Policies

A 30% non-refundable retainer is required at the time of booking to reserve your session date and time. The remaining balance is due 48 hours before your scheduled session. Your session is not considered booked until the retainer has been received.

Your 30% session retainer is non-refundable, as your date and time have been reserved specifically for you. If you choose to cancel your session, your retainer will be forfeited. Any additional payments made toward your session will be refunded.

Need to move your session? No problem! Clients may reschedule one time with at least 48 hours' notice, and your existing retainer will transfer to your new date. Requests made within 48 hours of your session will result in the loss of your original retainer, and a new 30% retainer will be required to reserve another date.

For outdoor sessions, we'll keep an eye on the forecast as your session approaches. If rain, severe weather or unsafe conditions are expected, your session will be rescheduled to the next mutually available date at no additional charge, and your retainer transfers with it. Weather decisions are typically made within 24 hours of your session, as Long Island forecasts can change quickly.

Cloudy or overcast skies are not considered grounds for rescheduling, they often make for beautiful photographs! Because Saturday sessions are offered only once a month, weather reschedules may move to an available weekday, sunset evening or the next Saturday session date.

Please plan to arrive 5-10 minutes early. If you arrive late, your session will still end at the originally scheduled time and the full session fee applies. Running more than 15 minutes late? Contact me as soon as possible and we'll decide together whether we can still complete the session or need to reschedule.

Clients who do not arrive for their scheduled session and have not been in touch will be considered a no-show. All payments made toward the session will be forfeited, and a new retainer will be required to book another session.

As a mom, I understand that unexpected illnesses and genuine emergencies happen, especially with little ones! Please reach out as soon as possible. These situations will be handled individually, and whenever possible, we'll work together to find a new session date.

Travel within 15 miles of Portraits by Panda's home base is included in your session fee. Locations beyond that may carry a travel fee, always confirmed before your session is booked. Parking, tolls, admission fees, photography permits and studio rentals are not included and will be added when applicable.

Sessions can take place in your home, outdoors, at an agreed-upon location or in a rented studio. Studio fees are additional and vary by studio, date and length of rental. I'm happy to recommend local studios and coordinate the rental for you, confirming your studio and fee before anything is reserved. Once reserved, the rental follows that studio's own cancellation and overtime policies.

• Coastal Creative Studio, Huntington$150 / hr
• South Shore Studios, Lindenhurst$100 / hr
• Studio One, Dix Hills$85 / hr, 2 hr minimum
• Studios by Bridgeworks, Island Park / Long BeachPricing on request

Final images are delivered through a private online gallery in high resolution. You may download, save and share them with family and friends, post them on your personal social media, use them for announcements, invitations and holiday cards, and print them for personal use.

Portraits by Panda retains the copyright of all photographs. Images may not be sold, published, used commercially, entered into contests or given to a business for marketing without written permission. Final images represent the Portraits by Panda editing style, so please don't apply filters or edits that substantially change them when sharing publicly. RAW, unedited and photographer-rejected images are not delivered or available for purchase.

A Full Gallery Upgrade includes all photographer-selected, fully edited final images from your session: +$75 for 15-image sessions and +$100 for 20-30-image sessions. The total number of images varies with each session. Your gallery is delivered within approximately 2-3 weeks.

Your privacy matters. When you book, you choose whether images from your session may be shared publicly, and nothing is pre-selected for you. Choosing to keep your session private will not affect your session, pricing or gallery in any way.

Portraits by Panda will never sell your portrait images to a third party for their advertising. Client names, children's names and personal details are never published alongside images unless you've said so. You can withdraw permission for future use at any time by contacting me in writing.