These Terms of Service cover all custom fine art photography commissions, as well as the licensing of both custom and pre-existing artworks with the Artist. By checking the agreement box on the website inquiry form and paying your booking retainer or licensing fee, you agree to these studio policies.

A Note on Legal Binding:

Checking the agreement box makes these terms a legally binding agreement between us. Once your project or licensing details are locked in, we will also sign a formal, comprehensive contract before any image files are delivered or shooting begins. These website policies and your final signed contract work hand-in-hand, and both are completely binding. If there is ever a direct conflict between a specific detail here and your final signed contract, the terms in your signed contract will take priority.

1. Pricing, Fees, and Booking Retainers

• Foundational Creative Fee: All custom photographic projects carry a flat, non-negotiable base fee of $1,500. This covers creative strategy, storyboarding, lighting setup, model direction, and initial master editing labor.

• Private Commission Baseline: Private projects are priced at $1,500 total, covering the base fee and the production of one physical gallery print.

• Commercial Commission Baseline: Commercial projects start at $1,950 total, which combines the base fee ($1,500) and a baseline non-exclusive cover license ($450).

• Booking Retainer & Expiration: A 50% non-refundable retainer is required to reserve a slot on the production calendar. The Artist will not begin consultations, storyboarding, or studio production until this payment clears. The project parameters must be scheduled and executed within ninety (90) days of the retainer payment; exceeding this timeline without written agreement results in forfeiture of the retainer and project cancellation.

• Standard Turnaround Time: Custom commission projects carry a standard studio turnaround time of four (4) to six (6) weeks from the final shoot date for digital proofing and master delivery.

• Expedited Rush Requests: Requests for expedited delivery incur a mandatory 25% rush premium stacked onto the final project total. Under a rush agreement, production is expedited to the absolute best of the Artist's ability, but specific deadlines remain strictly contingent upon realistic production variables including location constraints, complexity of the shoot, weather, and necessary master editing labor.

• Production Expenses: The base fee covers standard studio gear and the Artist's labor. Any external production costs—including wardrobe, specialized props, location/studio rentals, or third-party model fees—are the sole financial responsibility of the Client and must be cleared before production begins.

• Formal Contract Requirement: Once the project parameters are finalized, a comprehensive contract will be issued. This document must be electronically signed by both parties before production begins.

2. Private & Personal Commissions

• Deliverables: Private clients receive one (1) signed, unframed 10"x10" archival fine art print with an additional 2" white paper border, printed on premium Hahnemühle William Turner paper. The print will arrive either flat-packed or in a heavy-duty protective shipping tube. The client will also receive a high-resolution digital copy for personal archiving.

• Edition Designation: Print designations are determined strictly by the likeness track. For Client Likeness projects (Track 1), the physical piece is delivered strictly as a standalone, unnumbered print. For Artist Self-Portrait projects (Track 2), the physical print is designated, signed, and numbered specifically as Edition 1 of that 10"x10" print size. An Artist Proof is not provided for either track.

• Framing Exclusion: Custom framing, matting, or ready-to-hang assembly are not included in the baseline fee. These services must be requested and quoted separately.

• Shipping Fees: The base price excludes packaging and postage costs. Shipping and transit insurance will be calculated upon project completion and added as a line item to the final invoice before delivery.

• Usage Rights: The Client may display the print in a personal home, gift the physical print, or share the image on non-monetized personal social media profiles.

• Strict Restrictions: Personal commissions include zero reproduction rights. The Client may not duplicate the image, sell prints, or use the artwork for commercial gain.

• Digital Display & Social Media: When sharing the digital file online or on social media platforms, the Client must include clear attribution to the Artist. The Client is strictly prohibited from applying social media filters, presets, third-party crops, or any other digital color/tonal modifications to the final delivered master file.

3. Commercial Cover Licensing (Baseline $450 Stack)

• Permitted Use: The baseline license grants the non-exclusive right to use the final photograph as front cover artwork for one (1) specific book title or music album release.

• Authorized Formats: Digital streaming platforms, e-books, and physical production formats (specifically CDs, vinyl records, and print-on-demand books).

• Distribution Caps: The baseline license is valid for up to 5,000 physical copies or 100,000 digital streams. Exceeding these limits terminates the baseline license and requires an upgrade.

• Merchandise and File Exclusions: This license excludes standalone merchandise rights (such as t-shirts, posters, mugs, or apparel). Deliverables are provided strictly as flat, high-resolution TIFF/JPEG files. Raw photographic files or layered PSD files will not be provided under any circumstances.

