Frequently Asked Questions

Booking starts by reaching out through the contact form with details about your game, tournament, athlete portrait session, or event. Once I receive your inquiry, I’ll discuss your goals, confirm availability, answer any questions, and provide a quote tailored to your needs.

Yes. A non-refundable retainer is required to secure your booking date. Once your retainer is received, your date is reserved and planning for your session or event begins. The remaining balance is due according to the terms outlined in your booking agreement.

As early as possible. Popular weekends and tournament dates can fill quickly, especially during peak sports seasons. While I always do my best to accommodate last-minute requests, booking in advance provides the greatest flexibility and ensures your date is available.

I’m based in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia, and provide sports coverage and elite athlete portraits throughout Nova Scotia. Travel across Atlantic Canada is available for tournaments, championships, and special projects. If you’re unsure whether I travel to your location, just ask.

Both. Whether you need photography for a single game, a weekend tournament, a championship event, or a full season, coverage can be customized to fit your needs.

Including the event date, location, sport, team or organization, and the type of photography you’re looking for helps me respond more quickly. If you’re interested in athlete portraits, let me know how many athletes will be participating and any ideas you have for the session.

Individual athlete galleries are delivered through a private online gallery, making it easy to view, download, and share your images. Teams, schools, leagues, and organizations can receive images through the delivery method that best supports their workflow, including secure file transfer options when required.

Most sports coverage galleries are delivered within approximately two days. Elite athlete portrait sessions are typically delivered within two to three weeks due to the additional time required for creative editing and retouching. For select sporting events, rush delivery of a limited number of images may be available during or shortly after the event for an additional fee.

Yes. For select sporting events, same-day or live image delivery can be arranged to support social media, marketing, and media coverage. This service is available by request and may involve an additional fee depending on the event requirements.

I recommend saving your images in more than one location. A good approach is to keep one copy on your computer or an external hard drive and another using a trusted cloud storage service. Having multiple copies helps protect your images and ensures they’ll be available for years to come.

Online galleries remain available for a minimum of six months from the delivery date. After that time, galleries may be removed to help manage storage. Edited images are archived for a minimum of one year; however, clients are strongly encouraged to download and back up their images as soon as possible after delivery.

Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, SportsByShawn retains the copyright to all photographs. When images are delivered, clients receive a license to use them according to the terms of their booking agreement.

Athletes, parents, teams, schools, and organizations are welcome to use their delivered images for personal use, websites, internal communications, and social media unless otherwise outlined in the booking agreement.
Images may not be sold, transferred to a third party, or used for commercial advertising without prior written permission.

To ensure the quality and integrity of my work, delivered images may not be edited, altered, or modified without written permission. This includes applying filters, changing colours, excessive cropping, or using editing tools that significantly change the appearance of the photograph.

Every image is professionally edited before delivery to reflect the quality and style of the SportsByShawn brand.
I especially like ending with your brand. It subtly reminds people they’re looking at professional work.

Yes. Licensing for universities, schools, sports organizations, sponsors, businesses, and commercial projects can be tailored to meet your specific requirements. If your intended use falls outside your original agreement, simply get in touch and we’ll discuss the appropriate licensing options.

Unless otherwise agreed upon, SportsByShawn may use selected images for portfolio display, social media, website content, marketing, competitions, and promotional purposes. If you have privacy concerns or require additional restrictions, please discuss them before your session or event.

Yes. SportsByShawn is fully insured for professional photography services. Proof of insurance can be provided upon request or whenever it’s required by a venue, school, league, organization, or event partner.

Media release requirements depend on the type of assignment. Individual athlete portrait sessions may require a signed model release before images are used for portfolio, marketing, or promotional purposes.
For sports coverage, schools, teams, leagues, and organizations are responsible for ensuring any required participant permissions have been obtained before the event.

Sports should be a positive, respectful, and safe environment for athletes, families, coaches, officials, volunteers, and spectators.
SportsByShawn reserves the right to end coverage if threatening, abusive, discriminatory, or unsafe behaviour occurs. In these situations, refunds may not be provided.

Protecting your images is part of my professional workflow from capture to final delivery. Whenever possible, images are recorded using redundant storage, carefully organized, and backed up throughout the editing process.
Because sporting moments can’t be recreated, protecting your photographs is just as important as capturing them.

Yes. Professional equipment is only reliable when there’s a backup. Multiple camera bodies, lenses, memory cards, batteries, and other essential equipment are available to help ensure coverage can continue if unexpected equipment issues occur.

As a general policy, SportsByShawn does not offer refunds for photography services once they have been provided. However, if you have a reasonable concern about your experience or your images, please contact me as soon as possible. I’m committed to treating every client fairly and will always work with you in good faith to address your concerns whenever possible. For complete details, please refer to the Terms of Service.

Your satisfaction is important to me. If something doesn’t meet your expectations, please contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss your concerns. Every situation is different, and I’ll always work with you in good faith to find a fair and reasonable solution whenever possible.

I understand that schedules can change. If you need to cancel or reschedule your session, please contact me as soon as possible. I’ll make every reasonable effort to accommodate your request whenever possible. Please note that retainers are non-refundable, and additional fees may apply if venue rentals, travel, or other non-recoverable expenses have already been incurred. For complete details, please refer to the Terms of Service.

If a game or event is postponed due to weather or circumstances outside anyone’s control, I’ll work with you to reschedule coverage whenever possible. If rescheduling isn’t possible, we’ll discuss the available options based on your specific situation. For complete details, please refer to the Terms of Service.

Every reasonable effort will be made to attend your scheduled event. If I become unable to provide photography services due to illness, injury, a family emergency, or another unforeseen circumstance, I’ll notify you as soon as reasonably possible. Whenever possible, I’ll work with you to reschedule your session or help arrange a suitable replacement photographer. If neither option is possible, any payments made for services that cannot be provided will be refunded. For complete details, please refer to the Terms of Service.

Every reasonable effort will be made to attend your scheduled event. If I become unable to provide photography services due to illness, injury, a family emergency, or another unforeseen circumstance, I’ll notify you as soon as reasonably possible. Whenever possible, I’ll work with you to reschedule your session or help arrange a suitable replacement photographer. If neither option is possible, any payments made for services that cannot be provided will be refunded. For complete details, please refer to the Terms of Service.