Booking Photography by Chess: Do Not Buy the Deposit First

Photography by Chess offers four session types through this store. The most important thing to know is that you do not start by buying a deposit.

The order of operations

1. Fill in the questionnaire. The session questionnaire for portraits, brand and event work; the Signature Headshot questionnaire for headshots.
2. Chess reviews it personally. Every request is read by a person, not a booking system.
3. If the session is approved, you are sent the deposit link to secure your date.

The deposit pages exist so that approved clients have somewhere to pay. Buying one without going through the questionnaire does not book you a date — it just means a payment has arrived with no session attached to it.

The questionnaire also does real work: it settles date, location, attire, the shot list, and what you actually want out of the session before anyone commits. That is why the sessions run smoothly.

The four session types

Signature Headshot — $25.00 deposit

The headshot session. Start with the Signature Headshot questionnaire.

Portrait Experience — $25.00 deposit

Portraits for birthdays, graduations, couples, creatives and personal branding. Includes:

• Professional portrait session
• Creative direction and posing guidance
• Professionally edited images
• Private online gallery
• High-resolution downloads
• Studio or outdoor location options

"Posing guidance" is the line to pay attention to if you are one of the many people who say they are bad at having their photo taken. Nobody is naturally good at it. Direction is the job.

Event Coverage — $50.00 deposit

Birthdays, networking events, grand openings, corporate and community events, nightlife and private gatherings. Includes candid and posed photography, professional editing, a private gallery, high-resolution downloads.

Brand Photography — $125.00 deposit

The business-focused session, and the one with an important extra:

✓ Commercial usage rights.

That is the difference between brand photography and a portrait session, and it is why the deposit is higher. If images are going on a website, in ads, on packaging, or anywhere that makes money, you need commercial rights. A portrait session is for personal use. Do not book a cheaper session for business images and assume the licensing comes with it — ask, and get it in writing.

Aimed at entrepreneurs, small businesses, creators, artists and musicians, real estate professionals and personal brands.

What a deposit is

A deposit secures your date. It is not the full session price. The total is settled during the booking conversation, based on what you actually need — which is the point of reviewing each request individually rather than selling fixed packages to people whose needs differ.

If you want to know what a session will cost before committing, ask in the questionnaire. That is what it is for.

Practical things worth asking about up front

• Turnaround time for edited images
• How many images you receive
• Travel, if your location is outside the usual service area
• Usage rights, if the images are for anything commercial
• What happens if it rains, for outdoor sessions
• Attire and colours — worth agreeing before the day, not on it

A good photographer would rather answer all of these before the shoot than deal with a misunderstanding after it.

Why the photography sits alongside the supplements

A fair question. They are two businesses run by the same person, sharing one storefront.

The connection, for what it is worth: the real product photography on this site was shot by Chess. The hand holding the soap bar, the bars on the bench — that is the same person and the same camera you would be hiring. It is a more honest portfolio than a gallery of someone else's work.

Start with the questionnaire · Or get in touch with a question first