if your 60 minute session is scheduled to start at 10am and you do not arrive until 10:17, your session will still end promptly at 11am (now only 43 minutes) and you risk having less than the quoted amount of images in your proofing gallery). If you are late or fail to show up to your session without cause or notification (no show), all payments made are forfeited, and services are considered rendered.
For administrative appointments, we reserve the following times for you:
Pickups and Design Consults: 30 minutes
Consultations and Ordering Sessions: 60 minutes
If you are a no-show for an order pickup, there is a non-negotiable 60$ rescheduling fee in order to claim your products. If you are a no-show or reschedule last minute for ordering sessions, you will be required to pre-pay the middle collection price as a deposit to reschedule your ordering appointment. If you are more than 15 minutes late without notice, you WILL be required to reschedule and pay the fee. Even if someone is at the studio otherwise occupied, you must reschedule and pay the fee (just because someone is present, does not mean they are able to serve you outside of your scheduled time).
The studio is by-appointment-only; appointments are required for consultations, photoshoots, ordering sessions, order pickups, design consults, etc. and you are required to adhere to the scheduled time.
We have a strict 24 hour cancellation & rescheduling policy for administrative appointments, or a 60$ rescheduling fee will apply. No exceptions.
These are our guaranteed portrait delivery timelines. In non-peak periods, they are often much shorter.
For themed petite (mini) sessions, images are typically ready in 1-2 weeks following the event. For portrait sessions, your images will be ready for viewing 2-4 weeks following your session in non-peak periods, and 4-6 weeks in peak periods*. For birth stories, your images will be ready for viewing up to 6-8 weeks following your special day, with your customized album design (for ready-to-order proofing). Exact timelines for your portraits will be outlined in your personalized contract. Once a print order has been placed, payment received and designs approved, you can expect to pick up your order at the studio up to 6 weeks after your order is approved and paid in full. Collection purchases with large items qualify for our complimentary delivery service: we will happily bring your order to your home and set up your gorgeous artwork on your walls (by appointment only) within the service area.
*Peak periods are typically from September through January.
From your gorgeous images, our goal is to create high quality art to display in your home, office, and/or vacation home. The available products range from heirloom portrait albums, museum grade canvas wall art prints, to luxury keepsake images boxes, greeting cards, and small prints. We truly believe in displaying your images in the most tangible and memorable way, through high quality art. Printable digital files are also available for purchase as add-ons to any signature art piece and/or collection. Art pieces starting at 500, Collections starting at 750. Please contact the photographer for the current rates and collection details.
Typically a 20km/30min distance from our studio (Barrhaven, ON). For customers outside of our service area, we would be happy to photograph you in Ottawa or Gatineau for outdoor sessions, or at our Barrhaven studio (dependent on the service required). We are more than happy to recommend local parks and urban areas that will make for great portraits. While most sessions take place in the studio, if you require in-home service or would like an outdoor newborn session, it must take place within our service area, or there may be a minimum purchase required. Outdoor newborn sessions are only available from May-September when weather conditions meet certain health & safety standards. For outdoor portrait sessions, there is a travel fee for locations outside the service area. For out of town sessions, we travel to your location with paid accommodations (food, lodging, etc) calculated on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the photographer for a custom quote.
After 6 months following a session, any un-ordered images will be deleted, and any ordered images will be archived off-site. To place an additional order after that time limit, there is a 250$ minimum order or a retrieval fee of 90$. Due to nature of digital files, the constant growth of technology, and inherent risk of digital media storage, images are never guaranteed to be available. You will NOT be charged the fee if your images are no longer available.
Vouchers are a pre-determined package: includes the session fee and one or more print products. Print Certificates are a denominational dollar value towards a print collection purchase. Voucher & Certificate holders are NOT exempt from the booking deposit and all other standard terms, regulations, and policies. The booking deposit can be used to cover expenses like parking or permit fees, upgrades, taxes, etc. and the remaining balance will be put towards your print purchase.
We’d love to capture your growing family and new baby moments. You can call us directly at 613-371-4594 or use our contact form. We will schedule a consultation to get all the details figured out and walk you through all the information.
Maternity Portraits are the most flatteringly captured between weeks 27-37, but will differ for each mom-to-be based on if she is carrying multiples, if she carries small, or if there are foreseen risks after a certain time-frame; the goal is for mom-to-be to be comfortable and feel great. Newborn Photography Sessions are best held within the first 5-10 days from birth to ensure they are sleepy and flexible (we will NEVER refuse an older baby! we’ve photographed ‘newborns’ up to 8 weeks old). Birth Stories are best booked before you are 6 months along in your pregnancy to ensure availability for your photographer to be on-call (and have a backup photographer available!).