Welcome to Swiss Photo Club Sàrl website for Swiss French speaking region.

If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy and cookies policy govern Swiss Photo Club Sàrl’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.

The term ‘Swiss Photo Club Sàrl’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ or ‘SPC’ refers to the owner of the website. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.

Terms of Use

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

  • Only the English version of this Contract has probative force between Infomaniak and the Customer. The translations found on Swiss Photo Club Website(s) are simply guidelines, only the interpretation of the English version will prevail in case of dispute.
  • The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
  • This website uses cookies to monitor browsing preferences. Please see our Privacy Policy for full explanation.
  • You may not use our sites, services or tools if you are not able to form legally binding contracts, are under the age of 18, or are temporarily or indefinitely suspended from using our sites, services or tools.
  • Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  • Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
  • In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
  • This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
  • All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.
  • Unauthorized use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offense.
  • Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Swiss Photo Club SARL. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites, and we can not be held responsible for any items which are on third-party websites or purchases of products from these third party websites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
  • Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Swiss Photo Club SARL takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
  • Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of Switzerland.

Copyright

The content of this website (https://www.swissphotoclub.com), including all text, html, CSS and other code, photographs, graphics, images and pdf documents, is copyrighted by Swiss Photo Club SARL, its affiliates and/or the original copyright holder. The trademarks, logos and service marks displayed on this website are registered or unregistered trademarks of Swiss Photo Club SARL, its partners, affiliates or others. Nothing contained on this website shall be construed as granting any license or right to use any trademark, text, photographs and images or any other copyrightable material displayed without the written permission of Swiss Photo Club SARL or such other third party that may own the trademark or copyrightable material. You may not, without written permission, use any such marks or the Swiss Photo Club SARL name in any manner that disparages or discredits Swiss Photo Club SARL.

Terms of Business

Booking a course, class or workshop, arranging a personal tuition session, as well as placing an order with Swiss Photo Club SARL constitutes an acceptance of our Terms and Conditions.

In order to get the most from our courses and classes customers should ensure that they arrive promptly and attend each session in full. If you find out that you are unable to attend a course, please let us know immediately by email hello [at] swissphotoclub [dot] com or telephone 0800 800 472.

Where a customer conduct is unacceptable (in our reasonable opinion), we reserve the right to request that the customer leaves the class and our studio premises. No refund of any fees will be made.

Swiss Photo Club SARL is entitled to change the venue and make minor changes to the timing and content of any advertised courses and classes. In the unlikely event that we have to replace a tutor, we will make every effort to ensure the replacement tutor has similar expertise.

Liability

Please ensure you take care of all your personal possessions as Swiss Photo Club SARL cannot accept any liability for them.

Please note that in the unlikely event of any damage to our customers or visitors possessions like: clothing, computers, laptops, cameras, lenses, and any other goods or materials, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, our maximum liability is limited to the cost of replacement of the item or materials only. No responsibility will be accepted for indirect or consequential loss and ‘sentimental value’ damages, and it shall be the responsibility of the customers / visitors to arrange adequate and appropriate insurance against the risk of any loss or damage.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by customers resulting from any events which are beyond the reasonable control of Swiss Photo Club SARL.

Cancellation Policy for Group Courses

For organizational reasons, we reserve the right to postpone, change the location or reduce the number of hours of any course if the minimum number of participants have not been reached or in case of Force Majeure. For all cancellations by us, your payment can be fully refunded or used for another course or service.

Short Term group courses (30 hours or less):

14 days before the course: Full refund or a credit for another course is possible.

Until 7 days before the course: Full credit for another course is possible. Refund: if we fill your place from the standby list – 100%, otherwise 50%.

Less than 7 days: Full credit for another course is possible only if we manage to fill your place from the standby list. Refund is not possible.

3 days or less: In this case, we regret that there will be no refund. It’s only possible to reschedule your participation if you provide us a medical report.

In the unlikely event that we have to cancel or reschedule a course due to tutors illness, absence or in any other circumstances, we will offer a full refund or transfer the registration to another course up to the same value.

Long Term SPC Academy group courses (More than 30 hours):

A deposit or a full upfront payment is required to guarantee student’s spot in our SPC Academy classes. Swiss Photo Club undertakes to start an SPC Academy class within 30 days of advertised start date. In case of insufficient student numbers, the SPC reserves the right to cancel the program with a 30-day notice for year-long programs and a 15-day notice for the remaining SPC Academy workshops. SPC will then suggest alternative solutions or priority deferrals into programs of the same type. If a program is cancelled by Swiss Photo Club, participants receive full refunds of the payments already made (except for Visa Support Documents handling).

