Terms & conditions

A. General Terms and Conditions - scope

This collection contains Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf’s terms for individually offered photography assignments, workshops he organises himself and sales of physical artworks, prints, Limited Editions and Open Editions. Only the relevant module supplied and agreed before your binding declaration applies to a particular contract. Individual agreements prevail. Mandatory statutory rights remain unaffected.

The website presents work and invites non-binding enquiries. It currently has no shop or checkout, member area or Academy contracting function. Merely using the website or subscribing to the newsletter does not create a paid contract. For externally organised offerings, the organiser identified in the particular offer is relevant; these terms do not automatically extend to third-party contracts.

The individual offer specifies services, price including applicable taxes, additional costs, dates, payment schedule, usage rights and other required information. The business telephone number is supplied privately before your binding declaration. A later booking confirmation does not replace this advance information.

Statutory withdrawal and contractual cancellation are different rights. Cancellation rules do not replace an existing statutory withdrawal right. Accepting these terms does not constitute general consent to promotional use, image publication or newsletter marketing.

German and English versions are provided with equivalent content. The contractual language agreed in the offer is used for the offer, terms and confirmation. Neither language version restricts mandatory consumer rights.

B. Photography and Shooting Terms

1. Parties, offer and scope

The contracting provider is Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 33, 1040 Vienna, Austria, contact@van-der-werf.com, VAT ID ATU68836307, the “Photographer”. The business telephone number is included in the individual offer before you make a binding declaration.

These terms apply to the photography assignment identified in the written offer if agreed before the contract is concluded. The contract is concluded by accepting the binding offer within its validity period. Website presentations and non-binding enquiries are not bookings. Individually agreed provisions take precedence.

The offer specifies the subject/project, scope, dates and location, preparation, shooting time, number and editing of delivered images, format and delivery deadline, permitted use, price and payment schedule. RAW files, unedited images, additional retouching and work outside that scope are included only if agreed. Additional paid services require separate agreement. No particular commercial success from using the images is promised.

2. Cooperation, creative work and changes

The client supplies agreed information, access and permissions assigned to the client in good time. Responsibility for rights and consents is allocated in the offer according to the actual tasks; the client is not generally liable for rights the Photographer must obtain. The consequences of a failure to cooperate are governed by law and contract.

The agreed style and brief govern the creative work. Mandatory statutory conformity rights remain unaffected. Changes in scope or timing, including their price consequences, are agreed in advance. Weather-dependent assignments require an agreed contingency plan, decision time and cost allocation in the offer; weather risks are not generally transferred to the client.

3. Prices, advance commitments and payment

Consumer prices include applicable taxes and additional charges. Business offers expressly state whether prices are net plus VAT. The offer specifies the amount and due date of any advance payment, separately priced project stages, approved third-party costs and the balance. Advances are credited against valid claims and are not non-refundable merely because they are described as advances.

Payment is by bank transfer, credit card or PayPal as agreed in the offer. Cash payment is not provided for. These terms impose no general payment-instrument or refund surcharges. Statutory conditions and rights apply to late payment. Termination for non-payment occurs only where its legal requirements are met, including any required reasonable additional deadline; the contract is not silently converted into a penalty.

4. Statutory withdrawal

Where a statutory withdrawal right applies, the separately supplied consumer information governs. Exercising that right is not a chargeable contractual cancellation. Early performance during the withdrawal period and any proportionate payment are governed solely by the statutory conditions and valid declarations. Descriptions such as “individual” or “artistic”, or an agreed shooting date, do not automatically remove withdrawal rights.

5. Contractual cancellation: calculation

The client may cancel by clearly notifying the Photographer. Email is sufficient; no particular form is required. Timing is determined by receipt. This model applies to cancellations attributable to the client’s sphere for which the Photographer has a valid claim for remuneration or compensation. It does not impose a fee for justified termination due to the Photographer’s breach.

Percentages are maximum limits, not minimum payments independent of the actual entitlement. They apply to the Photographer’s own fee for the cancelled portion as identified in the offer. Separately priced project stages already properly completed are invoiced separately and excluded from that base. Unused licence fees are not automatically treated as costs.

