FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
&
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following sections list answers to frequently asked questions and our terms and conditions. Please ensure you have read them prior to booking a shoot with us.
General
Are there any rules in your studio?
- Taking pictures and/or videos on cell phones or personal cameras is prohibited in our studio.
- Shoes are NOT ALLOWED in our studio. Please ensure you carry along a pair of socks so that you are not bare-feet. Models being photographed are allowed to wear shoes if the theme / set requires them to do so.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON QUANTITY V/S QUALITY?
- If you are looking for a photographer to take 100′s or 1000′s of pictures then that’s not us. We strive to focus our efforts on quality rather than quantity. We believe that a handful of stunning images is much better than hundred or thousand images that look the same
- Over the past few years we’ve focused on shooting quality work. This has meant shooting a lot less (which is something us photographers never want to hear) but we’ve really enjoyed seeing the results – we can immediately see a growth in what we do and we’re really taking the time to focus on WHAT our style is. Besides, it gives us time to also focus our energies on the child being photographed to bring the best out of him/her.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES YOU FROM OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS?
- Over 15 years international experience. Photographed models of all age groups from over 75 countries. Trained from some of the best photographers and industry artists in the US and UK.
- Our work & quality speaks for itself: within 3 months of launching in India we were approached by Delhi’s leading hospitals including Fortis LaFemme, Fortis Shalimar Bagh, Apollo Cradle. The walls of all these hospitals are decorated with our newborn and children photographs.
- We have the most hygienic and spacious kids photo studio in Delhi. Our entire studio is sanitised after every shoot in order to provide a very safe and clean environment for our young models.
- We provide a professional photo shoot session with a professional team. Our team, as well as working for us, regularly works in the industry on TV, films, music videos, magazines, etc. So they bring plenty of experience and latest trends to the table.
- Our client feedback is available online. Please spend a few minutes reading our client feedback to understand why we and our clients’ fee that we offer the best services available for newborn and child photography.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES AN AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER FROM A PROFESSIONAL?
- One way to differentiate an amateur from a professional is the consistency of their work. An amateur photographer’s portfolio may show nice images, but those images are a compilation of one or two accidentally good images from many sessions.
- The professional will show quality images consistently in both their portfolio AND recent work on their blog. If you hire an amateur to shoot your session, you accept the risk that there may only be one or two good images from your session vs. the 20-30 great images that we will provide in your gallery.
WHAT IS THE EQUIPMENT YOU USE?
- Our portraits are captured with the Hasselblad H5D / Nikon D810 / D800E camera and we have a wide array of lenses and equipment for every need.
- We provide in-house printing capabilities with a 44 inch wide advanced Epson photo & canvas printer.
- For those interested in technology, our entire equipment is available in our gear section
WHERE CAN I SEE FEEDBACK GIVEN BY YOUR EXISTING CLIENTS?
- Our client feedback is located here
WHAT IS A PRE-SHOOT DISCUSSION?
- The pre-shoot discussion is an essential part of our photography process as it helps us understand better your requirements as well as gives us a chance to explain to you how to go about booking a shoot.
- During this discussion we will answer any questions that you may have.
- The pre-shoot discussion is usually done on the phone and on Whatsapp
- When you visit our studio for the shoot, feel free to discuss with us our product offerings and we will be happy to show you sample products that are available in the studio.
DO YOU PHOTOGRAPH EVENTS?
- We are a newborn and child portrait and life style photographer and we generally don’t do event photography. The only occasions we would participate in event photography is as a result of a collaboration with a large organization.
WHAT IS YOUR SHOOT PROCESS?
- For children we do 1-2 costume changes per theme during a session. For maternity & newborn, we do 1 change per theme.
- For outdoor shoots (including children) we are restricted to a single change per theme.
- We generally take 10-15 shots per look which, depending on the shoot type, might include head shots, mid-length shots, and full length shots. If you have a specific requirement we will discuss that during the shoot or during your pre-shoot consultation.
- After the shoot all the images taken during the shoot will be reviewed on a large screen. This review process is an important part of the shoot and we encourage you to review these images any number of times you want. Should you not review the images while you are at the studio, we will assume you are satisfied with the images.