Cancellation and reimbursement at the request of the student are subject to different conditions depending on the program and the request date. Students who wish to cancel their registration before the beginning of their course must send a registered letter to Swiss Photo Club.

1 Year Program:

  • 45 days before the course: Full refund or a credit for another course is possible
  • Until 30 days before the class starts: Full credit for a future 1 year program is possible.
  • Less than 30 days: The student will remain committed up to 100% of the total tuition of the course.

SPC Academy programs other than the 1 year:

  • 30 days before the course: Full refund or a credit for another course is possible
  • Until 20 days before the class starts: Full credit for a future 1 year program is possible.
  • Less than 20 days: The student will remain committed up to 100% of the total tuition of the course.

Short term illness of the student that prevent him/her to pursue a significant part of the training may qualify the student for a credit for another class of the same course, provided relevant medical documents.

The following exceptions apply:

  • Permanent long-term illness or disability of the student, preventing him/her to pursue the training,
  • Death of the student
  • Death of a close relative, compelling the student to return with his/her family and support them financially.

In these cases, the student (or his/her legal claimant) will send a registered letter to Swiss Photo Club, containing the relevant certified documents, such as a medical and other certificate. The refund will only concern the fees that have been paid in advance, on a pro rata basis for the time elapsed.

VISA/RESIDENCY PERMIT FOR NON-SWISS STUDENTS

For any student who need a visa during their stay in Switzerland, Swiss Photo Club can provide an acceptance letter to support their application after receiving the required deposit. The visa support letter fee is CHF 50.- To check the rules per country, please check the official guidance at this link:

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/entry-switzerland-residence/visa-requirements-application-form.html

Cancellation Policy for Private Lessons

Up to 3 days before the session: Rescheduling of a new session is possible at no extra cost.

For re-scheduling without penalty, the cancellation of the session must be communicated to the instructor at least 3 days in advance. If the student cancels the session less than 3 days in advance, one hour will be charged.

100% Satisfaction / Money Back Guarantee:

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all our short term group courses. Conditions:

  1. The student has to attend the full course before claiming non satisfaction
  2. The student must provide evidence that the instructor did not perform or did not cover what is promised in the course description
  3. The claim has to be made in written form within fourteen days after the course is completed

Definition of Force Majeure

War, riot, fire, internal or external strikes, lock-out, occupation of the premises of one of the parties, bad weather, earthquake, flood, water damage, legal or governmental restrictions, legal or normative modifications of the forms of marketing, accidents of all kinds, epidemic (to see), pandemic (to see), disease affecting more than fifteen (15)% of the personnel of one of the parties in a period of two consecutive months, absence of energy supply, partial or total shutdown of the Internet network and, more generally, of private or public telecommunications networks, road blockages and impossibility of supply and any other case beyond the express will of the parties preventing the normal performance of this agreement . The party affected by a case of force majeure will immediately notify the other party by mail or by any other means, confirmed by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, providing supporting documents. The other party reserves the right to verify and verify the reality of the facts. In the event that one of the parties invokes a case of force majeure, it will do everything possible to reduce as much as possible the damaging effects resulting from this situation.
If the cases of force majeure have a duration of more than three (3) months, this contract will be terminated automatically, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

Termination clause in the event of force majeure

In the event of cancellation or change of date prior to an entire training offered by the Swiss Photo Club due to force majeure, the Swiss Photo Club informs the client of the cancellation and endeavors to offer him a replacement service of same value. If this cancellation concerns only part of the service and does not compromise the entire service, replacement dates or services will then be offered. If the customer agrees to the initial replacement, the amounts already paid in this regard are charged to the price of the new service and any difference is refunded to the customer. If the replacement service is more expensive than that initially contracted, only the price of the latter will have to be paid. If the customer renounces the proposed replacement and terminates the contract, the amounts already paid are returned to the customer. All other claims of the customer are excluded. If a customer cancels their reservation before force majeure occurs, they will not be able to reverse their decision to claim the full refund and will have to pay the applicable cancellation fee.

Gift voucher refund policy

Gift Vouchers are not refundable (partly or fully). They are not transferrable to anybody else other than the mentioned recipient.

The recipient can use the amount assigned to the gift voucher as a discount, to register to a more expensive course.

Photo Awards: Photography Competition

By uploading a photo, the participant confirms that they created the photo, hold all rights to the photo (specifically copyrights) and that the photo is free from third-party rights. Participation in the competition requires the express consent of any person(s) featured in the photo regarding the publication of the photo within the context of this competition. If minors are featured in the photo, the participant affirms that they have the consent of the legal guardians (parents). The participant guarantees that no personal or other rights of any person(s) featured in the photo will be breached. The participant shall fully indemnify Swiss Photo Club against any claims.

By taking part, the participant grants Swiss Photo Club an irrevocable, general and unlimited right to use the uploaded photo(s) for its marketing and PR work related to SPC Photo Awards. This includes the options of reproduction, publication, depiction and distribution for the photo. This permission includes the use of the submitted photos for
– presentation in exhibitions,
– publication on the internet and in social networks (which may include adaptation to the format of specific channels; e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Meetup, etc),
– inclusion in other publications, including publications by third parties in press reports.
Any further commercial use requires the separate consent of the participant.

The participant confirms that all details (name, surname, email address etc.) are correct. Swiss Photo Club reserves the right to verify the details of the participant.

The participant acknowledges and accepts that their data (photo and all information such as surname, first name, email address, etc.) is physically stored in the IT infrastructure of Swiss Photo Club.

Any time before the submission deadline, the participant may send an email to hello [at] swissphotoclub.com to revoke their consent and in doing so withdraw from the competition. In this case, the participant’s data shall be deleted.

Swiss Photo Club is entitled to disqualify individual participants from the competition if we believe that we has a legitimate reason to do so; e.g. a breach of the Terms and Conditions, for influence or manipulation of the competition, or for violent, vulgar or racist imagery, etc. If a participant is disqualified from the competition, the prize can be withdrawn and reclaimed, even retroactively.

If, despite having been prompted to do so twice, a winner fails to respond within seven days, their win shall be forfeit and the prize can be awarded to another participant. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the competition. The decision of the judges is final. Participants have no enforceable rights to be given the prize, to have the prize paid out or to exchange the prize.

Swiss Photo Club reserves the right to amend the terms and conditions of the competition, participation or selection, etc., at any time. Furthermore, Swiss Photo Club reserves the right to terminate or interrupt the competition at any time. In particular, this applies if circumstances occur that would disrupt or prevent the competition from running as planned. Participants cannot derive any claims from this.

Where legally permissible, Swiss Photo Club rejects all contractual and non-contractual liability. In particular, Swiss Photo Club cannot be held liable for actions or inaction on the part of participants or third parties, or for damage caused by technical problems (especially during transfer and storage), defective storage, force majeure, natural disasters, official orders etc. The waiver also applies to the personal liability of employees, representatives and vicarious agents. Participant enter the competition on their own responsibility and at their own risk.

If any individual provision of the Terms and Conditions of Participation should be ineffective, this shall not affect the effectiveness of the remaining provisions. The ineffective provision shall be replaced by an effective, enforceable provision that best approximates the objective pursued by Swiss Photo Club.

The participant must ensure that the photos they upload comply with applicable laws and the Terms and Conditions of Participation. The following are examples of prohibited content:

  • images that may be punishable under criminal law (e.g. National Socialist material, material glorifying war and violence, racist material, sexist material, child pornography, violent or other pornographic material and incitements to commit criminal offenses),
  • any kind of content and depiction that puts children or young people at risk,
  • the duplication, distribution and public disclosure of copyrighted works if the user is not in possession of the necessary licenses,
  • the publication of photos featuring people without the consent of those people,
  • the publication of personal data belonging to third parties without their consent,
  • use of the competition (exclusively) for political or religious purposes.

Generally speaking, aesthetic nude photography is permitted. The judges shall decide at their own discretion whether a submitted photo is entitled to participate as aesthetic nude photography, or whether to disqualify it on the grounds of unacceptable erotic, sexual or pornographic content.

In the event of a breach of the aforementioned Terms and Conditions of Participation, the judges or Swiss Photo Club reserve the right to disqualify participants from the competition. In the event of justified suspicion of misuse, manipulation or unauthorized or illegal use of the competition, the participants in question will be disqualified from the competition immediately and without prior notice.

Refunds:

If you made your payment and sent your photos, your payment is not refundable.

If you made the payment but did not send your photo(s), you can contact us for a credit for a future course or a full refund.

Photography Trip Conditions & Refunds:

Travel Insurance:

It is a condition of booking a holiday that you are covered by medical and personal accident insurance. This should include repatriation back home.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are adequately insured as soon as you book your holiday as this ensures that your deposit is protected.

Cancellations and Refunds:

IF WE CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY

We do our best to avoid any cancellations and changed to our holidays. However, given the very long term planning required for these trips, this can be sometimes unavoidable.We must therefore reserve the right to cancel or make changes to all our trips. This includes cancellations due to force majeure or under booking. See definitions below. With the exception of force majeure, these changes can be major or minor.

In the case of a major change or cancellation (a major change is defined as a change to accommodation of a lower rating for all of your holiday or a change of holiday dates) we will advise you as soon as possible and we give you the following options:

  • Accept the new arrangements
  • In case of an external agency booking is involved: Use your flight and do the trip anyway with the agency and get a partial refund of all payments except the agency fees already paid
  • Take an alternative holiday subject to availability (if a lower price we will refund the difference; if a higher price you must pay the difference)
  • Withdraw and accept a full refund of all monies paid (excluding holiday insurance premiums or additional costs we have incurred on your behalf, such as local agency fees)

In the event of a minor change (any change that is not defined as a major change above or force majeure), the above options will not be available to you. Every trip is slightly different when executing, so the descriptions and the schedules on the page are possible to change, many times for your own benefit. We also reserve the right for any reason or at any time, at our sole discretion, to decline to accept or to retain any person on a holiday as a client particularly if their conduct is disruptive and affecting the enjoyment of other participants on the trip, and we shall be under no liability for any costs incurred by such a person as a result of our doing so.

FORCE MAJEURE is the unusual and unforeseeable circumstance beyond our control, the consequences of which neither we or our suppliers could avoid, examples of which are war or threat of war, hostilities, labor conflicts, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, level of water in rivers, or other similar events beyond our control. In these cases, Swiss Photo Club may cancel the proposed voyage without liability to refund passage money or fares paid in advance.

UNDER BOOKING is the situation in which the minimum number of clients required to operate the tour is not met. That number is 5 and we may cancel the tour in these circumstances. In this instance, you are entitled to receive a full refund for the holiday cost (excluding flights or additional costs you have incurred as a result of booking the holiday). Therefore it’s important to wait for our confirmation of the trip before you book your flights.

IF YOU CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY

If for any reason you decide not to travel (rather than cancel your booking and incur cancellation charges), you may transfer your booking to another trip offer. The option to transfer must be taken up 90 days or more prior to the commencement date. Transfers from discounted holidays are not permitted. All monies due to us at the time of the transfer shall become nonrefundable and may only be used against an alternative holiday taken within 12 months of the original booked holiday. Should the total cost of the alternative holiday be less than the transferred monies no refunds or further transfers will be permitted. The right to transfer is subject to an administrative fee equivalent to 20% of the cancellation charge defined in the trip page. This fee is payable within 7 days of receipt of transfer confirmation.

If for any reason you cancel your holiday after you made your booking via full or partial payment, you must notify us in writing. The cancellation of your holiday comes into effect upon receipt of the written notification from you.

Unless differently stated in the trip description, the following conditions apply to cancellations and booking changes for each trip:

  • Up to 90 Days: 20% of the price is held as cancellation
  • 89 – 31 Days: 50% of the price is held as cancellation
  • 30 – 0 Days: 100% of the price is held as cancellation

Please note that some of the trips have stricter cancellation rules due to agencies we work with. In these cases, the cancellation policy in the trip description applies.

Tickets are not for resale.

Membership with Swiss Photo Club

Your membership payment entitles you to all advantages offered in your country during the validity of your membership. Your payment does not cover any additional expenses occurred during workshops, including food/drinks/models/entry fees etc.

Penalty Fee for Non-attendance / Cancellations of participation in a practice workshop by a registered person:

    • Up to 24 hours before of the workshop: CHF 90.-
    • Between 25hrs and 72hrs before the workshop: CHF 20.-
    • More than 72 hours before the workshop: No penalty
    • Cancellation with medical certificate: No penalty

Membership Refund Policy:

You are entitled to a full refund during the 14 days after the subscription begins, provided that you have not joined any practice workshops or benefited from any discounts before your refund request. Please note that this 14-day period commences when the subscription starts.

For credit card purchases, your subscription is normally set to renew automatically at the end of your subscription. However you can cancel automatic renewal any time before the renewal date.

Photo Studio Rental

The rental must begin and end during the reservation hours; installation and cleaning time must take place during the hours fixed for the reservation. An hourly supplement of CHF 90.- per hour will be applied for each additional hour that goes beyond the rental conditions.

  • For cancellation more than 7 days before shoot: 100% refund
  • For cancellation 5-7 days before shoot: 100% credit towards a future shoot
  • For cancellation 3-5 days before shoot: 75%% credit towards a future shoot
  • For cancellation 48-72 hours before shoot: 50% credit towards a future shoot
  • For cancellation 24-48 hours before shoot: 25% credit towards a future shoot
  • For cancellation within 24 hours before shoot: no refund or credit

Feedback and Complaints

Our courses and classes are designed to provide an enjoyable and quality experience for those attending.

In the event of a complaint, please make your complaint in writing and send it to: Swiss Photo Club SARL, 5 Rue Henri-Christiné, 1207 Genève, Switzerland. We take any complaint seriously and will aim to investigate and respond as quickly as possible and in any event within 30 days.