Client Terms | Cody Strate Photography

Who's who

"I," "me" and "my" mean The Upward Spiral Group, LLC, the Colorado company that operates Cody Strate Photography, and Cody Strate, its photographer.
"You" means the person or business that books and pays. If you book for a business, team or organization, you confirm that you have the authority to agree to these terms for it.
"Your quote" means the written quote, proposal or booking form you sign. It lists the work, what you will receive, the timeline, the price, the retainer and how you can use the work. If your quote and these terms disagree, your quote wins.

Booking and payment

A signed quote and a retainer hold your date. Until I have both, the date is open to others.
The retainer is 50% of the price unless your quote says otherwise. It is not refundable, and it comes off your price. It pays for the planning I do and for holding a date that I then turn down for others.
Individuals: the balance is due 48 hours before the session.
Businesses, teams and organizations: I invoice the balance when I deliver, and it is due within 15 days. Your license to use the work (section 6) starts when the invoice is paid in full.
I send invoices you can pay online by card or bank transfer. They come from The Upward Spiral Group, LLC, so that is the name you will see on your statement.
Sales tax is added where Colorado or local law requires it.
Travel within Boulder County and Broomfield is included. Farther travel is in your quote. Fees charged by the places we shoot, such as permits and location fees, are passed through at cost.
If the work grows beyond your quote, such as more time, more locations or more deliverables, I tell you the cost and get your okay before I do it.

Moving or cancelling

Weather: if the weather is unsafe or wrong for the shoot, we move it at no charge, as many times as it takes. I make that call as early as I can.
Illness: if you or the person being photographed is sick, we move the shoot once at no charge.
Your schedule: you can move your date once at no charge with at least 72 hours' notice. With less notice, or if you do not arrive, the retainer is forfeited and a new date needs a new retainer.
Cancelling: the retainer is not refunded. Anything else you have paid is refunded, less any costs I have already paid for your project, such as rentals, permits or travel.
Events: if the event you booked me for is cancelled or postponed by its organizers, your retainer carries over to the new date, or to another booking within 12 months.
Time on the day: extra time needs your okay first, and it is billed at the rate in your quote.
If I have to cancel because of illness, an emergency or equipment failure, you choose a new date or a full refund, retainer included.

On the day

I photograph and film in the style you see in my portfolio. I cannot promise particular moments, plays, poses, light or weather.
You arrange access: the property owner's permission, event or media credentials where they are needed, and the people you want photographed, there and ready.
Aerial and drone: I fly under FAA rules. Weather, airspace approval and the property owner's permission decide whether a flight happens, and I make the final call on safety. I arrange airspace approval; you arrange permission for the property. Drones are not allowed over most public parks and open space around Boulder, so aerial work is usually on private land.
Sports and motorsport: I follow the event's safety rules and officials' instructions, and I may pass on a position I judge unsafe.

Delivery

Your quote sets the delivery date. For portrait sessions, your private gallery arrives within 14 days.
I choose which photos and clips to deliver, and I finish each one. I do not deliver unedited or RAW files or raw footage unless your quote includes them.
Before I finish the full set, I send a few previews so you can steer the overall look. After delivery, one round of changes is included: send me one list within 14 days. For video, that is one round of changes to the edit. Anything beyond that gets a quote first.
Finishing covers color, light, crop and natural retouching. I do not reshape faces or bodies. Heavier retouching and compositing are quoted separately.
Music in my videos is licensed for the uses your quote covers.
Galleries stay online for 90 days. Please download and back up your files. I keep files for at least one year as a courtesy, but after 90 days the safekeeping is yours.

Who owns the work, and what you can do with it

I own the copyright in the photos and video I make, as photographers do by default. You receive a license to use them.
Individuals: a permanent license for unlimited personal use. Print anywhere, post, share with family, and use your own headshot on your professional profiles, your bios and your employer's staff page. A print release comes with your gallery.
Businesses, teams and organizations: unless your quote says otherwise, a permanent, non-exclusive license to use the finished work to promote and run your own business, team or organization, in any media: your website, social media, advertising, print, presentations, recruiting and press. Sending photos to news outlets for coverage of you is fine.
A license does not cover selling the work, passing it to another company, or letting another company use it in its own marketing. That includes sponsors, partners, vendors, contractors and your own clients. They need their own license, and I keep that simple.
Exclusive rights, or owning the copyright outright, can be arranged and are quoted separately.
I never sell or license your photos to anyone else, including stock sites and AI training sets.
A credit to Cody Strate Photography is appreciated but never required. Cropping and resizing to fit a layout is fine. Please do not otherwise re-edit or filter the work without asking.

People in the photos

For business use, anyone who can be recognized in the photos needs to have agreed. You are responsible for getting that agreement from your staff, members, customers and anyone else you bring to the shoot. I can provide a simple release form.
For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian signs the release.
If someone would rather not be photographed, tell me, and I will do my best to keep them out of the frame and out of the delivered set.

Minors

A parent or legal guardian books, signs and pays for any session with someone under 18, and confirms that they have the authority to agree to these terms for them.
For portrait sessions, a parent, guardian or another adult you choose stays for the whole session. Outfit changes happen in private, and I never drive a minor anywhere.
At games and events, I work within the team's, school's or league's rules on photographing athletes, and those rules come first.
When I share photos of anyone under 18 (section 9), I use first names only, or no name, and never anything that says where to find them.

How I may share the work

Unless you tell me otherwise before the shoot, I may use photos and short clips from your session or project to show my work: on my websites, codystrate.com and upwardspiralgroup.com, and in my portfolio, on social media, in advertising for my own photography and video, and in competitions and publications. For a business project, that can include a case study that names your business.
For people: I use first names only, I tag someone only if they ask, and I never post contact details, addresses or anything else that says where to find someone. Opting out is free and does not change your price.
For businesses: if the work is confidential, or shows something not yet public, tell me before the shoot. I will keep it private, or wait until you have published it.
Taking a photo down: ask, and I will take it off my website and social accounts within 7 days. I cannot recall printed pieces or copies that other people have already shared.

Safety

Shoots come with ordinary risks: uneven ground, weather, water, wildlife, traffic and, at events, the action itself. Nobody has to go or pose anywhere they are not comfortable. You are responsible for your own safety, the safety of anyone you bring, and any property or gear you bring.
To the extent Colorado law allows, you accept those ordinary risks for yourself and for anyone you book for, including minors, and you agree that I am not responsible for injury or property damage during a shoot unless it is caused by my gross negligence or a willful act.
I can end a shoot if anyone is unsafe, abusive or impaired. In that case the retainer is not returned.

If something goes wrong

If photos or footage are lost or damaged before delivery because of something on my side, such as a failed memory card or stolen equipment, you choose a reshoot at no charge, where that is possible, or a refund of what you have paid for the lost work.
My total liability for anything connected with your booking is limited to the amount you paid me. I cannot cover other costs, such as lost business, travel, wardrobe or other vendors' fees.
Neither of us is responsible for delays caused by things outside our control, such as weather, illness, closures or emergencies.
I keep your non-public business information confidential.

The fine print

These terms and your quote are the whole agreement between us. Changes need to be in writing, and email counts.
Colorado law governs this agreement. If we ever disagree, we talk first. If that does not settle it, the courts of Boulder County, Colorado decide it.
If a court finds one part of these terms unenforceable, the rest still stands.
Electronic signatures count as originals.
I may update these terms for future bookings. The version dated on your quote is the one that applies to you.

Questions about this page? Email hello@upwardspiralgroup.com.