- If you are not satisfied with the shoot, let us know and we will either postpone, redo, or cancel the shoot after a mutual discussion.
- The advance amount paid, might or might not be refunded based on our discretion.
- Only if you are fully satisfied with the images should you pay the balance payment for the shoot.
- The review process is an important part of our shoot process as it gives you a chance to view the images and see what has been photographed. If you come back to us at a later date & express an issue with the shoot or the pictures neither would we be in a position to address the same nor would we be liable for any refund or anything in lieu of a refund.
MY CHILD DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO POSE, WILL YOU HELP HIM/HER?
- Yes, of course we will. We have experience photographing 1000′s of international models and understand that posing is one of the toughest aspects of creating a portfolio.
- We provide guidance throughout your photo-shoot, to help you create the most flattering poses.
- Our creative team has years of experience in dealing with children and adults and will make you help you pose to get the most flattering impacts from the shoot.
What we Deliver
WHAT IS YOUR LOGO POLICY?
- Edited images are without any logo’s or water marks
- Print do not have any logo’s.
- Unedited images do not have any logo’s or watermarks.
- Logo Policy for Images Taken Prior to Jan 1, 2021
- All edited images will have our logo in either black or white colour within the digital photograph. The position of the logo is in one of the 4 corners of the photograph.
- The logo position cannot be chosen by clients and neither will the position be changed once the images are edited.
- In the client form you can choose to purchase images without logos. If you select that option, images will be provided to you without any logos.
WHAT ARE THE IMAGE SIZES YOU DELIVER?
- Unedited Images– File Format JPEG – Long Edge 2048 Pixels – 300 pixels per inch – Approximate File Size 2MB
- Edited Images– File Format JPEG – The size of such images depend on the camera we use. Generally, these files are over 15MB in size so you could print a 24inch posters from such files without any quality loss.
- Camera RAW images are only given to clients as part of an advertising or commercial photoshoot. Incase you want Camera RAW images you will need to purchase the Image Copyrights while filling out the shoot booking form.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SELECTION / DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS?
- If you are looking for a photographer to take 100′s of pictures in every set then that’s not us. We strive to focus our efforts on quality of edited images rather than quantity of delivered images. We believe that a handful of stunning edited images is much better than hundreds of images.
- Keeping the above in mind, every package of ours has a pre-defined number of edited images. It is our endeavour to provide you these handful of edited images that will be the quality images that we focus to deliver
- During a shoot we may click images that look similar or are continuous shots. We will deliver all these images as part of the selection images so that you, as a parent, can select the best expression that you like from such a series.
- The objective of giving the client the original images from the shoot is only to help them select the best images they like from the set of images. The original images should not be treated as a deliverable as their purpose is to only help identify the final product, i.e. the edited images from the shoot.
- Original images are not edited in any way shape or form. They are only cropped to remove unnecessary elements, if any, from the corners.
- We do not recommend using the original images for any other purpose that what they are recommended for, i.e. for selecting the images to edit.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN PHOTO RETOUCHING?
- Our photo retouching process is limited to the following
- Color Correction
- Light Correction
- Basic Skin Retouching
- We do not take requests for
- photo manipulations or background replacements
- making changes to the actual physical appearance of the subjects we photograph
- adding additional elements to a photograph
- applying digital makeup, fixing hair, changing hair colour, removal of body hair.
- The package you select will also contains prints. While we recommend that prints are selected from retouched images, we do leave the decision up to the client to select if they want to print images that are not retouched.
- Selecting print images that are not in your retouch list will not increase your count of images to retouch.
- As an example, if your package contains 10 retouched images and 2 prints, your total number of retouched images is 10 (and not 10+2)
- There are certain instances where you might ask us to choose the best images for editing. In such a scenario we wish to inform you that “Best” is very subjective. We encourage clients to select the images themselves. However, in cases where clients request us to select the “best” images, our selection will be final.
I NEED EXTRA PRINTS, CAN I GET THEM FROM YOU?