The entitlement is calculated under the applicable legal basis. Where section 1168 of the Austrian Civil Code applies, savings, substitute earnings resulting from non-performance and substitute earnings deliberately forgone must in particular be credited. Otherwise, the applicable statutory crediting and mitigation rules apply. Legally protected lost remuneration may also be considered. The amount charged is no higher than the lower of the substantiated entitlement and the relevant percentage limit. The Photographer provides a comprehensible calculation; the client may assert that no entitlement or a smaller entitlement exists.

Separate third-party costs may also be payable, including at a 0% fee level, but only for third-party services separately identified and approved in the offer within the authorised budget, firmly commissioned for the assignment and unavoidable or unrecoverable despite reasonable efforts. Refunds and credits are deducted. Costs already included in the fee base cannot be charged again. Additional budgets require prior consent. Completed stages, cancellation payments and third-party costs together cannot exceed the agreed total price without separately agreed additional services.

Advances are credited. Clearly established overpayments are refunded promptly; a dispute over one amount does not justify retaining undisputed overpayments.

6. General cancellation model

This general cancellation model applies equally to private and business clients.

Calendar days are determined by the date cancellation is received and the agreed shooting date in its local time; the shooting date is day 0.

A shoot in Vienna may be rescheduled once by agreement without a separate rescheduling fee at least 11 calendar days before the date; outside Vienna, the threshold is 20 calendar days. This depends on an available replacement date. Specific unavoidable additional costs are disclosed before consent. There is no entitlement to a particular replacement date. Further changes require agreement and do not automatically trigger another cancellation charge.

For illness, travel delay or comparable unforeseen personal circumstances, the parties first seek a replacement date. If no solution is agreed and the assignment is finally cancelled, the fee limit is reduced to the lower of the regular level and 30%. The entitlement limit and third-party cost rules in section 5 remain applicable. Only necessary and proportionate information is requested; medical diagnoses are not routinely required.

7. Non-performance, lateness and protection of participants

If the client arrives late, the agreed finishing time may remain unchanged where an extension is not operationally possible. Payment consequences depend on the actual cause and statutory credits. In cases of harassment, danger or serious disregard of agreed boundaries, the Photographer may suspend work after an appropriate warning, or immediately in an emergency, and terminate if the legal conditions are met. This does not automatically forfeit all payments.

If the Photographer cannot perform, a reasonable alternative will be offered where possible. A replacement date requires the client’s agreement. Where the service falls away without an agreed replacement or a right to payment, payments attributable to it are refunded. The client’s statutory rights, including justified damages claims, remain unaffected.

8. Delivery, usage rights and portfolio use

Delivery and acceptance are governed by the offer. No short exclusion period for hidden defects is imposed on consumers. Additional archiving or recovery is owed only where agreed or legally required; clients should back up delivered files.

The offer specifies the purpose, media, territory, duration, exclusivity and any sharing with identified third parties. If details are missing, the scope follows the discernible agreed contractual purpose; a business production is not undermined by a hidden private-use-only clause. Where agreed, use begins after payment of the remuneration due for it. Rights already validly granted do not lapse retrospectively without a legal basis.

AI training, text and data mining, AI-reference use and AI editing are not included in the licence unless expressly agreed. Mandatory statutory permissions remain unaffected. Editing, credits and involvement of technical providers are specified in the offer; otherwise the agreed purpose governs. No independent sublicensing without permission. Resale of physical copies permitted by law remains unaffected.

These terms do not grant the Photographer blanket consent from the client or people depicted for self-promotion. Portfolio, website or social-media publication requires a separate sufficient rights and data-protection basis.

9. Statutory conformity rights, liability and law

Statutory conformity and damages rights apply. These terms do not generally exclude liability for personal injury, intent or gross negligence, or restrict mandatory consumer rights. The Photographer’s statutory responsibility for persons used to fulfil the contract is not generally excluded for external services.

Austrian law applies. Mandatory consumer protection under the law otherwise applicable under the relevant conflict-of-laws rules remains unaffected. Jurisdiction is determined by the applicable statutory rules. Changes require agreement; email declarations are sufficient unless the law requires a stricter form. Statutory rights to make declarations without formal requirements are not restricted.

C. Workshop Terms

1. Provider, booking and services

The organiser is Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 33, 1040 Vienna, Austria, contact@van-der-werf.com, VAT ID ATU68836307. The business telephone number is included in the offer before your binding booking.

A contract is formed by accepting the individual binding offer within its validity period. A non-binding enquiry does not complete a booking. These terms are supplied and agreed before you become bound. A subsequent booking confirmation does not replace missing pre-contract information.

