Welcome new clients and old friends! I am so happy to be able to participate in the union of the community after the world shut down. Since the convention started, I was photographing mini-sessions in the dive well and in the shallow end, being inclusive to all ages, genders, and experience levels! I am excited to see everyone again and be able to get my fins wet again!
This year is focused on keeping wait times down and keeping everyone safe. I have a severe heart condition and have sadly had COVID twice due to being at an increased risk to catching it and being severely affected. Therefore, we will be changing the workflow of the event to keep distance and increase safety.
On this page, you will find all the information on how we will be handling mini sessions this year to improve wait times, keep everyone safe, and improve the overall experience. Every year we learn about workflow and improve every time! Below you will see a contact form and that is how you will inquire to book a session, or if you have any other questions.
This year, I will be photographing SUNDAY August 8, 2021 only. From 8:00am-12:00pm, I will be in the dive well (deep end) and 1:00pm-5:00pm I will be in the shallow end (6feet deep). Sessions this year will be 15 minutes long sessions with the opportunity for you to book multiple sessions back-to-back to make longer sessions or spaced out throughout the day. Each 15-minute session will include one fully edited digital image included in the session fee. The session fee is $100.00. In order to reserve your time slot, a 50% reservation deposit is required, which would be $50.00. Custom payment plans are available for the remaining balance. We accept payment through PayPal or through major credit cards. Payment must be completed before your session. If payment is not completed by your session, then you will not be able to participate in your session and all but the reservation fee will be refunded. You can reserve photography spots for the MerMagic Convention up to the date of the convention of depending on availability. If you plan to book at the convention, you will need to bring the full session payment in order to participate either check or cash.
For clients who have participated in photoshoots with me before, either at the convention or private sessions, are eligible to get an additional included photo, a $25.00 value. It is only one photo no matter how many sessions you reserve. This is a thank you for supporting my small business through these tough times.
I will be only offering digital products this year to decrease exposure and spreading of germs due to COVID-19. I can include print releases to any photo order of needed, though most places do not require it.
· Session fee for the 15-minute underwater photoshoot with one fully edited digital image: $100.00
· Each additional fully edited digital image: $25.00
· 15 fully edited digital image package: $300.00
· 25 fully edited digital image package: $500.00
· 40 fully edited digital image package: $800.00
Time slots are updated often, but it is first come, first serve. Every year I have fully sold out.
SUNDAY AUGUST 8, 2021: Deep end (13ft)
8:00am-8:15am
8:15am-8:30am
8:45am-9:00am
9:00am-9:15am
9:45am-10:00am
10:00am-10:15am
10:15am-10:30am
11:00am-11:15am
11:15am-11:30am
11:30am-11:45am
11:45am-12:00pm
SUNDAY AUGUST 8, 2021: Shallow End (6ft)
1:15pm-1:30pm
1:45pm-2:00pm
2:00pm-2:15pm
2:15pm-2:30pm
2:30pm-2:45pm
2:45pm-3:00pm
3:00pm-3:15pm
3:15pm-3:30pm
3:30pm-3:45pm
3:45pm-4:00pm
4:00pm-4:15pm
4:15pm-4:30pm
4:30pm-4:45pm
4:45pm-5:00pm
The editing phase is a collaboration between me and you! I want to make all of my images as perfect for my clients to meet your expectations. This year I have really worked hard on improving the editing workflow to keep wait times down, as that has been a struggle every year. You will see some rules below that are strict this year to improve this aspect of the experience! Edits take me at least a hour per image to complete, last convention I ended roughly 1,000 digital images, so I want to be sure this year I am editing images clients 100% want in order to keep those wait times down for everyone!
Edit requests will not be started until payment is made in full and the full amount is received. I do offer custom payment plans for additional digital images, but edits will not be started until the full amount is received. This will help cut down on editing too many images that will not be purchased, which makes image wait times excessive and unneeded. The lightly edited proofs on your gallery will give you an idea on how the final image will look.
Edits can be accompanied by edit requests. Edit requests are additional photoshopping beyond basic color correction, background correction, waist blending your tail to your skin if applicable, tail side seam removal if applicable, and heel removal. Extra edit requests may include face, fluke, body part swapping from another image, slimming waist or other body parts or exaggerating others, fixing hair or props, blemish removal, etc. Some extra edit requests may cost extra money depending on the image and request. Extra costs will be discussed on a case-by-case basis depending on how long the edit will take me to complete.
