Terms of Service
JOHN SCALES MEDIA — TERMS OF SERVICE
Photography & Videography
Effective November 4, 2026
These Terms of Service (the "Terms") apply to every photography, videography, editing and related service sold by John Scales Media, owned and operated by John Roth ("John Scales Media," "we," "us" or "our"), to the person or business booking or paying for those services ("you" or the "Client").
Accepting these Terms
You accept these Terms, and they become a binding agreement between you and us, when you do any one of the following: pay an invoice or payment link; check the terms box at checkout; sign or e-sign a booking form; or confirm a booking with us in writing, including by text message, Instagram or other direct message, or email.
If you book on behalf of a business, team, family or other group, you confirm you have authority to accept these Terms for them, and you are responsible for payment.
A specific invoice, quote or written agreement may add details for your job, such as price, hours, deliverables or dates. If it conflicts with these Terms, the invoice, quote or written agreement controls for that point only.Services, quotes and pricing
Our services include photo sessions, event and sports coverage, real estate and property media, content for businesses, coaches and creators, video production, editing, and any custom work we agree on.
Prices on our website and social media are "starting at" prices. Your final price is the one on your invoice, quote or payment link. Custom requests, including all video work, are quoted separately.
Quotes are valid for 14 days unless they say otherwise. Prices may change at any time, but a price you have already paid for will not change.
Anything not listed in your package, invoice or quote is not included. If you ask for extra time, extra locations, extra people, extra edits or other additions, we will tell you the added cost before doing the work.
Prices do not include any applicable sales tax, which may be added where required by law. Travel fees, location fees, parking and tolls are covered in Section 8.Booking and payment
Your date and time are reserved only after we receive payment, or the deposit stated on your invoice. Until then, the slot can go to someone else.
Unless your invoice says otherwise, payment is due in full before the shoot. If a balance is due after the shoot, it must be paid by the due date on the invoice.
We accept payment through Stripe (card and other methods offered at checkout) and any other method we agree to in writing. Payment-processing fees are already built into our prices.
If an invoice is unpaid by the shoot date, we may cancel or postpone the session. If a balance is unpaid more than 7 days after its due date, a late fee of $25 may be added, and we may add a further $25 for each additional 30 days it remains unpaid.
We do not release finished photos, video or files until the full balance is paid. Any rights to use the content (Section 11) begin only once payment is complete.
You are responsible for any costs we reasonably incur to collect an unpaid balance, to the extent allowed by law.No-refund policy
All payments, including deposits, are non-refundable once made. When you book, we turn away other work for that slot and begin planning your job, so that time cannot be recovered.
This applies if you change your mind, cancel, do not show up, are unhappy with something outside our control (such as weather, lighting at the venue, how people look on camera or the outcome of an event), or no longer need the content.
There are only two exceptions:
• If we cancel and cannot offer a new date that works for you within a reasonable time, we refund the amount you paid for the service we did not perform.
• If we fail to deliver any of the agreed work because of our own mistake (for example, lost files that cannot be reshot), we will first offer a free reshoot. If a reshoot is not possible, we refund the portion of the price for the part we could not deliver.
Any other refund, credit or discount is entirely at our discretion and does not change this policy for future bookings.Rescheduling, cancellations and no-shows
• 48+ hours' notice: you may reschedule once at no cost. The new date must be within 60 days of the original date, subject to our availability.
• Less than 48 hours' notice: the session is treated as completed and forfeited. We may, at our discretion, offer a new date for a rebooking fee.
• Further reschedules after the first free one may carry a rebooking fee or require a new booking.
• No-show: if you or your subject do not arrive within 20 minutes of the start time and have not contacted us, the session is forfeited.
• Cancelling: you may cancel at any time by telling us in writing, but under Section 4 payments are not refunded.
Rescheduling and cancellation requests must be made in writing (text, direct message or email). The time we receive your message is what counts.Late arrivals and overtime
Sessions start and end at the booked times. If you arrive late, the session still ends on time, and the lost time is not refunded or made up.
If we are running late through our own fault, we will add that time to the end of the session or adjust the price.
If you want to go past the booked time and we are available, extra time is billed at our current hourly rate in 30-minute blocks, due on the day or added to your invoice.Weather and outdoor shoots
For outdoor shoots, we will watch the forecast and talk with you if conditions look poor. If we both agree the weather makes a quality shoot impossible, we will reschedule at no cost, and this does not count as your free reschedule.