- We have in-house printing capabilities and can print a poster up-to 44 inches wide. Should you require additional prints, please contact us so that we can give you a quote
HOW DO YOU DELIVER PHOTOS?
- We use a cloud based service to transfer all photographs.
- You will receive an email from us with a link to download your images. Once you receive this link, you generally have 30 days to download the link before the link expires.
- The images can only be downloaded on a computer as the image size is extremely large. Once you download them on your computer, you can transfer them to your mobile device.
- We do not provide images in USB/Pen drives as due to security issues we do not insert external pen drives into our systems
- We do not have CD burners. The only way to receive images is through a cloud based service
HOW DO YOU DELIVER PRINTS & PRODUCTS?
- Most of our clients pick up the prints from our studio.
- Given that our smallest print is approx 12×10 inches in size, we do not recommend sending such prints by courier as there is a likelihood of the prints getting damaged during transit.
- If you would like your photographs couriered, then you will need to arrange for a courier pick-up service. In this case, the courier company you arrange will pick up the prints from our studio and will package and ship them to the destination you want. Please note, we do not courier prints directly and cannot arrange a courier service for you. Neither do we assume any responsibility of prints getting lost or damaged if the courier pick up is arranged by you.
- We have limited space available in our studio to store prints & product. We are only able to hold your prints for 2 weeks from the date your prints are ready. If you do not pick up your prints within 2 weeks, we will assume that you no longer want the prints and in this case the prints & products will be discarded and no refunds will be issued in such a scenario
Processing Timeline
WHAT ARE YOUR PROCESSING TIMELINES?
- Our processing timeline starts on the date your invoice is closed. The payment of the shoot (including grow with me) is due on the date of the shoot. If your payment is delayed, the processing timeline listed below will start on the date your payment is received.
- 1 week after the session or invoice closing date (whichever is later), you’ll receive the original images from the shoot
- Once you have made your selection of images and provided it to us, we will deliver the edited images within 3 weeks. As an example, if you send us the images on the 1st, the images go for editing on the 2nd and they come back in 3 weeks from the 2nd, i.e. 23rd
- For multiple session shoots (example maternity + newborn or grow with me) you are required to submit the list for editing immediately after the session is done. If you submit the editing list of all sessions after the final session it will take longer to get the images edited. The duration in such a scenario will depend on the number of images to edit in all sessions.
- We do offer a “Rush my Order” service which allows you to get your order completed within 10 days. Please discuss with us during the pre-shoot conversation should you want to avail this service.
- We use a cloud based service to transfer all photographs.
- Once edited images are approved and you specify the requirement for prints / products. Prints and products are not covered under the RUSH service
- Prints & frames – 2 weeks
- Domestic Albums – upto 4 weeks
- International Albums – upto 10 weeks (or longer depending on customs clearance)
- Personalised Products – upto 6 weeks
- Leather Products – 8-10 weeks
- Other products, not listed above, – 8-10 weeks
- Your order can only be completed when you timely submit your requirements for images required for editing and printing. We can only store your data for 90 days from the date of the shoot. Incase you do not submit your requirements in 90 days, your package will close and we would not be liable for any refunds nor would you claim any returns or exchanges.
- We have limited space available in our studio to store prints & product. We are only able to hold your prints & products for 2 weeks from the date your prints are ready. If you do not pick up your prints within 2 weeks, we will assume that you no longer want the prints and in this case the prints & products will be discarded and no refunds will be issued in such a scenario. There would be no returns or exchanges due if such an event arises.
Payment Terms
WHAT FORMS OF PAYMENTS DO YOU ACCEPT?
- We accept Cheques, Electronic Transfers (RTGS / NEFT / IMPS), and Cash.
- We DO NOT have a debit / credit card machine.
WHEN IS THE PAYMENT DUE?
- Payment is due on the day of the shoot.
SHOOT BOOKING ADVANCE
- Our shoots require bookings require a Rs. 5,000 deposit. You can pay the deposit upon submission of this form.
- This amount will be adjusted against your package total
- Should you cancel or postpone the session within 72 hours of the shoot, this amount is non-refundable.
- If you cancel prior to 72 hours, you will get a full refund.
