Photography Service Agreement
MZ LIGHT & SOUL PHOTOGRAPHY
Bryan and Sara Martinez
PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES AGREEMENT
This Agreement states, in plain language, the work to be done, the payment due, what the Client will receive, and the duties of each party. Please read every section before you agree.
1. THE PARTIES
This Agreement is between the Photographer and the Client named on the booking form (together, the “Parties”).
Photographer
Bryan and Sara Martinez
MZ Light & Soul Photography
The Client is the person who submits the booking or agreement form, including the name, phone, and email entered there.
2. SCOPE OF WORK
The Photographer will provide the session described on the form. Anything not written on the form or in a later writing is not included.
The scheduled hours include setup, posing, and wrap-up. If the Client arrives late, the session still ends at the agreed time. Unused time is not refunded and is not added to a later date.
3. FEES AND PAYMENT
The Client agrees to pay the Session Fee and any other amounts confirmed in writing. The retainer (20%) reserves the session date and is earned when this Agreement is accepted. It is not a credit that can be transferred to another person.
When payment is due. The remaining balance is due by the date the Photographer confirms. The Photographer is not required to begin editing, or to deliver images, until the balance is paid in full.
Late payment. If the balance remains unpaid after the period the Photographer states in writing, a late fee may be added and work may pause until payment is received.
Truth in the price. The Session Fee covers only what is listed. Additional products, extra time, extra locations, or rush delivery are billed separately and must be agreed to in writing.
4. WHAT THE CLIENT WILL RECEIVE
The Photographer will deliver the number of edited images, the delivery method, and the timeline confirmed in writing for that session. “Edited images” means photographs selected and finished by the Photographer in the Photographer’s editing style. Raw, unedited files are not included.
The delivery time is an estimate, counted from the session date or from the date the balance is paid—whichever is later. Online galleries, if used, remain available for a limited time. The Client should download and save all files promptly. The Photographer is not required to store files forever.
Re-edits are limited to the number confirmed in writing and cover reasonable color, crop, or retouch requests on images already delivered. Re-edits are not a request for a different artistic style, and they do not add images beyond the number purchased.
If a print release is included, the Client may print the delivered images for personal use. A print release is not a transfer of copyright and is not a commercial license.
5. RESCHEDULING AND CANCELLATION
Client cancellation. The retainer is non-refundable because it reserves the date and takes that date off the Photographer’s calendar. If the Client cancels on short notice, the Client also owes the percentage of the remaining balance stated in writing for that session. That amount covers time already set aside and work already begun.
Photographer cancellation. If the Photographer must cancel and cannot fulfill this Agreement, the Client may choose a full refund of all amounts paid or a rescheduled session at no added session fee. That is the Client’s complete remedy for a Photographer cancellation.
Weather and unsafe conditions. Outdoor sessions may be rescheduled when weather or other conditions make the session unsafe or unsuitable. The Photographer will give notice as soon as reasonably possible. A weather reschedule is not a cancellation. The retainer remains applied to the new date.
Illness. If the Client or Photographer is ill, the Parties will work in good faith to move the session to the next available date. No Party is required to proceed while contagious or unfit to work.
6. COPYRIGHT AND HOW IMAGES MAY BE USED
The Photographer owns the copyright in all images created under this Agreement. That is the law under the United States Copyright Act. Accepting this Agreement does not transfer copyright to the Client.
The Client receives a personal-use license only. Personal use includes printing for the home, gifting to family and friends, and posting on the Client’s personal social media. The Client may not sell the images, use them to advertise a business, enter them in a contest for profit, use them in training AI, or license them to a third party, unless the Photographer gives written permission in advance.
The Client shall not edit the finished images in a way that changes the Photographer’s work (including heavy filters, cropping that removes a watermark if one is present, or AI alteration) and then present those altered files as the Photographer’s work.
Client may not use delivered photographs for defamation or in any way that reasonably harms Photographer’s reputation or business; all complaints must be submitted directly and in writing to Photographer before any public use of the images in connection with a complaint.
7. MODEL RELEASE AND PROMOTIONAL USE
By agreeing, the Client grants the Photographer permission to photograph every person who takes part in the session. If minors are present, the adult who agrees confirms that he or she is a parent or legal guardian, or has authority from the parent or legal guardian, and consents on the minor’s behalf.
Unless the Client states in the form notes that promotional use is declined, the Client also grants the Photographer permission to use selected images for ordinary business promotion. That includes the Photographer’s website, social media, printed samples, and similar portfolios. The Photographer will not sell the Client’s images to unrelated third parties as stock photography.
If you do not want your images used for promotion, write this exact sentence in the notes field on the form: Client declines permission for promotional use. The Photographer will not publish those images for advertising, and may still keep the files privately for editing, backup, and legal records.
8. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES
The Client agrees to:
• Arrive on time and ready for the session.
• Tell the Photographer, before the session, of any person who does not wish to be photographed, any safety concern, or any location rule the Photographer must follow.
• Obtain permission to use the chosen location when that permission is required.
• Keep children and other participants reasonably under control so the session can proceed in order.
