The Fine Print

A non-refundable deposit in the amount of 50% of session total is due at time of booking. Sessions are not booked until signed contract and non-refundable deposit are received. State sales tax will be added to all appropriate sales. A non-refundable deposit of 100%  is due at booking for all discounted sessions (including weddings) and sale promotions at the time of booking.

Once a session has been performed, your session fee is non-refundable, as it covers the time and skills invested by Adams Design Studios up to and through that point. 

Remaining balance is due 1 hour prior to session date. If unpaid, Adams Design Studios will cancel appointment time and deposit will be forfeited.

We require full payment for prints and products at the end of your ordering session. No order will be designed or submitted until paid in full. Adams Design Studios only accepts Credit Cards, Zelle, CashApp or cash as forms of payment.

Adams Design Studios reserves the right to reschedule within 24 hours of the session. No free product or refund will be offered.

Credit Card Processing: We use Square Inc. for our credit card processing. Once the card goes through our machine and the client signs the credit card receipt, the client fully responsible for paying that bill. Adams Design Studios takes no responsibility in how the credit card company works, or their policies, or when they charge things. Clients have the option to call their bank or the credit card company (Square Inc.) and speak to them about any discrepancies or issues you may encounter.

General Payment Policy

Portrait Session galleries will be available within 1-2 weeks after session date. During Wedding Season (April - November especially) delivery times may be longer. We appreciate your patience! No free product or refunds will be issued for these delays. Please back up all digital copies of your photographs. We recommend an external hard drive or flash drive. 

Adams Design Studios provides photographic prints and products, color corrected & calibrated to print EXACTLY as we see on our the Adams Design Studios computer monitor, by our professional print lab. Any digital photos you see (on our website, blog, social media sites, or that have been provided directly to you) may vary from their intended appearance, depending on your computer's monitor and settings.

Adams Design Studios cannot guarantee the results or quality of prints made by clients or by clients' chosen labs. For consistent, quality results made to last a lifetime, please purchase your prints directly from Adams Design Studios.

All orders must be placed online and processing delivery times are dependent on professional printer timelines. Adams Design Studios is not responsible for delays in product shipping. Items ordered via online galleries will be shipped directly from our lab. Please report any damages due to shipping to us within 24 hours of receiving your item or we can not guarantee a correction or replacement. 

All images include basic editing (color, lighting, basic retouching). Additional edits are only done by request and editing rates start at $25 per image or $25 per hour of retouching work.

Adams Design Studios will make every effort to retain your files for up to 6 months from the date of your session, and 4 months from the date of your projection meeting or client gallery. All print orders made by you or family members should be placed during this period.


Delivery, Printing & Editing

Adams Design Studios reserves the right to reschedule any session or consultation meeting due to photographer illness (including COVID 19), personal emergency, or inclement weather. If a session cannot be rescheduled due to photographer cancellation, we will refund your paid deposit, or deposit & session fee.

Clients reserve the right to reschedule any portrait session or projection meeting with one week PRIOR notice to the photographer, at no additional fee. If you prefer to cancel your session, instead of rescheduling at least one week prior, your deposit will serve as a cancellation fee.

Portrait sessions are approximately 30-120 minutes (or as listed in contract) and within 0-75 miles of Chicago, IL (unless it is a destination session).

If you arrive late to a session, it will result in the loss of time to get the best images possible. 

Time limits are guidelines only. They may be shorter or longer dependent on the photographer’s discretion. No make-up time or refund will be given if all time is not used. No additional fees will be charged should extra time be used due to photographer’s choice. Additional time requested by client will be $50 per every 30 minutes.

Travel fees may apply (flat rate $50 travel fee for sessions requiring travel more than 75 miles of Adams Design Studios, Merrillville, IN - client is also responsible for any tolls & parking cost associated with the session).

Sessions & Travel

For an additional fee we offer hair and makeup to our clients. We have a HMU artist who comes to the studio prior to your session to do this. The client is responsible for telling Adams Design Studios or the HMU artist if they are unhappy with their hair or makeup PRIOR TO TAKING PHOTOS. No refunds or re-takes will be made if the client says they are happy with their hair and/or makeup. If the client is unhappy with their hair or makeup and expresses that to the HMU artist and/or Adams Design Studios, we will do everything in our power to change it so they do like it, within a reasonable time. If that is unable to happen we will have to reschedule the photo shoot and HMU session, at the additional cost of to the client. Absolutely no refunds will be given if the client is unhappy with their hair and/or makeup.

Hair & Makeup

A deposit of 50% of your quoted coverage fee is due immediately to reserve your event date, along with your signed contract (except Groupon Weddings - full payment due at booking). We will not reserve a date or time without BOTH your payment and the signed contract. The remainder of your full balance is due no later than 2 weeks before your event date. 

You may choose your print items at our in-person/virtual ordering session, and must pay for these items IN FULL immediately, before any order will be made.

Adams Design Studios strives to have your event images ready to view and order within 6-8 weeks after your event date. However, due to the level of attention we provide to your images, your wait may be longer. We appreciate your patience!

Please consult your contract for additional specific information concerning contractual responsibilities, policies, procedures, and information.

Weddings & Events

Minors: All clients under 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Smart Phones: We do allow smart phones to be brought into the studio or on location sessions to be used for IG or Facebook or Snapchat as long as it does not interfere with the creative session.

Reshoots: Our goal as a professional photographer is to make you excited and happy with your photos. There is no charge for re-shoots due to technical issues (equipment malfunction, computer malfunction, etc.). However, due to the creative nature of what we do, we cannot offer free re-shoots for any reason including dissatisfaction with clothing, facial expressions, hair, wind, makeup or other items beyond our control. In the event that you would like to schedule another session due to one of the above, we will offer a NEW session at half price and must be scheduled within 2 weeks of your regular session. All the photos from the original session will be deleted.

Additional Policies & Procedures

CURRENCY: All prices listed on our website are in US dollars. 

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENT: A 50% non-refundable deposit is due before work can commence. The balance of the 50% is to be paid at the end of the project, once project is approved and before the final package is delivered. A deposit invoice is emailed to you at the start of the project.

PAYMENT METHODS ACCEPTED: Square Inc is simple, convenient way to make payments online and allows you to use your credit or debit card. You do not need a Square Inc. account to make payments with credit or debit cards.  Checks may be sent for deposits or invoices and should be mailed to us at: 6481 Taft Street, Suite B, Merrillville, Indiana 46410

CANCELLATIONS:
You can make cancellations at any time. Please keep in mind that the deposit is non-refundable.

REVISIONS: Each project will specify the number of revisions included. Additional revisions can be made for an hourly rate and will be quoted based on the project.

ABANDONED PROJECTS: Each project has a timeline and an estimated start and completion date. Please respect our timeline and respond in a timely fashion with any revision requests once project has commenced. A project will be considered abandoned if we have not heard from you in 30 days. You will not have any rights to use any of the work that was presented to you, unless the project has been paid in full. If we have not heard from you and you contact us after the 30 day abandonment, a start up fee may apply.

PORTFOLIO AND WEBSITE CREDIT: We reserve the right to add completed projects to our portfolio. If there is a privacy issue involved, please inform us.

COPYRIGHT FOR ARTWORK: Graphic designs created at our studio are custom-created and exclusive to each business. Any concepts that are not chosen and paid for will be a violation of our graphic design rights if they are used elsewhere.

CONTRACT WITH ADAMS DESIGN STUDIOS: By entering into a project with Adams Design Studios, you are consenting to be bound by the terms of these policies and procedures. Please note that our policies and procedures can be changed or updated at any time without prior notice to you.

Graphic Design Policies