Terms of Service

Hello and welcome to BLACKSHADE STUDIO’s Terms of Service!

These Terms of Service ("Terms") cover your use of and access to the site

By accessing or using our website, private client galleries, or online shop, or by booking our photography and videography services, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions, incorporating our Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy & Cookie Policy (collectively, this “Agreement”). If you are using our services on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to bind that organization to this Agreement. If you do not agree to all terms in this Agreement, you may not access or use our website, services, or galleries.

Last updated: October 2026

1. Booking, Deposits & Payment Terms

• Securing a Date: A session is only confirmed upon receipt of a non-refundable 20% deposit (booking fee) and a completed booking agreement. This fee secures your scheduled date/time and will be applied toward your total balance.

• Final Balance: The remaining balance for your contracted service must be paid in full on or before the day of your shooting session. We reserve the right to withhold shooting, editing, or gallery release if the balance remains unpaid.

• Product & Order Payments: Orders for physical prints, wall art, custom albums, or extra digital downloads placed through your private gallery must be paid in full at checkout.

2. Cancellations, Rescheduling & Delay

• Client Cancellation: Deposits are strictly non-refundable. If you cancel your session, your deposit will be forfeited.

• Rescheduling: You may request to reschedule up to 7 days prior to your shoot at no additional charge, subject to operational availability. Rescheduling with less than 7 days’ notice will require a new non-refundable booking fee to secure a new date.

• Punctuality & Cooperation: Shoots begin at the agreed time. Any arrival delay on your part will be deducted directly from your total scheduled session duration. We are not liable for compromised coverage caused by late arrivals, uncooperative subjects, venue access restrictions, or adverse weather.

• Cancellation by Us: In the event that we must cancel your photo or video session due to severe illness, unexpected emergency, or an event of Force Majeure, we will attempt to reschedule. If no acceptable date can be agreed upon, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid, including the deposit.

3. Image Delivery, Editing & Gallery Storage

• Delivery Timeline: A link to your private digital proofing gallery will be provided within 2 to 3 weeks following your session date.

• Artistic License & RAW Files: All media is delivered according to our professional artistic standards and portfolio style. We do not supply unedited or RAW files under any circumstances. Requesting heavy, non-standard digital manipulation (e.g., advanced body alteration or extensive object removal) may incur additional retouching fees.

• Gallery Expiration & Retention: Your private online gallery remains active for 2 months from the date of release. It is your sole responsibility to download, verify, and back up all digital files within this period. After 2 months, galleries are archived. Re-activating an archived gallery or retrieving files from secondary storage incurs an administrative archive fee. In accordance with our storage policies, all digital content and data are permanently removed after 2 years.

4. Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

You agree to use our website, online shop, public and private client galleries strictly for lawful purposes. You are expressly prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities:

• Unauthorized Access & Credential Sharing: Sharing private gallery passwords, URLs, or download PINs with unauthorized third parties, or attempting to access galleries without explicit authorization.

• Data Scraping & Automated Downloads: Using bots, scrapers, spiders, or automated scripts to extract images, video files, metadata, text, or database content from our website or galleries.

• Security Interference: Attempting to bypass, disable, or interfere with security features, encryption, digital rights management, or password protection mechanisms on our platform.

• System Abuse: Transmitting or uploading viruses, malware, or any code designed to disrupt, overload, or harm our website hosting, servers, or cloud infrastructure.

5. Trademarks, Copyright & Piracy Protection

• Trademark Protection: The business names, logos, brand elements, graphics, and trade dress associated with BLACKSHADE Ltd, as displayed on this website and within client portals, constitute the exclusive intellectual property and trademarks of the company, whether registered or unregistered. Unauthorized copying, imitation, or commercial representation of our trademarks is strictly prohibited under UK law. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand elements displayed belong to their respective owners.

• Copyright Ownership: BLACKSHADE Ltd retains complete, unencumbered legal copyright and exclusive ownership of all original photo and video materials captured during your session.

• Personal Usage License: Upon receipt of full payment, you are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable personal usage license to print, download, and share your images and videos for personal display and personal social media use.

• Anti-Piracy & Alteration Rules: You may not sell, re-license, sublicense, or distribute our digital files. Applying filters, AI re-renders, heavy colour shifts, or structural alterations to our final edited works is strictly prohibited.

• Commercial Use Restrictions: Unless a separate commercial licensing agreement is purchased in writing, our media may not be submitted to publications, entered into contests, or used for paid brand endorsements, commercial marketing, or third-party corporate advertising. Unlicensed commercial exploitation constitutes digital piracy and copyright infringement, subject to legal action and statutory recovery fees.

6. Physical Products, Digital Downloads & UK Consumer Law

• Bespoke Goods Waiver: Under the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, statutory 14-day cancellation and return rights do not apply to custom-made or personalized products. Because all physical prints, canvases, and albums are custom-manufactured specifically to your order, all physical sales are final once production has commenced.

• Digital Download Waiver: By initiating the download of digital files from your gallery, you explicitly acknowledge and agree that you waive your standard 14-day right of cancellation and refund for digital content once access or downloading has begun.

• Damaged Goods: If physical items arrive damaged or defective from our printing facility, you must notify us in writing at support@blackshade.studio within 7 days of delivery, accompanied by photographic evidence of the damage, so a replacement can be dispatched.

7. Model Release & Promotional Use

We will only publish photographs or video clips from your session on our public website, social media channels, or marketing portfolios if we have obtained your consent or a signed model release agreement.

8. Limitation of Liability

While we employ industry-standard safety practices (including dual-slot camera recording and redundancy cloud backups), in the event that your original files are lost, stolen, corrupted, or destroyed due to technical equipment failure, storage media failure, or events beyond our reasonable control, our total monetary liability is strictly limited to the return of payments received for that specific session. We accept no liability for consequential or indirect losses.

9. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by, read, and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any legal proceedings or disputes arising under or in connection with these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

10. Contact Us

For any legal inquiries regarding these Terms and Conditions, copyright requests, or service bookings, contact us at: support@blackshade.studio.