General Terms and Conditions (T&Cs)

Scope

The following General Terms and Conditions shall apply exclusively to all business transactions between the parties. Conflicting terms and conditions of the respective customer, hereinafter: the Client, do not apply unless the photographer Melly and Martin, hereinafter: the Contractor, has expressly agreed to these.

For the purposes of these T&Cs, “photographs” shall mean all digital products (including but not limited to photographs and videos) produced by the Contractor, regardless of their technical form or the medium that was used to create or produce them. This especially includes printed or exposed paper photographs, printed or exposed photographs in photo books and wedding albums, digital photographs in online galleries or photographs and videos stored on other data carriers.

Obligations of the Client

The Client must ensure that the Contractor has all information required for timely execution of the order (schedule, directions, special requests, etc.). Delays in the execution of the order resulting from the Client’s failure to comply with this obligation shall be the responsibility of the Client and shall not be at the expense of the Contractor and shall be deemed working time of the Contractors that is to be remunerated.

The Client shall ensure that photography is permitted at the locations in question. The Contractor does not accept any responsibility for verifying whether photography is permitted or what rights relating to the individuals, buildings, locations or items shown in the photos apply. This is the sole responsibility of the Client. The Client shall indemnify and hold the Contractor harmless in the event of third parties filing compensation claims as a result of a breach of this obligation.

The Client has to submit any notice of defects in writing; these must be received by the Contractor no later than 14 days after the photographs were delivered. After that time, the photographs shall be deemed accepted as contract compliant and free from defects.

Contractor’s performance

The Client is made aware that both the photographic process as well as the selection and editing of the photographs taken are subject to the artistic freedom of the Contractor. Accordingly, no complaints and/or notices of defects referring to be above will be accepted. Subsequent change requests of the Client shall require a separate agreement and order, which have to be paid separately.

Unless agreed otherwise on a case-by-case basis, the Contractor does not owe a specific number of photographs.

The Contractor creates a realistic photo reportage. The Client is aware that this means a realistic portrayal of persons, processes and things. Unless agreed otherwise, photo editing shall only include basic retouching (correction of light, focus and frame and development of raw data). Any advanced editing of the photographs (retouching) is not included.

Obligations of the Contractor

The Contractor shall take photographs during the Client’s wedding as contractually agreed. The Client can request the Contractor to work additional hours on that day.

The Contractor has to release the photographs they selected and edited at their own discretion in a file format selected at the sole discretion of the Client (e.g. jpeg). The RAW files of the photographs will not be released under any circumstances.

The Contractor shall release the digital copies of the photographs to the Client within six weeks of the photo session. Where particularly elaborate additional products (e.g. wedding albums) are created, a separate handover date will be agreed in accordance with associated time requirements.

With release of the photographs to the Client, the Client shall become liable for any loss, destruction and damage. The Contractor is not obliged to store the digital image files beyond the time of handover.

Fees and expenses

If the actual working time exceeds the agreed billing period, any extra time will incur a fee of € 450.00 per every additional commenced hour.

An initial deposit shall be due and payable within 10 days of the conclusion of the contract. This means that the Client is obliged to make an advance payment. Timeliness of the payment is determined based on when the amount is received in the following account of the Contractor:

Melly & Martin Photography GbR

IBAN: DE46 1001 7997 9985 2922 76

BIC: HOLVDEB1

In the event that the agreed advance payment is not received in time, the Contractors shall be entitled to withhold their contractually guaranteed performance.

The remaining remuneration shall be due and payable within 10 days after it was invoiced by the Contractor, but not before the Contractor has released the photographs to the Client.

Any travel of the Contractor will be from and to Leipzig. No charge shall apply to a journey within 30 km of Leipzig, unless agreed otherwise in the contract.

Where agreed, the Client will provide a single room near the wedding venue. Usually, two overnight stays will be required to ensure an arrival at the wedding venue on time.

Other costs incurred as a result of the order, such as material costs, parking fees, postage and packaging, are not included in the fee and shall be paid for by the Client. While making the reportage, the Contractor shall be provided with appropriate refreshments and food free of charge.