• Review the delivered gallery within a reasonable time and send any included re-edit requests in one clear message.
If the Client, or anyone the Client brings, refuses direction, becomes disorderly, or makes the session unsafe, the Photographer may end the session. Time already used is earned. No refund is due for a session ended for this reason.
9. LOCATION
The session takes place at the location(s) named on the session contract or booking form. The Photographer’s complimentary service area is a forty (40) mile driving radius from Jarrell, Texas, measured by public mapping software from Jarrell to the session meeting point. If the meeting point is outside that radius, the Client shall pay a travel fee of $2 per mile, round trip, for each mile beyond 40 miles one way (miles beyond 40, multiplied by two, multiplied by $2), unless a different amount is written on the session contract. Travel time is not extra session coverage. The scheduled start and end times still control.
Permits and entry fees: The Client is responsible for any park, venue, HOA, ranch, or event entry fee, parking fee, or photography permit required to use the location. Those amounts are paid by the Client directly to the venue, or reimbursed to the Photographer if the Photographer must pay them to enter. The session fee does not include venue costs.
Private property and permission: If the location is a home, ranch, farm, business, or other private property, the Client shall obtain permission from the owner or person with authority before the session date and shall tell the Photographer of any rule that applies (no drones, stay on paths, no certain rooms, livestock, firearms on site, and similar). The Client is responsible for the conduct of every person and animal the Client brings onto that property.
The Photographer may decline or end a session at a location that is unsafe, unlawful, closed, or that the Client does not have permission to use. Time already reserved or used is earned. A weather or safety move to a public location inside the complimentary radius is not a refund. The Photographer does not guarantee access to any park or private site. Crowds, closures, hunting seasons, construction, and venue staff may limit where the parties may stand.
10. LIABILITY AND LIMITS
The Photographer will work with care. Photography still depends on light, weather, cooperation, and equipment that can fail. The Photographer is not responsible for injuries, lost or damaged personal property, acts of nature, venue rules, or equipment failure beyond the Photographer’s reasonable control.
If images are lost or damaged before delivery because of an event beyond the Photographer’s reasonable control, the Photographer’s responsibility is limited to a refund of the amount paid for work not delivered, or a reshoot at no added session fee, at the Photographer’s option. That is the exclusive remedy.
In every case, the Photographer’s total liability under this Agreement is limited to the total amount the Client has actually paid. The Photographer is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits or emotional distress.
The Client is responsible for the conduct of every person and animal the Client brings to the session.
11. PETS
If any animal will be part of the session, the Pet Photography Addendum below applies. Mark that on the form. If no animal will be present, the Addendum does not apply.
12. OTHER TERMS
Independent contractor. The Photographer is an independent contractor, not an employee of the Client.
Entire agreement. This page, the form submitted with it, the Pet Photography Addendum when it applies, and any later writing signed or clearly accepted by both Parties are the full agreement. Prior conversations and messages are replaced by these written terms.
Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas. The Parties will first attempt to settle any dispute in good faith. Venue for any remaining dispute lies in the state courts of Texas in a county proper for the Photographer’s principal place of business or the session location.
Severability. If a court finds any part of this Agreement unenforceable, the rest remains in force.
How you accept. Submitting the form on this page, with your typed name and the required agreement box checked, is your signature. Electronic acceptance is valid.
PET PHOTOGRAPHY ADDENDUM
This Addendum applies only if an animal will take part in the session.
A. Animals included. The Client shall list each animal on the form (name, species or breed, age, and a short description).
B. Honest disclosure of behavior. The Client shall tell the Photographer, before the session, of any history of biting, scratching, lunging, resource guarding, fear, reactivity, or other unpredictable behavior. The Client confirms that, under ordinary conditions, the animal is safe to photograph with the owner present. Hiding a known risk is a breach of this Addendum. The Photographer may end the session at once if an undisclosed risk becomes clear.
C. Control and safety. The Client shall keep control of the animal at all times and shall follow the Photographer’s direction. The Photographer may decline to handle, hold, or pose the animal; require a leash, harness, crate, or the owner’s hands-on control; and end the session immediately if the animal shows aggression or unsafe behavior. If the session ends for safety, no refund is due for time already reserved or used. A reschedule is not required.
D. Injury and damage caused by the animal. The Client assumes responsibility for injury or damage caused by the Client’s animal, including bites, scratches, knockdowns, and harm to the Photographer’s equipment. The Client shall reimburse reasonable medical costs and the reasonable cost to repair or replace damaged equipment that results from the animal’s actions.
E. Injury to the animal. The Photographer is not liable for injury to an animal except to the extent caused by the Photographer’s own willful misconduct. Animals move without warning. The Photographer will work carefully, but the Client remains the person in charge of the animal’s welfare. As with the main Agreement, the Photographer’s total liability is limited to the amount the Client has actually paid.
“Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’” — Matthew 5:37
This page is a business agreement written for clarity. It is not a substitute for advice from a Texas-licensed attorney.
MZ Light & Soul Photography · Photography@MZlightsoul.com · 512-269-3468