The offer specifies the format (group or 1:1), content, date, duration, location, language, participation requirements, equipment, included services, total price and payment deadline. A minimum participant number and the latest date for cancellation by the organiser on that ground apply only if specifically disclosed before booking. Without that agreement, there is no general right to cancel for low attendance. No particular learning outcome is guaranteed; the promised services will be provided.

2. Payment and preparation

The participation fee is generally payable 100% in advance on the date specified in the individual offer; any different payment arrangement requires express agreement. For short-notice bookings, the deadline must be realistically achievable. Payment by bank transfer, credit card or PayPal follows the offer; no cash payment. Advances are accounted for under the applicable withdrawal, justified reversal or cancellation rules and are not retained automatically. Non-payment is governed by statutory requirements, including any required additional deadline, rather than automatic chargeable cancellation 14 days before the event.

Mandatory statutory rights to refuse or withhold performance remain unaffected.

3. Statutory withdrawal

Where a statutory withdrawal right applies, the relevant consumer information and model form are supplied before you become bound. No contractual cancellation fee applies to such withdrawal. If the exception for a specifically dated leisure workshop under section 18(1)(10) of the Austrian FAGG is used, this is expressly explained for that workshop in the offer. Vocational training or an offering without a specified performance period is not excluded from withdrawal rights merely because it is called a workshop. Statutory requirements govern valid early commencement and proportionate payment.

4. Common rules for contractual cancellation

The following cancellation rules apply equally to private and business clients.

Cancellation may be made by a clear message, particularly email. Receipt by the organiser determines timing. Calendar days are calculated from the receipt date and the event date in its local time; the event date is day 0. The percentages below are maximum limits on a legally substantiated entitlement, not automatically payable minimum amounts. They do not apply to statutory withdrawal or justified termination for the organiser’s breach.

The organiser credits savings and legally relevant replacement bookings, makes reasonable mitigation efforts and provides a comprehensible explanation of the entitlement. Services already performed and legally protected lost remuneration may be included. The entitlement depends on the actual contract type; rules for contracts to produce a work are not automatically applied to teaching. Customers may assert that no or a smaller entitlement exists. Advances are credited; established overpayments are refunded promptly.

5. Group workshops

The base is the full participation price. Ordinary model, venue and organisational costs are included and are not separately charged again. Shared event costs cannot each be charged in full to several cancelling participants. The charge is no higher than the lower of the table limit and the entitlement attributable to the particular place after required credits.

If the place is filled on equivalent terms and the loss is fully covered, no cancellation amount is payable. A suitable substitute may attend by arrangement if they meet the objectively necessary requirements; consent will not be withheld without a substantive reason. Partial coverage reduces the claim accordingly. A transfer to another event may be agreed but does not create an entitlement to any chosen replacement date.

6. Individual 1:1 workshops

The base is the identified own fee for the cancelled portion. Separately priced preparation already properly completed is billed separately without duplication. The amount charged is no higher than the lower of the table limit and the substantiated entitlement after credits.

Separately quoted and approved third-party costs within the agreed budget may also be payable, for example a model or venue firmly booked specifically for that 1:1 session. This applies only insofar as those costs cannot be avoided or recovered despite reasonable efforts. Refunds are deducted; costs already included in the own fee are not charged again. Without additional agreement, completed portions, cancellation charges and third-party costs together cannot exceed the agreed total price.

For illness, travel problems or comparable unforeseen personal circumstances, rescheduling by agreement is considered first. If this is not possible and the session is cancelled, the own-fee limit is no higher than the lower of the regular level and 35%. The limit to the substantiated entitlement and the third-party cost rules remain applicable. There is no general additional charge for all payment or refund fees. Medical diagnoses are not routinely required.

7. Changes and cancellation by the organiser

Material changes to content, date or location require agreement unless a specific legally valid change provision applies. A replacement date or voucher will not replace a refund owed against your wishes. If the organiser finally cancels, payments for unperformed services are refunded unless a statutory entitlement to payment exists. Statutory damages rights remain unaffected; no blanket exclusion for travel or accommodation costs is agreed.

8. Conduct, images and safety

If you arrive late, the agreed finishing time may remain unchanged where an extension is not possible. Whether shortened participation is meaningful and safe is assessed in light of the actual programme. Being more than 30 minutes late does not automatically forfeit the full price; valid remuneration claims and statutory credits remain applicable.

