Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of https://monocleproject.com (the "Site") and the photography services (the "Services") provided by Monocle Project Photography ("Monocle Project," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Site, submitting an inquiry, or booking a session with us, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site or book Services with us.

2. License to Use This Website

Permission is granted to temporarily view and download material from this Site for personal, non-commercial use only. This is a limited license, not a transfer of title, and you may not: modify or copy the Site's materials; use them for any commercial purpose or public display; attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software on the Site; remove any copyright or proprietary notations; or mirror the materials on another server. This license terminates automatically if you violate any of these restrictions.

The Site and its original content (excluding photographs and other materials we deliver to clients under Part B) are the property of Monocle Project and are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law.

3. Site Content & Accuracy

This Site and its materials, including pricing, availability, and package descriptions, are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Materials on this Site may include typographical or photographic errors, and we do not warrant that content is accurate, complete, or current; we may make changes at any time without notice.

4. Third-Party Links

This Site may link to third-party websites, booking tools, or social media platforms (for example, our client-management platform or online gallery store) that are not operated by us. We have not reviewed all such sites and are not responsible for their content, policies, or practices. Inclusion of a link does not imply our endorsement.

5. Reservations & Retainers

A session or project is considered booked only once a signed Session Agreement (where applicable) and a retainer fee have been received. The retainer amount is stated in your quote or invoice. The retainer is non-refundable: if the session is rescheduled, postponed, or cancelled, or if you breach these Terms or your Session Agreement, the retainer is retained by Monocle Project as liquidated damages for reserving your date and turning away other inquiries for that time. You also remain responsible for any of our materials costs already incurred as of the date of cancellation.

6. Payment & Pricing

Unless your Session Agreement states otherwise, the remaining balance is due in full on or before the date of your session. If you fail to remit payment as specified, we may immediately terminate the engagement, retain any monies already paid, and decline to attend or complete the session — with no further obligation on our part.

Prices, packages, and availability are subject to change at any time without notice, but the price you were quoted and agreed to at booking will be honored for that engagement. Services or products not included in your original quote are billed at the then-current price when ordered. Credit vouchers have no cash value and may only be applied toward merchandise or services purchased from Monocle Project.

7. Event Schedule & Communication

You agree to confirm your session schedule with us at least one week prior to the session. Any changes to the schedule or location must be communicated to us in a timely manner, and you are responsible for obtaining our confirmation that we received it.

8. Shooting Time

Punctuality matters for a good result. Your session begins at the scheduled start time and ends at the scheduled end time; if you or your group arrive late, coverage still ends at the originally scheduled time. Any additional time beyond the scheduled end time, if we are able to accommodate it, will be billed to you.

9. Travel Expenses

Standard sessions include the first 200 miles of roundtrip travel. Travel beyond 200 roundtrip miles is billed at $0.56 per mile, calculated from Monocle Project's base location to your session location. Where applicable, you are also responsible for reasonable accommodation, meal, and transport costs associated with destination sessions, as outlined in your quote.

10. Locations, Venues & Permits

You are responsible for obtaining any permits, access fees, or property-owner permission required to photograph at a location you have selected. We are limited by the rules and guidelines of each venue or site management; if a location restricts or limits our coverage, we will offer technical recommendations, but negotiating with venue officials is your responsibility, and you accept the technical results of any restrictions imposed on us.

11. Client Responsibilities & Limits on Coverage

We are not responsible for compromised coverage due to causes beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: guests or attendees who obstruct our work, lateness by you or your guests, weather conditions, schedule complications, incorrect addresses provided to us, decor or venue conditions, or restrictions imposed by a location. We are not responsible for backgrounds or lighting conditions that negatively affect coverage, and we are not liable for missed coverage of any portion of your session or for failing to capture images of any particular individual or object present.

12. Safety

We reserve the right to end coverage and leave a session if our photographer experiences inappropriate, threatening, hostile, or offensive behavior from anyone present, or if our photographer's safety is otherwise in question. In this situation, amounts already earned for time worked are not refunded.

13. Independent Contractors

Monocle Project works with sub-contracted associate and second photographers. In providing Services, Monocle Project and any such associates act as independent contractors, and nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and Monocle Project or its contractors.

