General Terms and Conditions

1.         Scope of application

1.1.     All business relations between the parties shall be governed exclusively by the following GTC. Conflicting terms and conditions of the respective customer, hereinafter: Client, shall not apply unless the photographer Gerald Schmidt, hereinafter referred to as: Contractor, has expressly agreed to their validity.

1.2.     “Photos” within the meaning of these GTC are all digital products produced by the Contractor, regardless of the technical form or medium in which they were created or exist. This includes in particular negatives, printed or exposed paper images, printed or exposed images in photo books and wedding albums, digital images in online galleries or images and videos stored on other data carriers.

2.         Conclusion of contract

2.1.     The contract between the parties is concluded in accordance with the following provisions:

2.2.     The Client has the option of requesting the production of photos by the Contractor by telephone or by e-mail via the contact form provided on the Contractor’s website. An inquiry does not constitute a binding offer by the client to conclude a contract.

2.3.     At the Client’s request, the Contractor shall submit an offer by telephone or e-mail to commission the production of the photographs. This offer of the contractor is legally binding. Subject to acceptance of the offer by the client, the offer shall be valid for seven working days. The offer expires after this period.

2.4.     The client has the option of accepting the offer within the aforementioned period of seven working days. Acceptance takes place by telephone, in writing or by e-mail. Upon acceptance of the offer by the client, a binding contractual relationship is established between the parties for the production of the photos.

2.5.     If the client accepts the offer after expiry of the deadline in 2.3, this shall constitute a new offer which the contractor may accept by express declaration. If the Contractor sends an order confirmation or an advance invoice, this shall be equivalent to a declaration of acceptance.

3.         Obligations of the client

3.1.     The client must ensure that the photographer has all the information required for the execution of the order in good time (directions, special requests, etc.).

3.2.     The client shall ensure that photography is permitted at the respective locations. Any waiting times incurred by the contractor due to photography bans shall count as working time.

3.3.     The client is advised that photographs are always subject to the artistic freedom of the photographer. Complaints and/or notices of defects with regard to the artistic freedom of design exercised by the contractor, the location and the optical and technical means used in the photography are therefore excluded. Subsequent change requests by the client shall require a separate agreement and commissioning and shall be remunerated separately.

3.4.     If the provision of a photobooth on a rental basis has been agreed, the client undertakes to the contractor to use it only within the scope of its intended use or to have it used by third parties. The client is liable for damage caused by improper use.

3.5.     The client bears the risk for all circumstances for which the photographer is not responsible, including weather allowances for outdoor shots, timely provision of products, presence of props, insofar as the client is responsible for their procurement, travel bans, non-appearance of announced authorized representatives of the client and force majeure.
 

4.         Obligations of the contractor

4.1.     The Contractor owes the services offered personally, via employees or  subcontractors.

4.2.     The Contractor shall take photographs within the scope of the Client’s event to the contractually agreed extent. The client can order additional hours on this day.
 

4.3.     The Contractor shall be responsible for producing the photos in a standard file format (e.g. jpeg). The client has no claim to the publication of files in RAW format.
 

4.4.     The contractor shall hand over the photos to the client within two months of the photo shoot. For particularly elaborate additional products (e.g. wedding albums), a separate handover date will be agreed according to individual expenditure.
 

5.     Remuneration and expenses

5.1.     The contractor is remunerated individually and is set out in the contract. All prices include VAT (total prices). For commercial events, the prices are excl. VAT

5.2.     If the actual working time exceeds the agreed invoicing period, the additional time spent shall be invoiced per half hour or part thereof.

5.3.     Upon conclusion of the contract, an initial payment of 50% of the total price is charged, which is due within 7 days from the date of conclusion of the contract. In this respect, the client is obliged to pay in advance. Decisive for the timely payment is the receipt of the amount on the following account of the contractor as stated on the invoice.

5.4.     If this payment is not received on time, the Contractor shall send a reminder for payment, setting a reasonable deadline. If this period also expires, the Contractor shall be entitled to refuse to provide the contractually owed services. Statutory rights of withdrawal or the assertion of claims for damages remain unaffected by this.

5.5.     Payment of the remaining remuneration shall be due within 10 days of invoicing by the Contractor.

5.6.     Arrivals and departures of the contractor are always from Berlin Kreuzberg. The travel costs are specified individually in the contract.