If you choose to go ahead in poor weather, you accept the results that come with those conditions. Weather during an event or game (such as rain at a football game) is not a reason for a refund or reshoot.Locations, access, permits and travel
You are responsible for securing permission to shoot at any private location, venue, facility, property or business you choose, and for paying any location, entry or permit fees.
For sports and events, you are responsible for arranging any credentials, sideline or field access, or press passes we need. If we are refused entry or limited to certain areas, we will capture what we can from where we are allowed. If we are fully refused entry, the session is treated as completed.
We follow venue rules and staff instructions at all times, even where they limit what we can capture.
Our standard service area is North Dallas–Fort Worth. Jobs outside that area may include a travel fee, which we will tell you before you book. Paid parking, tolls and entry fees needed to reach the location may be added to your invoice.
If a location turns out to be unsafe or unusable when we arrive, we may move to a nearby alternative or reschedule.Our standard: we do our best
We bring professional equipment, lighting and experience to every job and give it our full effort. Photography and video are creative work, so results depend on things we cannot fully control, including:
• available light and venue lighting, especially indoors, at night or in gyms and stadiums;
• weather, crowds, obstructions and fast-moving action;
• venue rules and where we are allowed to stand;
• how the people on camera look, pose, act and dress, and how the property or space is prepared;
• technical limits of any equipment, including in low light.
Because of this, we cannot guarantee any particular shot, moment, angle, look or outcome, such as a specific play at a game, every guest at an event, or a set number of perfect images. If you have must-have shots, tell us before the shoot and we will make them a priority, but this is still not a guarantee.
We have creative control over composition, editing style and which images to deliver. Our style will be consistent with the work shown in our portfolio and on our social media. If you want a specific style, discuss it with us before the shoot; requests made after the shoot are handled under Section 12.
Any image or video counts stated for a package are an estimate of what we expect to deliver in normal conditions, not a promise. We deliver the images we judge to be the best and never pad a delivery with poor ones to hit a number.
Not being happy with a creative choice, a pose, how you look on camera or how an event turned out is not a reason for a refund.Your responsibilities
• Give us accurate details about the job: date, time, address, number of people, goals and any must-have shots.
• Be ready on time with the people, outfits, products or property needed. Styling, hair, makeup and wardrobe are your responsibility unless included in your package.
• For real estate and property shoots: have the property clean, decluttered and staged, lights working, and vehicles, pets and personal items moved out of view. We do not move furniture or heavy items.
• Get any needed permission from the people, owners, businesses and venues involved (see Section 14).
• Keep the shoot space reasonably safe and tell us of any hazards.
• Respond to our messages in a reasonable time so we can plan and deliver your job.Ownership and your right to use the content
We own the copyright to all photos, video, raw footage and other content we create, unless we agree otherwise in a signed written agreement.
Once you have paid in full, you receive a permanent, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the final edited content you receive for your own personal use and for marketing your own business, including your website, social media, paid ads, printed materials and, for real estate, the marketing of the specific listing (including MLS and listing sites).
Without our written permission, you may not: resell, license or give the content to third parties for their own use; claim you created it or remove our watermark if one is applied; enter it in contests as your work; or use it in a way that is illegal, defamatory or misleading. Real estate agents may share listing media with the property owner and their brokerage for that listing only; other agents, builders, publications or later owners need their own license from us.
You may crop, resize and make light adjustments. If you significantly alter our edit (for example heavy filters or AI changes), please do not credit us for the altered version.
Credit and tags (@johnscalesmedia) are appreciated but not required.
RAW or unedited files are not included and are not delivered. Raw video footage is only delivered if your quote says so.Delivery, editing and revisions
Photos: usually delivered within 48 hours of the shoot. Larger jobs, events and busy periods may take up to 7 days. Video: delivery time is stated in your quote. Delivery times start once the shoot is complete and full payment is received, and are good-faith estimates, not guarantees.
Content is delivered digitally by uploading it to a shared Google Drive folder set up for you. We keep your final files in that folder so you can come back to them. Because the files are stored on a third-party service, we cannot guarantee against loss, outages or account changes outside our control, so please also download and keep your own backup copy.
Access to your folder is shared with the email address you give us. You are responsible for who you share the link with. If your license ends (for example, after a reversed payment under Section 20), we may remove your access.
Our editing includes color grading, exposure, cropping and standard clean-up. We may use AI-assisted tools as part of our editing. Advanced retouching, such as reshaping bodies, removing large objects, replacing skies or compositing, is not included unless it is in your quote.
Revisions: photo packages include one round of reasonable edit requests on delivered images, if made within 7 days of delivery. Video projects include the number of revision rounds stated in the quote, or two rounds if none is stated. A change of direction after delivery, or extra rounds, is billed at our current rate.