14. Copyright & Image Usage Rights

Photographs produced by Monocle Project are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without our express written permission. If you purchase an image gallery, limited copyright ownership of the resulting images transfers to you upon receipt of final payment. You may then share those images on social media, with family and friends, and on vendor websites, provided the images remain unaltered and are credited to Monocle Project. You must obtain our written permission before publishing the images anywhere else or selling them.

15. Model Release

By booking a session, you grant Monocle Project an irrevocable and unrestricted right to use and publish photographs of you and any guests included in your session, for editorial, trade, advertising, educational, and other purposes, in any manner and medium, including the right to alter and copyright those images — and you release any claim to profits that may arise from that use. If you would like different terms for your session (for example, keeping your images out of our portfolio or marketing), that must be agreed with us in writing before your session, and will control over this section for that engagement.

16. Capture, Delivery & File Retention

We are not obligated to deliver every image captured during a session; the images included in your final delivery are selected at our discretion as part of our editing process. You have ninety (90) days from delivery to download your full collection; after that window, a $75 archive retrieval fee applies to restore access. We retain your final delivered images for one year beyond your delivery date, after which we may no longer have a copy — we recommend downloading and backing up your gallery promptly after delivery.

17. Post-Production & Editing

The final post-production style, effects, and overall editorial look of your images are left to our discretion, consistent with the style shown in our portfolio.

18. Limitation of Liability

If our assigned photographer is unable to perform due to injury, illness, an act of God, an act of terrorism, or another cause beyond our control affecting a member of our team or their immediate family, we will make every effort to secure a suitable replacement. If we cannot, our liability is limited to returning all or a prorated portion of the payments you made for that session.

If digital files are lost, stolen, or destroyed for reasons beyond our reasonable control — including camera, hard drive, or other equipment malfunction — our liability is limited to returning the payments received for that session, or, for a partial loss, a prorated amount based on the percentage of images lost. We are not liable for the loss of images beyond the earlier of final delivery of all products in your package or one year from your session.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Monocle Project will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from our Services or your use of the Site, and our total liability for any engagement will not exceed the total amount you paid us for that engagement. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

19. Minors

Photography sessions involving minors require the presence and consent of a parent or legal guardian, who is responsible for agreeing to these Terms — including the model release in Section 15 — on the minor's behalf.

20. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Monocle Project and its photographers, employees, and contractors from claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your breach of these Terms, your unauthorized use of delivered images, or your failure to obtain permissions required for a location you selected.

21. Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disaster, extreme weather, public health emergency, or government order. We will work in good faith with you to reschedule or otherwise resolve the engagement.

22. Entire Agreement; Amendment & Waiver

These Terms, together with any applicable Session Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and Monocle Project regarding the Site and our Services, and supersede all prior discussions or agreements on the subject. These Terms may be amended, modified, or waived only by a written document identifying these Terms and signed by both parties (or, for Site-wide changes, by our posting a revised version as described in Section 23). A failure to enforce any provision does not waive our right to enforce it later, and waiving one provision does not waive any other.

23. Severability

If any part of these Terms is found void, invalid, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that determination will not affect the remaining provisions, which will continue in full force.

24. Modifications to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time by posting an updated version on this page, reflected by an updated effective date below. Your continued use of the Site or our Services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. For a session already booked under a signed Session Agreement, the terms in place at booking continue to govern that engagement unless we agree otherwise in writing.

25. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms, and any Session Agreement that does not state its own governing law, are governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Tennessee. Any dispute arising from or relating to the Site, our Services, or these Terms will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Rutherford County, Tennessee, and you waive any objection to that venue or to those courts' personal jurisdiction over you.

26. Dispute Resolution

Before filing a claim (other than one within small-claims court jurisdiction), the parties agree to first make a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute through mediation with a licensed neutral party, at a mutually agreed time and location. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, it will be submitted to binding arbitration before a single arbitrator in Rutherford County, Tennessee, and the arbitrator's decision may be entered as a judgment in any court with jurisdiction.

27. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to hello@monocleproject.com.