5.7.     If agreed, the customer will be provided with a single room in the vicinity of the event. Two overnight stays may be required to ensure punctual attendance.

5.8.     Other costs incurred as a result of the order, such as material costs, parking fees, postage and packaging, are not included in the fee and shall be borne by the client. Food and drink during the reportage shall be provided to the client free of charge and to a reasonable extent.

6.     Order changes, extensions and termination

6.1.     In the event of termination due to the exercise of statutory termination rights by one of the parties, the following provisions shall apply.

6.2.     In the event of termination by the Client, the Contractor shall be entitled to assert a claim for damages against the Client in the amount of the shares of the agreed remuneration quantified in Section 5.3 of this Agreement, unless the Client proves that the Contractor has suffered less damage or no damage at all or that the Contractor is responsible for the termination.

6.3.     If the contractor is unable to carry out the order due to illness or circumstances for which he is responsible, the client will be refunded the deposit or a replacement photographer will be organized.

6.4.     The consumer’s right of revocation remains unaffected by this.
 

7.     Retention of title, rights of use and copyrights

7.1.     The photos shall remain the property of the contractor until the agreed remuneration has been paid in full.

7.2.     The client acquires simple usage rights to the photos for private use. The right to reproduce and pass on to third parties is granted for private purposes. The rights of use shall not be transferred until the remuneration has been paid in full. In the case of commercial events, the client shall also receive the commercial rights of use to the photos after full payment.

7.3.     The contractor shall select the photos. The client is not entitled to receive all photos.

7.4.     Unless otherwise agreed, the Contractor may use the photos, on which only the Client is depicted, for the purposes of self-promotion and journalistic illustration (e.g. for exhibitions, trade fairs, websites, blogs, specialist photography magazines or weddings, etc.).

7.5.     Other service providers such as make-up artists, decorators, wedding planners, etc. may only use photos after approval by the contractor. Backlinking is mandatory.
 

8.     Liability

8.1.     The Contractor shall be liable in all cases of contractual and non-contractual liability in the event of intent and gross negligence in accordance with the statutory provisions.

8.2.     In other cases, the Contractor shall only be liable – unless otherwise provided for in Section 8.3 of these GTC – in the event of a breach of a contractual obligation, the fulfillment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and on the fulfillment of which the Contractor can rely.
compliance with which the customer may therefore regularly rely (so-called cardinal obligation). In all other cases, the Contractor’s liability is excluded, subject to the provision in Section 8.3 of these GTC.

8.3.     Insofar as the Contractor is liable on the merits in accordance with Section 8.1 of these GTC, this liability shall be limited to damages which the Contractor foresaw as a possible consequence of a breach of contract at the time of conclusion of the contract or which it should have foreseen if it had exercised due care. Indirect damage and consequential damage resulting from defects in the object of performance shall also only be eligible for compensation if such damage is typically to be expected when the object of performance is used as intended.

8.4.     The Contractor’s liability for damages resulting from injury to life, limb or health and under the Product Liability Act shall be excluded from the above Sections 8.1 to 8.3 of these GTC.

8.5.     Strict liability for damages for initial defects pursuant to Section 536a para. 1 BGB is excluded.

9.     Offsetting, rights of retention and assignment

9.1.     The Client is only entitled to offset against legally established or undisputed claims against the Contractor. The same applies to the assertion of rights of retention.

9.2.     The assignment of claims against the Contractor to third parties is only possible with the Contractor’s written consent.
 

10.  Text form

10.1.  Additions and amendments to the agreements made between the parties, including these GTC, must be made in text form to be effective. The priority of individual agreements remains unaffected by this.

11.  Applicable law

11.1.  German law applies. In the case of consumers, this choice of law only applies insofar as the protection granted by mandatory provisions of the law of the state of the consumer’s habitual residence is not thereby withdrawn (principle of favorability).

11.2.  The place of performance for all services arising from the agreements between the parties is
Business relations is Berlin. The place of jurisdiction is Berlin, unless the client is a consumer. The same applies if the client has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany or the EU or if the place of residence or habitual abode is not known at the time the action is filed. The right to appeal to the court at another legal place of jurisdiction remains unaffected by this.

11.3.  The provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall expressly not apply.