Delivery to the link or address you gave us counts as delivery. You are responsible for checking it, including your spam folder.Recurring and package bookings
For weekly, monthly or multi-session packages, you are billed in advance for each billing period as stated on your invoice or subscription.
Sessions not used within their billing period expire and do not roll over, unless the session was missed because of us.
Either party may end a recurring arrangement with 7 days' written notice. Periods already paid for are not refunded, but you keep the sessions remaining in that period.
The rescheduling rules in Section 5 apply to each session in a package.People, minors and property in the content
You confirm that everyone you arrange for us to photograph or film, including your customers, clients, staff, athletes and guests, has agreed to be photographed and to have the content used as you plan. You are responsible for getting any written releases you need.
For anyone under 18, you confirm a parent or legal guardian has consented. We may decline to photograph a minor without that consent and may require a guardian to be present.
At public events and games, other people may appear in the background. Your use of content showing other people is your responsibility.
You confirm you have the right to have us photograph any property, products, logos or artwork you ask us to include.Portfolio and marketing use
We may use content from your job in our portfolio, website, social media, ads and other promotion of John Scales Media.
If you do not want this, tell us in writing before the shoot, and we will keep your content private. We will never post content showing private or sensitive situations without your permission, and we will remove a specific image or post from our own pages if you ask in writing.Our team
Your job may be shot or edited by John Roth or by another member of the John Scales Media team. We choose who covers each job and stand behind their work as our own.
We are an independent business, not your employee, and we are free to work for other clients, including your competitors.Safety and conduct
We want every shoot to be respectful and safe. We may pause or end a session, with no refund, if there is harassment, threats, abusive behavior, illegal activity, unsafe conditions, or someone is too impaired to continue safely.
Please keep guests, pets and children from getting in the way of equipment or the shoot. Other photographers or people filming should not interfere with our work.Equipment, files and our liability
We use professional equipment and keep backups of your files until delivery. If something goes wrong despite this, such as equipment failure, file corruption or loss, our responsibility is limited to offering a free reshoot or, if that is not possible, refunding the price of the part we could not deliver (see Section 4).
To the fullest extent allowed by law, our total liability for any claim relating to our services is limited to the amount you paid for the specific service involved. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost profits, lost sales, a delayed listing, missed opportunities or emotional distress.
We are not responsible for injury, loss or damage at a location that we did not cause, or for the outcome of how you use the content.Indemnity
You agree to cover us for any claims, costs or damages, including reasonable legal fees, that arise from information you gave us, your use of the content, a missing permission or release that was your responsibility, or your breach of these Terms.Payment disputes and chargebacks
If you have a problem with a charge or our work, contact us first in writing and give us a fair chance to fix it. Most issues can be solved quickly.
Opening a chargeback or payment dispute for services that were booked, performed or delivered, or for a non-refundable payment, is a breach of these Terms. In response, we will submit evidence to the payment provider, including your acceptance of these Terms, our messages and delivery records.
If you file a dispute that is not upheld, you agree to pay any dispute fees charged to us and any reasonable collection costs. Your license to use the content is suspended while a dispute is open and ends if the payment is reversed.Events outside our control
Neither party is responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond reasonable control, such as severe weather, natural disasters, illness or injury, family emergencies, accidents, power or internet outages, government orders or venue closures. In those cases we will work with you to reschedule. If we cannot reschedule within a reasonable time, the exception in Section 4 for cancellations by us applies.Communication and privacy
We mainly communicate by text, direct message and email, and usually reply within 24–48 hours. Written messages, screenshots of our conversations and records from our payment provider may be used as a record of what we agreed.
We use your contact and payment details only to run your job, deliver your content, bill you and keep business records. We do not sell your personal information. Payments are processed by Stripe, and we never see or store your full card number.Disputes and governing law
If a disagreement comes up, we both agree to try to resolve it in good faith by talking first, for at least 14 days after one of us raises it in writing.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas. Any claim that cannot be resolved informally will be brought in the courts of Collin County, Texas, including justice (small claims) court where it applies.General
If any part of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest still applies. If we do not enforce a term at one time, we may still enforce it later. You may not transfer your booking or license to someone else without our written permission.
We may update these Terms from time to time. The version in effect when you book is the one that applies to that booking. These Terms, together with your invoice, quote or written agreement, are the entire agreement between us for your job.
Questions about these Terms
John Scales Media · contact@johnscales.com · (945) 289-6323 · johnscales.com · Instagram @johnscalesmedia