Cancellation Policies

Please read the following so you are aware of our system and processes, should you experience an interruption to your booking due to bad weather, illness, Covid or any other reason.

Hills Portrait Studio is a small, independent local business and we provide a personalised experience, which involves a commitment of time from both us and you. As such, there is a limited number of portrait sessions and purchasing appointments available each week which means that cancellations can have a significant impact on our business. Our business relies on a system of scheduling busy families for both sessions and purchasing appointments.  You can be assured that we are committed to being as accommodating as possible, however it is essential for us to have strict policies about cancellations. 

Rescheduling an outdoors portrait session due to bad weather

1. We will reschedule your session to a new date/time in the case of inclement weather such as rain, hail, excessive heat, excessive cold and very strong wind. It is often necessary to make the final call on weather only a couple of hours before the session, because weather can change quite suddenly. We ask our families to trust our experience when it comes to the weather, and rest assured that we desire a positive outcome for every family portrait experience.
2. Because weather interruptions are a reality for outdoors work, we reserve specific weekend days every month for sessions we might have to reschedule. If your session has to be rescheduled because of bad weather, we will offer these spots to you first. If reserve dates aren’t appropriate for you, we will offer you any available spots we have within 2 weeks of your original booking. We ask for flexibility from you should this happen, as there is a good chance we are managing multiple families in the same situation at the same time, and there is always a domino effect. 

Rescheduling a portrait session or purchasing appointment due to emergency, illness or other circumstances

1. Should you need to cancel your portrait session or purchasing appointment due to an unexpected personal emergency or illness, Hills Portrait Studio will reschedule your booking to a new date/time with no penalty. 
2. Should you need to cancel your portrait session or purchasing appointment for other reasons, Hills Portrait Studio will reschedule your booking to a new date/time with no penalty, provided you give us a minimum of 14 days notice for a portrait session and 7 days notice for a purchasing appointment. This gives us the opportunity to fill your spot with another family. If you do not give us these notice periods, or if you cancel your portrait session or purchasing appointment more than once (regardless of notice period), Hills Portrait Studio reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee of $100. 
3. In the case of any reschedule, we ask families to please be flexible with their availability, as we will not have the same range of spots to choose from as when the original booking was made. We will communicate with you promptly regarding new dates/times.  
4. We require your rescheduled session or appointment to be finalised within 7 days of your original booking (regardless of when the new session or appointment will take place). We do not allow rescheduled sessions or appointments to be left ‘pending’, unless there are extenuating circumstances. If you do not finalise your rescheduled session or appointment within 7 days, we reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee of $100.
5. Cancellation fees will either be deducted from the value of your print credit or gift certificate (if applicable), or added onto your order when you place it.
6. We reserve the right to cancel any booking if it becomes evident that our systems and processes are being disrespected. 

Refunds

If you have paid a sitting fee and you decide not to continue with your booking for any reason, a refund will only be given if you cancel with a minimum of two weeks notice.

Other Important Information

Gift Certificate Terms of Use 

Copyright & Use of Images