Full Terms of Service 2026

By making a booking, you confirm you have read and accepted these terms.

1. The session

1.1 Please arrive at the agreed time and location, which we'll confirm and reconfirm the day before or the day of your session. Refer to your booking confirmation for details of inclusions.

1.2 Your booking includes a 5-minute session and 10 professionally edited, high-resolution images, delivered via a private online gallery within 7 days.

1.3 We will always try to capture more than 10 images and will provide as many images as possible in your online gallery for viewing. You select the 10 images you wish to download and can unlock the entire gallery for an additional fee of $35. This fee can be paid either on booking, or on receipt of the gallery, directly via the gallery platform PicTime.

2. Booking, payment & cancellations

2.1 Your session fee is $115. A 50% booking fee ($57.50) is payable at the time of booking to reserve your time and date exclusively for you, and the balance is due the day before your session (you will be issued a further invoice via email). Because sessions run to a strict, back-to-back schedule, a reserved slot cannot be re-sold at short notice.

2.2 We accept payment via credit card, bank transfer and now offer Afterpay.

2.3 Rescheduling: you may reschedule once, free of charge, provided you give at least 24 hours' notice, subject to the availability of remaining sessions.

2.4 Transfers, cancellations & no-shows:

• Transfer instead of cancel: can't make it? You're welcome to pass your session to a friend or family member at no charge, rather than cancel. Just email or call us at least 24 hours beforehand with their name, email and phone number and we'll sort out the details. The booking stays under your name until then.

• Cancellations and no-shows within 24 hours of your session are non-refundable and the fee is forfeited in full.

• If you haven't arrived within 10 minutes of your start time, we'll treat it as a no-show, so the families booked after you aren't held up.

2.5 Late arrival: sessions run on a strict schedule and end at their scheduled time. We'll always do our best to accommodate you, but on days that are full or running late this may not be possible and may mean your session is forfeited.

3. Weather

3.1 Our sessions are outdoors and weather-dependent. We'll do our best to monitor conditions and judge whether it's safe and suitable to shoot any given session. If changes need to be made, we'll let you know as early as we can, via our social media channels or by SMS.

3.2 If we cancel your session because of adverse weather, you'll be offered a priority reschedule. We hold extra dates for this and weather-affected families get first choice of them (this may include a weekday if weekend sessions are full). 

3.3 If we decide conditions are suitable and your session goes ahead, but you choose not to attend, this is treated as a cancellation/no-show under clause 2.3.

3.4 Light cloud, wind, overcast light or passing showers are a normal part of beach photography and are not, on their own, grounds for cancellation or a refund.

4. How many people per session

4.1 One 5-minute session is for up to 6 people in total (adults and children). Your dog or family pet is welcome, on a lead at all times please.

4.2 Extended family, friends or colleagues: please book two or three back-to-back sessions. Leave a comment on the booking, or email or message us directly, so we can keep the sessions together.

5. Your photos

5.1 Every effort is made to capture beautiful images, but specific poses, shots or the inclusion of specific people cannot be guaranteed. Final selection of delivered images is at the photographer's discretion, and duplicates or images not to our standard may be excluded.

5.2 Images are delivered as high-resolution JPEG files via a private online gallery within 7 days. RAW files are not provided. Your gallery remains open for 12 months; please download your images before it closes, after which images may be deleted.

5.3 You may download and use your images for personal use only. Images must not be sold, licensed, used commercially, or entered into competitions. For the best results, order prints through a reputable lab or via your online gallery.

5.4 If you have any issue with your images, please let us know within 7 days of delivery, after which we're no longer able to offer corrections, re-edits or refunds. Re-edits requested after this period may incur a fee.

6. Things outside our control

6.1 We are not responsible for coverage affected by causes beyond our control, including obtrusive members of the public at the location, the lateness of you or your guests, groups exceeding the six-person limit, weather, or scheduling and location restrictions.

6.2 If we are unable to perform your session due to illness, emergency or any cause beyond our control, we'll make reasonable efforts to arrange a comparable substitute photographer. If we cannot, all payments made for that session will be refunded in full.

6.3 If images cannot be delivered due to a technical fault or loss occurring without our fault, our liability is limited to a refund of the amount you paid for the session.

6.4 We reserve the right to end a session and leave if we experience threatening, hostile or offensive behaviour, or if our safety is in question. In that event no refund is payable, but we will provide any images captured before leaving.

7. Access and safety

7.1 The session is on soft sand at North Shelly Beach. You are responsible for your own access to and mobility around the location and you acknowledge the beach environment is not wheelchair accessible and our team cannot provide mobility support. Please arrange any support you need in advance.

7.2 You attend and move around the beach environment at your own risk and agree to indemnify and hold the photographer harmless for any personal injury, loss or damage arising during or in connection with the session, except to the extent required by law.

8. Copyright, your photos and marketing

8.1 All photographs remain the copyright and property of the photographer. You receive a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use your delivered images for personal purposes (including sharing on your personal social media, ideally tagging @SantaOnTheBeachCentralCoast), but not to alter them in a way that damages the photographer's reputation, or to use them commercially.

8.2 We may use images from your session to promote Santa on the Beach Central Coast (for example on our website and social media). We do so with care and respect. You may ask us to remove your family's images from our marketing at any time and no child's image is ever used publicly without a parent or guardian's consent (which will be obtained on the day of the shoot).

9. Child safety & privacy

9.1 All of our staff have a Working With Children Check, and both the photographer and Santa's helper hold valid first aid qualifications.

9.2 The comfort and safety of every child matters to us. Editing is done in-house and access to your images is restricted to our team.

9.3 We collect your details only to manage your booking, deliver your photos, and (where you've agreed) to send occasional updates. We don't sell or share your information with third parties. Payments are handled securely through our booking provider.

10. Your consumer rights

Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded. Where anything in these terms conflicts with those rights, the Australian Consumer Law applies.

11. Acceptance

By making a booking and payment, you confirm you have read, understood and accepted these Terms of Service.

Questions before you book? hello@santaonthebeachcentralcoast.com

Santa on the Beach Central Coast respectfully acknowledges the Darkinjung people as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, and pays respect to Elders past and present.