Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We are based in Cancun, Mexico, Quintana Roo

Yes, although we are based in Cancun, we travel all around the Riviera Maya including Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Isla Mujeres, Playa Mujeres, Akumal, Tulum, and Cozumel. Our prices are based on location and include travel and ferry fees. We also travel for destination weddings to other parts of Mexico and outside of Mexico. We partner with our sister company in Las Vegas for events within United States and Canada.

We cover a wide range of photography services however, we most commonly do life portraits (including couples, families, engagements, proposals, maternity/babymoon and seniors), weddings, and underwater photography

We are Agustin and Jill Murillo, a husband and wife team. We work together at most events however, during our high season, we have a select group of associate photographers that join our team seasonally.

We have been doing photography for 25 years total. We started our photography business in California in 1993 and expanded our services to Cancun in 2004 where we were widely accepted in the community and among tourism. We are a formally established and stable company with a long and good standing reputation and a continuous demand yearlong.

One of the most repeated compliments we get back from our clients is how passionate and lively we are about our photography. Our sessions are full of energy and have a constant flow so you have fun and we are able to capture your true smiles and expressions.

If we are able to photograph onsite at your hotel, the session will be done there. If we are able to access the beach area of your hotel from a public point, we will meet you at the hotel beach. If neither of the above is possible, we will recommend the closest beach access to your hotel and meet your there for the session. It is very important to have the correct name of your hotel and the address so we can pact the location of the session before your arrival.

The session mainly includes the beach background however, if we are able to photograph at your hotel and have other scenarios available, we are happy to photograph at different locations. If we meet at a local beach, some beaches have grassy areas available as well as beach. In this case, we can do both scenarios during your session time.

We recommend wearing color coordinated outfits so everyone matches nicely. Bright colors look great against the white sand and blue ocean. Solid colors always photograph nicely versus patterns. A basic way to go would be to choose the same colored bottom whether it be shorts, pants or a skirt along with different or same colored tops.

You are welcome to have an outfit change during your photo session. We recommend one change, so you can have a formal outfit and a casual outfit. We like to start with the formal outfit first then finalize the session with the casual outfit so we can capture a couple of splashes in the water. If you have more changes, we recommend adding more time. If you are doing a honeymoon session or XV session and will wear your formal attire, we automatically add an extra hour to the price for these specialty sessions.

We do not provide props and recommend bringing your own if you wish to have a little more variety in your photos. Ideas would include sunglasses, hats, signs, chalkboard, letters, flowers, etc…

All you need to do is enjoy the session. We will give ideas and direct the photo session. We like to combine some posed photography along with fun moments as they happen naturally. If you have a specific idea in mind, please feel welcome to show us your idea and we will do our best to make it happen.

An hour is enough time for a family up to 6 persons. This gives us plenty of time to capture the group, couples, individuals and special requests. If the group is larger than 6 persons, we would need to quote you our multi-family prices which include more time.

We like to schedule most of our sessions about 90 minutes before sunset. This is a great time when the sun is not too harsh on the eyes and the heat is bearable. For trash the dress sessions, we require bright daylight sun and schedule sessions in the morning hours. If you prefer morning hours because of a tour, we can accommodate to your schedule.

Sunrise is the only time you will see the sun on the ocean side in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, or Tulum. It’s a beautiful experience and an opportunity to capture amazing photos. All sunrise sessions are two hours long so we can capture silhouettes and photos with full sunlight. There is an additional fee for the additional hour of photography. Please inquire for more information.

Our turnaround time is 2 weeks for beach photos and 8 weeks for wedding photos to allow time for production. You will receive a viewing gallery where you will be able to view, share, and download your high resolution jpeg images. A shopping cart is also available if you wish to use our recommended U.S. based photo lab to order printed photos and canvas enlargements.

We make a selection of the best images to eliminate blinks and any camera bloopers. After those are removed, you get to keep the rest of the photos. We guarantee a minimum of 125 images for beach sessions and 75 images per hour for weddings.

During our production process, we enhance your photos to include color correction for best skin tones, cropping, sharpening and contrast. Each photo is individually worked on so this can be a timely process which is why we kindly ask for your patience during our production process. Retouching, which would include, removing objects, head switches, blemish removal, correct flyaway hairs and such is NOT included but can be done at an additional price per image.

You can easily save your high resolution jpeg images on a USB drive of 8GB or larger and print at your local lab. Usually, you will NOT need a print authorization however, we can provide one upon request.

Cancun Studios owns the Copyright of the photos however, you will have permission to print, display, and share the photos on social media. It’s important to understand, Cancun Studios has the right to also publicly display the photos on social media and use the photos for marketing purposes. If you are uncomfortable with your photos being used, please make sure to let us know ahead of time so we can come to an agreement.

Once you have selected your date and the package that suits you best, you can reserve our photography services with a minimum non-refundable deposit. Our deposit for for each service varies.
Beach Session – $100usd
Wedding – $250usd
Trash the Dress – $150usd
Video – $150usd
Real Estate – $250usd
Groups and Events – 50% of total invoice

When your date is reserved on our calendar, we no longer take bookings for your same date. We even turn away business if necessary. So if a date is cancelled we have lost business. Therefore, monies paid in advance by the client shall be retained by Cancun Studios in order to offset its loss of business in the case of a cancellation.

The balance is due on or before the day of the session. We prefer payment in cash, both US dollars or Mexican pesos are accepted. If you pay in pesos, please ask for the exchange rate for that day since it changes daily. If you would like to pay ahead of time, you can do so via Paypal (add 5.5% service fee), direct deposit or wire transfer to our American bank account. (Please ask for banking information ahead of time)

If there is a valid reason to re-schedule, we are pretty flexible in re-scheduling to our next available date. A fee may apply.

Rain is sporadic in the Caribbean and this can be a likely scenario. Usually, we will be in contact since early in the day when there is rain. We monitor the day and days ahead of us and mutually agree on a new time or date if necessary. There is no re-scheduling fee for rainy days.

In the case that we are unable to move forward with the session because of rain, we will refund 50% of your deposit so we can recoup our lost business and you can recoup some of your loss as well.

For a wedding, hotels will usually change the ceremony and reception venue to indoor areas. However, they may sometimes change the wedding date in extreme situations such as a hurricane. In this case, we will work with you and the hotel to accomodate our services to your new date.