Respect, agreed personal boundaries and safety instructions must be observed. Harassment, unagreed intimate photography and unauthorised publication are prohibited. Serious misconduct may lead to suspension after an appropriate warning, or immediately in an emergency, and termination where legally justified. This does not automatically impose a penalty equal to the entire price.

Participants may take and use photographs only within the scope communicated and validly agreed beforehand. Model releases, personality rights and other participants’ rights must be respected. Participation grants neither an unlimited commercial image licence nor consent to promotional photography by the organiser. Such consent, where relevant, is obtained separately and voluntarily. AI use of others’ protected images or images involving personal data requires appropriate authority; workshop participation alone does not grant it.

9. Statutory rights and applicable law

Statutory conformity, damages and consumer rights remain unaffected. No general statement that participation is “at your own risk” excludes the organiser’s statutory responsibility. Austrian law applies without displacing mandatory consumer protection under the law otherwise applicable under conflict-of-laws rules. Jurisdiction follows the law. Email suffices for contractual notices unless a stricter form is legally required; statutory rights to make declarations without formal requirements remain unaffected.

D. Art, Print and Edition Terms

1. Seller and conclusion

The seller is Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 33, 1040 Vienna, Austria, contact@van-der-werf.com, VAT ID ATU68836307. The business telephone number and other required pre-contract information are supplied in the individual offer before you become bound.

Displaying art on the website invites a non-binding enquiry. A contract is formed by timely acceptance of a binding individual offer. These terms are agreed before conclusion. The characteristics, rights and services described in the offer govern the purchase.

2. Product description and editions

The offer identifies the work/image, dimensions, material, printing/production method, finish and any framing, price, taxes, delivery charges, delivery deadline, payment schedule and, where applicable, signature and certificate. Room and print mockups are identified as illustrations. They do not promise pictured furniture or frames unless included in the stated delivery scope. Binding characteristics and legally relevant public statements are not displaced by a general mockup disclaimer.

Limited Editions: The work is produced after ordering in a binding, defined and numbered edition. The offer specifies the binding edition size for the particular work and its relationship to format, material and variants. The copy is numbered. Any artist proofs or other special copies, signature and certificate are expressly described in the offer where they form part of it. A promised edition limit will not be circumvented by silently introducing equivalent variants later. No particular increase in value or resale opportunity is guaranteed.

Open Editions: The work is produced after ordering; no numerically limited edition is promised. Variants, signatures or special finishes apply only if included in the specific offer. “Open” does not reduce the promised quality or statutory conformity rights.

3. Price, production and payment

Before becoming bound, consumers receive the total price including applicable taxes and additional delivery charges. Imports into third countries and possible local duties are explained for the actual destination; there are no unexpected unlimited additional charges. Payment follows the offer by bank transfer, credit card or PayPal, not cash. The payment schedule and start of production are specified in the individual offer. The amount, due date and purpose of any advance are expressly agreed. Production starts at the agreed time; this alone does not exclude statutory withdrawal rights.

4. Delivery and transport damage

The delivery destination, method and deadline appear in the offer. For consumer deliveries, transfer of risk follows section 7b of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act; generally, risk passes only on handover to the consumer or the third party they designate. The statutory exception for a carrier independently commissioned by the consumer and not proposed by the seller remains applicable.

Please report apparent transport damage promptly and document it where reasonable. Failure to report immediately does not remove mandatory consumer rights. Statutory rights and any required additional deadlines apply to late delivery.

5. Statutory withdrawal and genuine personalisation

For qualifying distance or off-premises contracts, consumers receive the relevant withdrawal information and model form. Artistic character, a limited edition or manufacture only after ordering does not automatically exclude withdrawal rights.

If a work is made to legally relevant individual customer specifications or clearly personalised, the specific characteristics and any genuinely applicable exception under section 18(1)(3) FAGG are explained in the offer before the consumer becomes bound. Selection from standard images, ordinary sizes or standard materials is not generally treated as sufficient personalisation. Unless a valid exception applies, statutory withdrawal rights remain.

Statutory withdrawal rights apply to standard prints where applicable. Where withdrawal rights apply, the separate information covers the period, return and reimbursement. You bear the direct costs of returning the goods only if you were validly informed of this before your binding declaration. For goods not normally returnable by post, the required amount or a legally appropriate estimate is also supplied before you become bound. No restocking, production or cancellation flat fee is added to statutory withdrawal.

6. Agreed cancellation outside statutory withdrawal rights

An additional voluntary cancellation may be agreed. Personalised goods already manufactured and committed production costs may be taken into account where a legal entitlement exists. There is no automatic 100% cancellation fee independent of performance. Any specific cancellation settlement identifies the stage of performance, savings and remaining entitlement. Without an agreed cancellation, statutory and contractual rights remain applicable.

7. Statutory conformity rights and information

Statutory conformity rights remain fully applicable. Consumer purchases of physical goods are governed in particular by the Austrian Consumer Warranty Act (VGG), including goods manufactured after conclusion. In cases of non-conformity, the statutory rights initially include repair or replacement and, subject to the statutory conditions, price reduction or termination. A genuinely unique commission may affect which remedy is practicable, but does not eliminate statutory rights.

For relevant contracts concluded after 30 September 2026, the one-time statutory one-year extension of the conformity period following repair is observed under section 10(2a) VGG. Required information about the choice of remedy and extension is provided before the relevant remedy. The harmonised statutory-guarantee notice is supplied separately and prominently before the consumer is bound; a sentence in these terms does not replace it. An additional durability guarantee is promised only if expressly offered.

8. Ownership and copyright

Ownership of the physical work is retained until the purchase price agreed for that work is paid in full. This does not restrict statutory consumer rights. Purchasing a print or original does not, without express agreement, transfer rights to reproduce, commercially exploit, publish online, adapt, use as an AI reference or use for AI training. Statutory permissions and lawful resale of the physical work remain unaffected.

9. Law and liability

Statutory liability rules apply. Austrian law is agreed without displacing mandatory consumer rights under the law otherwise applicable under conflict-of-laws rules. Jurisdiction follows the applicable statutes. These terms do not generally exclude justified withdrawal, statutory conformity or damages rights.

E. Information about statutory withdrawal

For a qualifying distance or off-premises contract, consumers generally have 14 days to withdraw without giving a reason. For services, the period begins when the contract is concluded; for goods, generally when you or a third party designated by you other than the carrier receives them. For multiple goods in one order delivered separately, it starts on receipt of the last item; for delivery in parts, on receipt of the final part. For regular delivery of goods over a defined period, it starts on receipt of the first item. The specific notice supplied before you become bound reflects the actual contract. Missing required withdrawal information may extend the period by law.

Communicate your withdrawal clearly to Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 33, 1040 Vienna, Austria, contact@van-der-werf.com, for example by email or letter. Use of the model form in section F is voluntary; an email declaration does not require a signature. Sending the declaration before the deadline preserves the right.

If you withdraw, I refund payments received promptly, no later than 14 days after receiving your declaration. For goods this includes the least expensive standard delivery offered, but not additional costs of a more expensive delivery option you chose. I generally use the same payment method; an expressly agreed different method must not cause you costs. For goods, I may wait until their return or your evidence of return, whichever comes first, unless I have offered to collect them.

Goods must be returned or handed over within 14 days of withdrawal; sending them before the deadline is sufficient. The actual return address is communicated before you become bound. You bear the direct return costs only following legally valid advance information; for goods not normally returnable by post, the required amount or suitable estimate is provided. You are liable for diminished value only where handling exceeds what is necessary to establish the goods’ nature, characteristics and functioning, and the statutory information requirements have been met.

For services, where you expressly requested commencement during the withdrawal period and received the required information, a proportionate amount may be payable for services supplied before withdrawal. For paid services, the right ends only after full performance and satisfaction of the further statutory requirements, particularly express prior consent and acknowledgement of the loss of the right. These declarations are obtained separately. An advance payment alone does not replace them.

Exceptions, particularly genuinely personalised goods or leisure services on a specified date under section 18 FAGG, are specifically explained before you become bound. An artwork, an on-demand print or the label “workshop” alone does not establish an exception. Independent rights concerning defects, non-performance or breaches remain unaffected.

F. Model Withdrawal Form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract.

To: Mag.(FH) Sascha van der Werf, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 33, 1040 Vienna, Austria; contact@van-der-werf.com

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*) / for the provision of the following service (*):

Ordered on (*) / received on (*): ________________________________

Name of consumer(s): ____________________________________________

Address of consumer(s): _________________________________________

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper):

Date: __________________________________________________________

(*) Delete as appropriate.