Changes to, extensions and cancellation of orders

If an order is cancelled by one of the parties exercising their statutory cancellation rights, the following provisions shall apply.

In the event of termination by the Client, the Contractor shall be entitled to claim damages from the Client equal to the amount of the part of the agreed remuneration set out in section 5.3 of this Agreement, unless the Client proves that the Contractor incurred a smaller loss or no loss at all or that the Contractor is responsible for the cancellation.

If the Contractor cannot provide a performance due to illness or other circumstances they are responsible for, the advance payment will be refunded to the Client.

Any consumer rights of withdrawal remain unaffected.

Retention of title, right of use and copyright

The photographs shall remain the property of the Contractor until the agreed remuneration has been paid in full.

The Client acquires a simple right to use the photographs for private purposes (prints for private use, their own social media profiles, own private websites, etc.). The rights to reproduce the photographs and transfer them to third parties is granted for private purposes.

Any transfer for use or publication in a non-private context shall require the prior permission of the Contractor. Other service providers such as make-up artists, decorators, wedding planners, etc. may only use photographs after approval by the Contractor.

The rights of use are not granted until the remuneration has been paid in full.

The Contractor will select the photographs. The Client is not entitled to receive all the photographs.

The photographs may only be used in their original version. Any editing or altering thereof shall require the prior permission of the Contractor.

Existing metadata entries of the photographs must be preserved.

The Contractor is allowed to use any photographs that only show the Clients for advertisement and illustration purposes in publications (e.g. exhibitions, trade fairs, own website, blog, professional magazines for photography or weddings etc.).

If the Client expressly objects to any use of the photographs by the Contractor for advertisement purposes, the Contractor will be obliged to use wedding photographs from other orders in advertisements. In this case, remuneration entitlements shall increase by 20%.

Liability

The Contractor does not accept any responsibility for verifying whether photography is permitted or what rights relating to the individuals, buildings, locations or items shown in the photos apply. This is the sole responsibility of the Client. The Client shall indemnify and hold the Contractor harmless in the event of third parties filing compensation claims as a result of a breach of this obligation.

The Contractor shall only accept liability for any breach of duty other than essential contractual obligations towards the Client if these were caused by grossly negligent or intentional actions. This does not apply to any claims resulting from injury to life, limb or health. No compensation shall be paid for any indirect damage. Where the Contractor is liable on merits, this liability shall be limited to any damage which the Contractor foresaw as a possible consequence of a breach of contract at the time the contract was concluded or which they should have foreseen if exercising due care.

In particular, the Contractor assumes no liability for force majeure (sudden illness, cancellation of flight, accident, etc.). Neither will the Contractor accept liability for material failures (defective technical equipment, etc.) that are not their fault nor for any resulting impossibility of taking further photographs.

If it is not actually or legally possible to carry out the order on the scheduled date for reasons beyond the control of the parties, the parties shall first attempt to find an alternative date. Both sides have to take other bookings of the Contractor into account. In particular, the assignment is not actually impossible if the Client can be reasonably expected to adapt the event to the changed circumstances to allow it to take place in a modified setting.

Offsetting, right of retention and assignment

The Client can only offset payments against claims against the Contractor that are either undisputed or were confirmed by a court. The same applies to asserting retention rights.

Any assignment of claims against the Contractor to third parties shall require the written permission of the Contractor.

Text form

Additions and amendments to the Agreement between the parties, including these T&Cs, must be recorded in writing to be effective. Individual agreements shall still prevail, irrespective of the above.

Applicable law

Applicable law is German law. For consumers, this choice of law shall apply only insofar as this does not negate any protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law in the country of the consumer’s habitual residence (favourability principle).

The place of performance for all performances to be provided in the business relationship between the parties is Leipzig. The place of jurisdiction is Leipzig, provided that the Client is not a consumer. The same applies if the Client does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany or the EU or if the Client’s address or habitual residence are unknown at the time action is brought. This shall not affect the right to bring action before a court at another statutory place of jurisdiction.

Any application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded.