Terms and Conditions

1. About Hereditas Studio

Hereditas Studio provides professional digital restoration, reconstruction, enhancement, and preparation of historical, family, and personal photographs.

Services may include:

• Repair of scratches, stains, cracks, tears, folds, and surface damage
• Tonal, contrast, exposure, and color correction
• Restoration of faded or deteriorated photographs
• Reconstruction of missing or severely damaged visual information
• Facial and anatomical reconstruction based on available references
• Historical clothing, object, and background reconstruction
• Black-and-white, sepia, or color versions
• Enlargement and preparation for digital preservation or printing
• Artistic interpretation when specifically requested and approved
• Preparation of high-resolution digital files

The precise scope of each commission will be determined individually.

2. Website Use

The website is provided for general information about Hereditas Studio and its services.

You may use the website only for lawful purposes. You may not:

• Interfere with the website’s security or operation
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to its systems
• Upload or transmit malicious software or harmful code
• Misrepresent your identity or authority
• Submit unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, defamatory, or infringing material
• Copy, reproduce, scrape, republish, or exploit substantial portions of the website without authorization
• Use the website or its content to train, develop, or evaluate an automated system without written permission
• Use Hereditas Studio’s name, branding, images, or content in a misleading manner

Hereditas Studio may restrict or discontinue access to the website when reasonably necessary for maintenance, security, legal compliance, or prevention of misuse.

3. Inquiries and Consultations

Submitting a contact form, email, photograph, or project description does not obligate Hereditas Studio to accept the project.

An inquiry does not create a client relationship until:

1. The requested work has been reviewed;
2. The scope, price, and relevant conditions have been communicated;
3. The client has accepted the applicable proposal or instructions; and
4. Any required initial payment has been received.

Hereditas Studio may decline a project for reasons including insufficient source material, technical infeasibility, scheduling limitations, legal or ethical concerns, inappropriate content, unclear ownership, or a request that falls outside the studio’s services.

4. Estimates and Project Scope

Each photograph is evaluated individually. Any estimate is based on the source materials and information available at the time of review.

An estimate may consider:

• The number of photographs
• Image size and resolution
• Type and extent of damage
• Amount of missing visual information
• Complexity of facial or historical reconstruction
• Number and quality of reference images
• Requested output size
• Number of versions or deliverables
• Intended use
• Required turnaround time
• Printing or external production requirements

Unless otherwise stated, an estimate applies only to the work specifically described in it.

Requests that materially change the approved composition, subject, dimensions, reconstruction requirements, deliverables, or artistic direction may be treated as additional work and may require a revised estimate.

A quotation may be withdrawn or revised before acceptance when new information materially changes the apparent scope or feasibility of the project.

5. Source Materials

The quality and accuracy of a restoration depend substantially on the quality of the materials provided by the client.

Whenever possible, clients should provide:

• A high-resolution scan of the original photograph
• A photograph captured without glare, reflections, blur, or perspective distortion
• The largest and clearest available source
• Additional photographs of the same person, place, clothing, or object
• Relevant dates, identities, relationships, and historical information
• Clear instructions identifying the most important features to preserve

Low-resolution photographs, screenshots, compressed files, photographs of printed copies, images taken at an angle, damaged originals, and incomplete references may significantly limit the result.

Hereditas Studio will make reasonable efforts to work with the available material but cannot recover information that is not visible, inferable, or adequately supported by references.

6. Client Responsibilities and Authority

By submitting photographs, scans, documents, reference images, names, histories, or other materials, the client represents that:

• The client owns the materials or has sufficient authorization to provide and use them;
• The requested use does not violate copyright, privacy, publicity, contractual, or other legal rights;
• The materials are not being submitted for an unlawful, fraudulent, defamatory, deceptive, or abusive purpose;
• Information provided about identities, dates, relationships, historical context, and intended use is accurate to the best of the client’s knowledge;
• Any necessary permission from living individuals, photographers, estates, archives, institutions, or rights holders has been obtained.

Hereditas Studio is not responsible for independently determining the ownership, copyright status, family authority, privacy status, or provenance of every submitted photograph.

The client agrees to inform Hereditas Studio promptly if any dispute arises concerning ownership, permission, identity, or use of the materials.

7. Restoration and Reconstruction Limitations

Photographic restoration is interpretive work. Even when performed carefully, it cannot guarantee the exact recovery of information that has been destroyed, obscured, lost, or never captured by the original photograph.

Where information is missing, Hereditas Studio may reconstruct it using:

• Visible surviving details
• Other photographs supplied by the client
• Anatomical and artistic judgment
• Period-appropriate visual references
• Tonal, spatial, and compositional evidence
• Reasonable visual inference

A reconstruction should not be treated as verified documentary evidence of an unknown detail.

The client acknowledges that:

• Results are influenced by the condition and resolution of the source;
• Some details may remain uncertain;
• Exact facial likeness cannot be guaranteed when adequate references do not exist;
• Enlarging a small image does not create authentic original detail;
• Colorization may involve informed interpretation rather than objectively verified color;
• Historical reconstruction may involve reasonable estimates;
• Displays, printers, papers, and production systems may reproduce color and contrast differently;
• A digital preview may not look identical to a physical print;
• Individual perceptions of likeness and artistic quality may differ.

Hereditas Studio will disclose significant limitations when they are reasonably identifiable during project evaluation.

8. Artistic Judgment

The client commissions Hereditas Studio for its professional artistic judgment and restoration approach.

Unless the project agreement specifies otherwise, Hereditas Studio may make reasonable decisions concerning:

• Tonal balance
• Color balance
• Contrast and exposure
• Removal or retention of marks and aging characteristics
• Texture and grain
• Edge reconstruction
• Facial detail
• Clothing and background reconstruction
• Cropping and composition
• Print preparation
• Degree of historical or photographic character retained

Hereditas Studio will not intentionally alter a person’s identity or essential facial characteristics unless the client expressly requests an interpretive transformation, age progression, age regression, composite reconstruction, or similar service.

9. Approvals and Revisions

The project proposal or correspondence may specify whether revisions are included and, when applicable, how many revision rounds are available.

A revision means a reasonable adjustment to work already performed within the approved scope. It does not ordinarily include:

• Replacing the source photograph
• Changing the principal reference image
• Reconstructing a different face or identity
• Creating a substantially different composition
• Changing the project from restoration to extensive reconstruction
• Adding new people, objects, backgrounds, or scenes
• Reversing previously approved artistic decisions
• Preparing additional formats or versions not included in the original scope
• Beginning the project again under a new direction

Additional or out-of-scope revisions may require additional payment.

The client is responsible for reviewing previews carefully and communicating requested corrections clearly. Approval of a preview authorizes Hereditas Studio to proceed based on that version.

Minor differences caused by image compression, scaling, online previews, display calibration, or final export are not necessarily defects.

10. Communication and Client Delays

The client should respond to questions, previews, approval requests, and requests for reference material within a reasonable period.

Project schedules may be extended when the client:

• Delays providing required materials;
• Does not respond to communications;
• Changes the scope;
• Requests additional revisions;
• Provides contradictory instructions; or
• Delays an approval or payment.

If a client remains unresponsive for an extended period, Hereditas Studio may place the project on hold. Resumption may depend on current availability and may require a revised completion schedule.

A project may be considered inactive or abandoned after repeated unsuccessful attempts to obtain information, approval, or payment. Before treating a project as abandoned, Hereditas Studio will make reasonable efforts to contact the client using the contact information provided.

11. Project Timing

Any completion date or turnaround estimate is an estimate unless Hereditas Studio expressly agrees in writing to a fixed deadline.

Timing may be affected by:

• Complexity of the restoration
• Quality of source materials
• Number of revisions
• Client response time
• Changes in project scope
• Technical failures
• Illness or emergency
• Printing, shipping, or third-party delays
• Events beyond reasonable control

Hereditas Studio will make reasonable efforts to communicate material delays.

A deadline connected with a funeral, memorial, anniversary, exhibition, publication, gift, or other time-sensitive event must be disclosed before the project is accepted. Acceptance of a project does not imply acceptance of an undisclosed deadline.

12. Prices and Payment

Prices will be stated in the applicable estimate, proposal, invoice, or project agreement.

Unless expressly stated otherwise:

• Prices are quoted in United States dollars;
• The client is responsible for applicable taxes, payment-processing charges, shipping, printing, or third-party expenses identified in the project terms;
• Work may be divided into stages or milestones;
• Hereditas Studio may require partial or full payment before beginning or delivering work;
• Final high-resolution files may be withheld until all amounts due have been paid.

The client is responsible for reviewing the estimate before approving the project.

Hereditas Studio will not add undisclosed charges for work outside the approved scope without first communicating the additional work and its cost.

13. Cancellations, Deposits, and Refunds

Cancellation, deposit, and refund conditions will be stated in the applicable proposal, invoice, or project agreement.

Unless a written project agreement provides otherwise:

• A client may request cancellation by contacting Hereditas Studio in writing;
• The client remains responsible for work already completed and for nonrecoverable expenses incurred for the project;
• Any unearned portion of an advance payment will be evaluated according to the work completed, expenses incurred, and applicable law;
• Payments covering completed work, approved stages, purchased materials, external production, or nonrecoverable third-party charges are ordinarily not refundable;
• No refund guarantees approval of subjective artistic preferences after work has been completed according to the agreed scope.

Hereditas Studio may cancel or suspend a project because of nonpayment, abusive conduct, unlawful instructions, infringement concerns, material misrepresentation, persistent lack of cooperation, or circumstances making responsible completion impossible.

If Hereditas Studio cancels a project for reasons unrelated to the client’s breach, any unearned amount paid for work that will not be performed will be returned.

Nothing in these Terms eliminates any nonwaivable rights available under applicable consumer law.

14. Digital Delivery

Unless otherwise agreed, completed work will be delivered electronically in the file type, dimensions, resolution, color profile, and format identified in the project agreement.

The client is responsible for:

• Downloading delivered files promptly;
• Confirming that the files open correctly;
• Maintaining independent backups;
• Preserving original photographs and source files;
• Verifying print requirements with the intended printer;
• Requesting corrections within the review period stated for the project.

Hereditas Studio is not a permanent archival-storage service. Project files may be deleted after a reasonable retention period.

The client should not rely on Hereditas Studio as the sole repository of original or completed files.

15. Printing and Physical Output

When Hereditas Studio prepares a file for printing, the file will be prepared according to the specifications known at the time.

Unless printing services are expressly included, the client is responsible for selecting and coordinating with the printer.

Hereditas Studio cannot control:

• Printer calibration
• Paper characteristics
• Ink or pigment systems
• Cropping imposed by the printer
• Automatic image correction
• Production defects
• Packaging
• Shipping
• Environmental display conditions
• Color changes caused by different screens or lighting

The client should request a proof from the printer when exact physical output is important.

When Hereditas Studio arranges printing or external production, the specific responsibilities, costs, approval procedures, replacement conditions, and shipping terms will be stated separately.

16. Intellectual Property in Client Materials

The client retains whatever rights the client lawfully holds in the original photographs and reference materials.

Submitting a photograph does not transfer ownership of the underlying photograph to Hereditas Studio.

The client grants Hereditas Studio a limited permission to reproduce, edit, store, process, transmit, and otherwise use submitted materials only as reasonably necessary to:

• Evaluate the inquiry;
• Perform the commissioned work;
• Communicate with the client;
• Prepare and deliver the result;
• Maintain necessary project records; and
• Protect or enforce legitimate legal rights.

This permission does not authorize unrelated public use or sale of the client’s photographs.

Hereditas Studio does not guarantee that the client owns copyrights held by an original photographer, archive, publisher, estate, institution, or other third party.

17. Rights in Restoration Work and Deliverables

Payment for restoration services does not transfer ownership of third-party intellectual property contained in the source photograph.

Upon full payment, the client may use the final delivered restoration for the purposes identified in the project agreement.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a private family restoration may be used by the client for ordinary personal and family purposes, including:

• Personal printing
• Framing
• Family distribution
• Private archiving
• Memorial use
• Personal social-media sharing
• Noncommercial family publications

Commercial, advertising, editorial, resale, merchandise, licensing, institutional, exhibition, or mass-publication use should be disclosed before the project begins and may require separate terms.

Hereditas Studio retains ownership of its general skills, processes, workflows, methods, templates, tools, working files, unused concepts, and technical knowledge.

Editable working files, layered files, intermediate versions, masks, source documents, prompts, process files, and production materials are not included unless expressly identified as deliverables.

Nothing in these Terms transfers copyright that Hereditas Studio does not own or have authority to transfer.

18. Portfolio, Publicity, and Confidentiality

Client photographs and completed restorations will not be published in Hereditas Studio’s portfolio, website, social media, advertising, demonstrations, educational materials, exhibitions, or promotional content without the client’s permission or another valid legal basis.

When permission is requested, the client may specify reasonable conditions, such as:

• Anonymous display
• Removal of names
• Display of only the finished result
• Exclusion of the original photograph
• Limited use on specified platforms
• Withdrawal of permission for future publication

Withdrawal of permission will apply prospectively. Hereditas Studio will make reasonable efforts to remove material under its control but cannot guarantee removal of authorized material already printed, archived, shared, indexed, cached, or republished by others.

Ordinary project communications will be treated with reasonable discretion. A separate confidentiality or nondisclosure agreement must be executed when a project requires obligations beyond these general terms.

19. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Tools

Hereditas Studio may use a combination of professional image-editing software, digital restoration methods, artistic reconstruction techniques, and, when appropriate, computer-assisted or artificial-intelligence tools.

Any such tools are used as part of a supervised creative and technical process. Hereditas Studio remains responsible for reviewing and refining the delivered work according to the approved scope.

Automated output is not accepted uncritically as an accurate reconstruction of identity or history.

When external digital services are used, submitted materials will be handled according to the Privacy Policy, applicable project terms, and the technical requirements of the service.

A client who requires that particular categories of tools not be used must communicate that requirement before accepting the project. Hereditas Studio will then determine whether the requested restriction is technically and commercially feasible.

20. Prohibited Projects

Hereditas Studio may refuse or discontinue work involving:

• Materials submitted without sufficient authority
• Fraudulent identity documents or evidence
• Deceptive impersonation
• Defamation or harassment
• Nonconsensual intimate imagery
• Sexual exploitation or abuse
• Unlawful surveillance
• Fabrication intended to mislead a court, government agency, insurer, employer, financial institution, or the public
• Removal or alteration of material evidence for a deceptive purpose
• Illegal discrimination or targeted abuse
• Content or conduct prohibited by applicable law

Historical reconstruction, artistic interpretation, or family restoration will not be represented as authenticated documentary evidence when it is not.

21. Accuracy of Website Content

Hereditas Studio makes reasonable efforts to describe its services accurately.

Portfolio examples illustrate prior work but do not guarantee identical results for every photograph. Each source image presents different limitations.

Descriptions, availability, prices, turnaround times, and services may change. A website description does not override the terms of an accepted project proposal.

Typographical, technical, or administrative errors may be corrected.

22. Testimonials and Reviews

Testimonials, when displayed, reflect the experiences and opinions of the individuals who provided them. They do not guarantee that every client will receive the same result.

Nothing in these Terms prohibits or penalizes a client for expressing an honest opinion about Hereditas Studio’s services.

Hereditas Studio may request that statements presented as facts be accurate and that reviews not contain unlawful threats, harassment, confidential information, impersonation, or knowingly false factual claims.

23. Third-Party Services and Links

The website or project workflow may involve third-party services such as:

• Website hosting
• Email
• Cloud storage
• File-transfer services
• Payment processing
• Printing
• Shipping
• External websites or social platforms

Those services are governed by their own terms and privacy practices.

Hereditas Studio is not responsible for a third party’s independent acts, outages, security practices, policies, content, or performance, except to the extent responsibility cannot legally be excluded.

Links to external websites are provided for convenience and do not necessarily constitute endorsement.

24. Disclaimer of Warranties

Hereditas Studio will perform accepted services with reasonable professional care consistent with the approved scope and the limitations of the source material.

However, except for obligations expressly stated in a project agreement or required by law, the website and services are provided without guarantees that:

• Every damaged or missing detail can be recovered;
• Every reconstruction will be historically exact;
• A result will satisfy every subjective expectation;
• Digital files will be compatible with every future device, application, printer, or platform;
• The website will operate continuously or without technical errors;
• Third-party services will remain available;
• Online transmission or storage will be completely secure.

Nothing in this section excludes an express written commitment made by Hereditas Studio or any warranty that cannot lawfully be excluded.

25. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Hereditas Studio will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential losses arising from the website or services, including loss of anticipated profit, business opportunity, reputation, or data, when such loss was not a reasonably foreseeable direct result of Hereditas Studio’s breach.

Hereditas Studio is not responsible for loss caused by:

• The client’s failure to preserve original materials or backups;
• Inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by the client;
• Unauthorized materials submitted by the client;
• Printing or production performed by an independent third party;
• Changes made to the delivered work after delivery;
• Use outside the agreed purpose;
• Technical failures or events beyond reasonable control;
• A third party’s infringement, misuse, or republication.

To the extent permitted by law, Hereditas Studio’s aggregate liability arising from a particular commissioned project will not exceed the amount actually paid to Hereditas Studio for that project.

This limitation does not apply where liability cannot lawfully be limited, including liability resulting from fraud, willful misconduct, or other conduct for which exclusion is prohibited by law.

26. Client Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, the client agrees to be responsible for claims, losses, or reasonable expenses resulting from:

• The client’s lack of authority to submit or use materials;
• The client’s infringement of copyright, privacy, publicity, contractual, or other third-party rights;
• False or materially misleading information supplied by the client;
• Unlawful use of a delivered restoration;
• Modification or republication performed by the client or another party after delivery;
• The client’s material breach of these Terms or a project agreement.

This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim results from Hereditas Studio’s own unlawful conduct, unauthorized use, or material breach.

27. Events Beyond Reasonable Control

Neither party will be responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, severe weather, fire, power or internet failure, widespread platform outages, labor disruptions, government actions, public emergencies, illness, equipment failure, cyber incidents, or interruption of essential third-party services.

The affected party should communicate the delay when reasonably possible and resume performance when conditions permit.

28. Termination

Hereditas Studio may suspend or terminate website access or a project when reasonably necessary because of:

• Material breach of these Terms;
• Nonpayment;
• Fraud or misrepresentation;
• Abusive or threatening conduct;
• Unlawful instructions;
• Intellectual-property or privacy concerns;
• Repeated failure to provide required information or approvals;
• Technical or ethical impossibility;
• Risk to Hereditas Studio, the client, or another person.

Termination does not eliminate payment obligations for completed work, approved stages, or nonrecoverable expenses.

Provisions concerning payment, intellectual property, confidentiality, limitations of liability, dispute resolution, and other terms that logically survive termination will remain effective.

29. Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute arising from the website or services will be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, except where applicable federal law or nonwaivable consumer law provides otherwise.

Subject to any mandatory legal rights or jurisdictional requirements, legal proceedings concerning these Terms or Hereditas Studio’s services will be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Before filing a claim, the parties are encouraged to make a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute through written communication.

30. Electronic Communications

The client agrees that project discussions, estimates, approvals, revision instructions, invoices, and other communications may occur electronically.

Electronic acceptance, email approval, payment, or other conduct demonstrating agreement may be used as evidence of the parties’ agreement, subject to applicable law.

The client is responsible for providing accurate contact information and reviewing communications sent to the supplied address.

31. Changes to These Terms

Hereditas Studio may revise these Terms when its services, website, business practices, or legal obligations change.

The updated Terms will be posted with a revised date.

Changes will apply prospectively and will not retroactively alter the essential financial or usage terms of an already accepted project without the client’s agreement, except when a change is required by law or is necessary to address security or unlawful conduct.

32. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, that provision will be interpreted or limited to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in effect.

33. No Waiver

Failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive the right to enforce it later.

A waiver must be clear and apply only to the specific matter for which it is given.

34. Entire Agreement

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any accepted project-specific proposal, invoice, written instructions, or agreement constitute the applicable agreement between the client and Hereditas Studio concerning the website and commissioned services.

They replace prior discussions concerning the same subject to the extent those discussions conflict with the final accepted written terms.

35. Contact

Questions concerning these Terms and Conditions may be directed to: