Terms of Service

1. About these terms

These terms apply to Christmas photography bookings and related services provided by Kiwi Santa Photo ("we", "us" and "our"). Please read them before booking. Your booking confirmation and the package details presented before purchase form part of your booking agreement.

The person making the booking must be at least 18 years old and authorised to arrange the session for the participants. Please give accurate contact details and share relevant visit and safety information with your group.

2. Bookings, prices and payment

Your chosen session, location, package, price and any payment requirements will be shown during booking or confirmed by us. A booking is confirmed when we issue a booking confirmation; a failed or incomplete payment does not by itself confirm a booking.

Prices are in New Zealand dollars (NZD), unless expressly stated otherwise. Any applicable taxes and additional charges will be shown before payment. Payments are processed through Stripe. We will not ask you to email full card details.

Check the date, time, location and package on your confirmation and contact us promptly about any error. Session times and cancellation deadlines use New Zealand local time at the session location, including daylight saving where applicable.

3. Customer cancellations and refunds

• At least 24 hours’ notice: If you cancel at least 24 hours before your scheduled session start time, you are entitled to a full refund of the amount paid for that booking.
• Less than 24 hours’ notice: If you cancel less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time, or do not attend, you are not entitled to a refund under our standard customer-cancellation policy. This does not affect any refund or other remedy required by law.

To cancel, email support@kiwisanta.photo with your booking name, session date and time, and booking reference if available. Notice is measured from when your cancellation reaches our inbox, including outside business hours; you do not need to wait for us to read or acknowledge it.

A request to reschedule is not confirmed until we agree to it. If you wish to cancel instead, make that clear before the 24-hour deadline. The weather-cancellation arrangements below are separate from this standard customer-cancellation policy.

4. Weather cancellations and replacement days

Outdoor sessions may be affected by rain, wind, tides or other conditions. We may cancel or postpone a session where weather or site conditions make it unsafe or unsuitable for photography. We will use the booking contact details to notify you as soon as reasonably practicable.

• If we cancel your session because of weather, we will offer replacement days or sessions.
• If none of the replacement options is acceptable to you, tell us by email and we will refund the amount paid for the affected session at the end of the relevant Christmas photography season.
• The end of the season means the completion of our final scheduled Christmas photography session for that season. We will confirm the relevant season-end date when discussing your refund.
• Where you accept a replacement session, the amount already paid is transferred to that session. If we cancel the replacement for weather as well, the same replacement-or-refund arrangement applies.

You do not lose your weather-cancellation refund entitlement because we cancel within 24 hours of your session. The standard 24-hour customer-cancellation rule does not apply to a session we cancel for weather.

5. Other cancellations by us

If we cancel for a reason other than weather and cannot provide the booked service, we will offer a suitable replacement if available. You do not have to accept a replacement; if you do not accept one, we will arrange a refund for the affected service without waiting until the end of the season, subject to any additional rights you have by law.

6. How refunds are paid

Refunds are returned through Stripe to the original payment method where possible. We will notify you when a refund has been initiated. The time taken to appear in your account depends on your bank and payment provider.

We do not require you to accept store credit in place of a refund you are entitled to receive. Contact us if your original payment method is no longer available or you believe a refund is missing.

7. Attending your session and receiving photographs

Please arrive ready for your confirmed session time and follow the location and arrival instructions. If you arrive late, the time available for photography may be reduced. If the session can no longer be provided because of your late arrival, it may be treated as a missed session under section 3, subject to your legal rights.

The included photographs, products, delivery method and any estimated delivery timeframe are those described in your selected package or booking confirmation. Please contact us before booking if these details are unclear. We do not guarantee a particular expression, pose or cooperation from a child or other participant, but will provide the service with reasonable care and skill.

If there is a problem with the service, photographs or delivery, contact us promptly with your booking details so we can consider an appropriate remedy. A completed session does not remove your rights if the service fails to meet a legal guarantee.

8. Your safety and supervision responsibilities

Sessions may take place at beaches or other outdoor locations with natural hazards such as waves, changing tides, uneven or slippery ground, wind, sun and heat. Please assess the conditions and your group’s needs before and during the visit.

• You are responsible for your own conduct and for actively supervising children and anyone in your care at all times. A photography session is not childcare, lifeguard supervision or a supervised outdoor activity.
• Keep children and belongings away from water, traffic, unstable ground and other hazards. Do not enter the water or an unsafe area to obtain a photograph.
• Wear suitable footwear and clothing, follow reasonable safety directions, and tell us immediately if you feel a location or activity is unsafe.
• Where pets are permitted for your booked session, you must keep them under appropriate control and supervise them throughout.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for injury, loss or damage arising solely from inherent outdoor hazards or your failure to supervise your group or follow reasonable safety directions, where this is not caused or contributed to by our breach of duty.

We may pause, relocate or stop a session if conditions or conduct are unsafe. This clause does not remove our own duty to take reasonable care, our health and safety responsibilities, or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. It does not require you to accept unsafe services or waive a statutory remedy.

9. Privacy and use of photographs

We handle booking details and photographs as explained in our Privacy Policy. We use personal information to operate our own business and do not sell customer information. Limited processing by Stripe and other service providers is explained in that policy.

Booking a session does not, by itself, give us permission to publish identifiable photographs for advertising, our website or social media. Appropriate permission for promotional use is sought separately.

10. Questions, disputes and changes

For booking questions, cancellations, refund requests or complaints, email support@kiwisanta.photo. Include enough booking information for us to assist, but do not email full payment-card details.

We will try to resolve concerns directly and fairly. These terms do not prevent you from seeking help from a relevant regulator, the Disputes Tribunal or a court. New Zealand law applies, without excluding any mandatory protection that otherwise applies to you.

We may update these terms for future bookings by publishing a new version with an updated date. The version accepted when you made your booking applies to that booking unless you agree to a change or the law requires otherwise.