• Modifications & AI Prohibition: The Client may overlay text and typography (titles, author/artist names) for cover formatting. The base photograph may not be altered, recomposed, digitally manipulated, or processed through artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

• Publishing Credit Requirement: The Artist must be credited by name in the appropriate section of any physical or digital release (e.g., the copyright/imprint page of a book, or the liner notes/metadata of an album cover).

• Digital Display & Social Media: When sharing the digital file online for promotional or social media purposes, the Client must include clear visibility attribution to the Artist. The Client is strictly prohibited from applying social media filters, presets, custom digital crops, or any other color/tonal modifications to the final delivered master file.

4. Licensing Pre-Existing Artworks

• Baseline Licensing Fee: Licensing a pre-existing artwork from the Artist’s catalog starts at a baseline fee of $450 for standard, non-exclusive commercial cover use (matching the exact distribution caps and usage terms outlined in Section 3).

• Medium and Body of Work Parameters: While the Artist currently only offers custom commissions within the medium of fine art photography, commercial licensing extends across any and all bodies of work in the Artist's catalog. This includes photographs, traditional paintings, drawings, and digital paintings.

• Scope and Exclusivity Extensions: This baseline fee expands and scales upward based on the Client's specific project scope, geographic distribution needs, or requests for exclusivity.

• Exclusivity Considerations & Custom Quotes: Premium pricing applies to any requests for exclusive rights. The final cost will be determined by specific exclusivity parameters, including the length of the exclusivity window (typically 2 to 5 years), geographic territory restrictions, market sector or industry limits, and overall project scope. A customized license quote will be provided once the Artist has reviewed the full details of the project and the exact parameters of the requested exclusivity.

• Exclusivity Time Boundaries: Any granted commercial exclusivity is strictly time-limited. Upon expiration of the agreed-upon exclusivity term, the license automatically converts to a perpetual non-exclusive license. The Client may continue using the artwork for that specific project, but the Artist regains the right to license the image to third parties.

• Artist Rights Retention: For all pre-existing artwork licenses (both exclusive and non-exclusive), the Artist retains full, absolute copyright ownership and all commercial reproduction rights.

• Print and Merchandise Continuity: The Artist explicitly retains the unrestricted right to continue producing, marketing, exhibiting, and selling fine art prints or merchandise of the licensed image to the general public. This includes any prints that may have been sold before the start of the license, as well as any prints sold after the license takes effect.

5. Intellectual Property, Likeness Tracks & Moral Rights

Intellectual property management for custom shoots is dictated by the subject model of the photograph. The chosen track will be finalized at the invoicing stage:

• Retention of Moral Rights: For both custom commissions and pre-existing artwork licenses across all tracks, the Artist explicitly retains all moral rights (including the right of attribution and the right to the integrity of the artwork). The Artist must be credited by name alongside any public display or publication of the artwork. The artwork may not be distorted, mutilated, or modified in a way that damages the Artist's professional reputation.

Track 1: Client Likeness (The Client Models)

• Artist Rights: The Artist retains copyright ownership and the right to display the artwork in professional portfolios, marketing materials, websites, social media, and promotional art photography books.

• Client Protection: The Artist will not sell standalone prints, merchandise, or third-party commercial licenses featuring the Client’s likeness to the general public without written consent.

Track 2: Artist Self-Portrait (The Artist Models)

• Artist Rights: The Artist retains full copyright, the Right of Publicity, and unrestricted commercial reproduction rights to produce and sell fine art prints or merchandise of their own face to the public in other sizes or future editions.

• Client Protection (Commercial Projects Only): For commercial book or album covers, the Artist agrees to a three (3) month delay following the project's official release date before listing prints or merchandise of this specific artwork for public sale. This launch delay does not apply to private, non-commercial commissions.

6. Revisions, Proofing, and File Storage

• Included Adjustments: For custom commission projects, the base fee includes up to two (2) rounds of minor adjustments (color correction, tonal grading, or minor cropping) during the initial proofing phase.

• Overage Fees: Major creative revisions requested after final master rendering, or any edits beyond the two included rounds, will be billed separately as additional labor. Included adjustments are limited to global color, tonal grading, and stylistic enhancements. Extensive retouching (such as changing wardrobe colors after the shoot, altering body proportions, or digital compositing) falls outside standard revisions and requires an additional quote.

• File Storage & Archiving: The Artist will maintain a backup of the final flat digital master files for twelve (12) months following delivery. After this period, the Artist is not liable for replacing lost or corrupted files.