- If you postpone prior to 72 hours, this amount is adjusted towards your postponed session.
Image Sharing
DO YOU SHARE PHOTOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER PLATFORMS
- Yes we do share images on our social media, website, and multiple other platforms & venues (both online and in print). Images shared by us online are mainly to help exhibit our work by demonstrating the capability & potential of our photography services. We do get the opportunity of capturing your memories only because you have seen the work we have shared either online or in print.
- While we are not able to share each and every client’s image due to our volume of work, but from time to time we do share the work we produce.
- From a legal standpoint under copyright law the photographer owns the copyright and can use it for any editorial use without permission of the person in the picture. We however are sensitive to certain events like the birth of your child / the child’s birthday and will only post after the event has passed should should a request be made by sending us an email to [email protected] prior to the shoot taking place.
- Should you wish to have complete copyrights of the photographs you may wish to purchase the image copyrights
- Should you wish to have privacy of the images (which will prevent us from using any of your images online) you have he option of purchasing the privacy for an additional cost. Purchasing privacy does not give you the copyright of the images, it only means you have purchased the option that will restrict us from posting the images online.
Image Copyright
WHAT ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT LAWS?
- Indian and international laws assign the copyright of the photograph to the creators of a photograph.
- Just because you buy a print or get a shoot done does not mean you have purchased the copyright.
- Under the Copyright Act, photographs are protected by copyright from the moment of creation.
- Photographers have the exclusive right to reproduce their photographs.
- Unless you have permission from the photographer, you can’t copy, distribute (no scanning and sending them to others), publicly display (no putting them online), or create derivative works from photographs.
- Copyright infringements, reproducing photos without permission, can result in civil and criminal penalties.
I WANT TO PURCHASE THE RIGHTS OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
- In the client form the client is given the option to Buy the copyright. Buying the copyright entitles the client to use the images in any which way whatsoever and they become the owners of the photographs
I DID NOT PURCHASE THE RIGHTS OF MY PHOTOGRAPHS, WHAT CAN / CANNOT I DO?
- Unless prior written permission is taken from Amit Chhabra Photography the client cannot use the pictures taken by Team Amit Chhabra Photography for any of the following
- Advertising
- Publishing
- Displaying in Exhibitions (without our logos)
- Selling to Stock Sites
- Selling to Magazines / News Agencies
- Altering an image / manipulating an image
- Giving for free the image to a non-profit organization
- Selling the image
You can send the images that we photograph to agencies to promote your child. In such a scenario you will need to sign a release with the agency that such photos will not be published without our permission. A copy of this release must also be sent to us.
If our logo is placed on your photo, you cannot remove, manipulate, or crop the photograph to remove, blur, or alter our logo.
Apart from the above, Amit Chhabra Photography grants its clients permissions to use the photos taken by Team Amit Chhabra Photography in any which way whatsoever.
Clothing Guidance
CAN YOU PROVIDE ANY GUIDANCE ON THE CLOTHING I WOULD NEED FOR THE SHOOT?
We will have a discussion about clothing during our pre-shoot consultation. Listed below, are general guidelines to help you getting started with thinking about the process.
- We ask that everyone bring at between 4 and 6 different options for clothing. Number of custumes will depend on the package you take.
- We do not provide clothes for infant & children due to hygiene concerns
- People always ask me what colours are best and I really don’t have an answer for that. It’s better for me to get a visual of something, so I suggest bringing a wide variety of colours; especially for kids photography.
- Don’t be seasonal; everything from t-shirts, tank tops to sweaters and light jackets can work. I love textures and layers, but would generally stay away from crazy patterns and large logos (unless the shot demands that look).
- If it’s not in the studio we can’t shoot it, so if you find yourself questioning whether or not something will work just bring it along.
- Here are some basic rules to clothing.
- Rule #1: You have to love it! I don’t want to shoot anything that you don’t feel comfortable wearing.
- Rule #2: If you don’t feel comfortable in it, you won’t shoot well while wearing it.
- Rule #3: Remember, be yourself because this is where you can get some of your own personal style into the shot.