The same shape whether it is a half-day of product stills, a three-day film or an audio mix — what changes is how long each stage takes. Everything that will be delivered (formats, counts, crops, rights and dates) is written down before the first frame is shot, because that is the argument nobody wants to have afterward.
Two rounds of revision are inside the scope by default. Extra rounds are possible, and are agreed and priced before they start rather than absorbed silently and resented.
A conversation about what this is for and where it will be seen, which is usually a different question from what was originally asked for. It ends in writing: the deliverable list, the counts, the aspect ratios, the usage rights, the dates, and what is explicitly not included. If the honest answer is that you do not need a shoot, that gets said here.
For location work, a site visit or a detailed remote review: available light through the day, power, access, ceiling height, noise sources, and where a crew can stand without being in the way. For video, the script or the interview structure. For audio, a listen to the room. Call sheets, a shot list and a schedule that assumes something will run late.
Tethered or monitored, so what is being captured is visible while there is still time to change it rather than discovered that evening. Anything that cannot be reshot — a live event, a one-time interview, a performance — is recorded redundantly. Cards and recorders are offloaded to two destinations before anything leaves the location.
An edited selection rather than a raw dump: the frames or the assembly worth spending time on, with the near-misses left out. For video, a rough cut with structure and timing settled before any grade or sound work, because that is what feedback should be given on. Sent as a private link with per-frame or per-timecode comments.
The first round is structural: order, length, what is missing. The second is fine: word-level, frame-level, level-level. Splitting them this way stops a project cycling on details that a later structural change will throw away.
Final files in the agreed formats through a download link, or straight into your own storage if that is easier. Named to a convention you can search, with photographic metadata carrying caption, credit and usage. Masters and project files are kept for twelve months, so a re-version, a new crop or a translated cut does not mean starting again.
Defaults, not limits. If your platform, print house or broadcaster wants something else, say so in the brief and it is delivered that way — it is far cheaper to set a target before the session than to remaster afterward.
Business buyers care about this more than about any other part of a proposal, and most photographers’ sites are vague about it. Here it is in plain terms.
The standard terms below apply to Studio bookings. Your written quote records the scope, dates, deliverables and usage rights before you book. Current service fees come from the booking system.
The retainer is 25% of the booking fee, rounded to the nearest whole dollar. It holds your agreed date and is credited against the total; the balance is due on delivery. Newborn sessions hold a provisional week, not a particular day, and the session is confirmed once the baby arrives. Confirm your date or provisional week with us before paying.
If you cancel 14 or more days before the session, the retainer is refunded in full. With less than 14 days’ notice, the retainer is non-refundable, but you may move it once to a new date within six months.
If anyone is unwell or rain means a family or newborn session needs to move, it is rescheduled at no charge, whenever you tell us. This exception overrides the standard cancellation and one-transfer limits above.
If the studio cancels, you choose a full refund of everything you have paid or a new date.
Personal and family galleries arrive within two weeks; business photography within five business days. Events include same-night selects, with the full edit within two weeks.
Video and audio are delivered within three weeks of the final brief and assets, plus revision rounds. Two rounds of revision are included; further rounds are quoted. Rush delivery is agreed in the written quote.
Full payment up front takes 5% off; this discount does not apply to a retainer. Commercial work may instead be invoiced against a purchase order on the agreed invoice terms.
Prices exclude applicable sales tax, which is calculated and invoiced separately. Travel beyond the metro area is quoted before you book.
We follow up on requests within one business day. Usage rights are stated in the written quote; personal print rights and commercial licensing are explained in rights and usage.
Tell me what it is for and where it will be seen, and the scope comes back written down: deliverables, counts, crops, usage, dates, and what is explicitly not included.