After the convention, please allow up to two weeks for image proofs and your private, password protected gallery to be upload to my website. They will be lightly edited to give you a better idea to how your final images will look. You will receive an email when they are uploaded and how to view them.
Edit requests are first come first serve. The first clients to submit full payment get shorter wait times for edits. On average, it can take a month or more for edited images to come back to you. I will email you when your images are being started with an estimated timeline. I cannot give better estimations at this time, as I run other business, and I will be unsure how many images are in front of yours when you submit payment. I encourage clients to email me if they are wanting updates; I can let you know how many images are in from of your set to give you a better idea on timeline when you are in the waiting cue. If you need photos edited faster and wish to jump the wait list, I am offering that this year for an additional $5.00 per image expedited service on a limited, first-come-first-serve basis.
Due to COVID-19 being active, I am being very understanding to cancellations. No matter when you reserved your session or how much you have paid, if you need to cancel, your money, including your reservation fee, will be refunded no questions asked before July 25, 2021. There will be a processing fee that will not be able to be refunded of $3.20 per session. From July 26, 2021 to the date of the convention, August 8th, 2021, your reservation deposit will not be returned plus the processing fee for a total of $53.20. If you test positive for Covid-19 and can provide proof, I will refund the full amount, minus the processing fee, even after the cutoff date to ensure safety and because it was circumstances out of your control.
If you do not want to purchase any photos after the session and wish for a refund, you will only be refunded for the photo portion of the cost of the session. If you purchased one the 15-minute session with one included photo for $100.00 and after the shoot request a refund, I will only be able to return $25.00 minus the processing fee of $1.03 for a total of $23.97, as that is the cost of the photo you will not be receiving and the processing fee. The $75.00 is for my time to show up and photograph you, which after the session will already be completed, therefore a refund for that portion cannot be given. If you purchase additional photos to your session at the convention, that will be refunded as well minus the processing fee, which is $23.97 per photo. Refunds are available for digital images, minus the processing fee, as long as I have not already started editing the set of images. I will send an email informing you that your images are currently being edited and after that is sent, there will be no refunds of any amount for the digital images. This will be reminded in the email as well.
For returning clients who are eligible for the gift of an additional fully edited digital image who request a refund at any time, they will not receive monetary compensation for the gifted image, only the images they initially paid for.
If any part of this is unclear, or if you have a circumstance that will need you to cancel or refund at anytime where you are unsure if a full refund is eligible, please reach out to me through the contact options or directly to melanieportraits@gmail.com
Props:
I do allow for people to bring props and swap tails out for their sessions no matter the length. Props can be very difficult to manage underwater, so I advise you practice a lot before your session to be sure you are comfortable and confident working underwater in a tail with your designated prop(s). I will say that fabric is very hard to work with underwater. Most images you see online of people trailing flowing fabric is photoshopped heavily, which could be an extra edit fee. Your session time will not be extended under any circumstances, so please keep that in mind when planning sessions. It may be wise if you want to have tail swaps and props to book another session to ensure you have enough time, or at a later date book a private session when we can really dedicate time to making your ideas and dreams come true!
Minors:
I do photograph minors. I require a parent or guardian to be there the entire time on the side of the pool while photographing for safety. There are contracts that need to be signed the day of the event and before, so they will need to be signed by an adult. All correspondences will need to be through an adult as well as payment. I will not accept payment or photo requests though minors at this time. Please assess skill level before booking for your child; they may be more confident and more successful in the shallow end.
Contracts:
There will be two contracts that need to be signed. The document before the convention signed at payment outlines all the guidelines in detail and includes all the detailed information about the sessions. Your signature will be to acknowledge the terms and conditions of the session so there is no miscommunication. The other document is the safety release, intellectual property guidelines, and model release which is signed the day of the session. Both documents will be sent before payment for you to review and for us to modify if eligible. A lot of terms are standard and will not be modified.
Multiple People Per Session:
Previous years I have allowed you to add people to be photographed during your session for a reduced fee to get group shots or to help break down the cost of the sessions. Due to COVID-19 and safety, this year I will not be allowing this. Each session is for one person only. I do offer group sessions for my private sessions that are not at the convention during these times, but the convention will have a large group of people together already that I cannot offer these sessions at the convention. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Reviewing photos at the Convention:
Previous years I have allowed clients to look at the back of my camera to review their photos during their photoshoot time slot. This year I will not be allowing this due to being within 6 feet of each other and germ spreading by touching my camera gear. I am sorry for the inconvenience.