Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 October 2026

S A Thomson Photography respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit my website, make an enquiry, book photography services, attend an event that I photograph, or otherwise interact with S A Thomson Photography.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, S A Thomson Photography is the data controller responsible for your personal information.

1. Information I may collect

Depending on how you interact with S A Thomson Photography, I may collect and process information including:

- your name;

- email address;

- telephone number;

- home or correspondence address where required;

- wedding or event details, including dates, venues and timings;

- information you provide through enquiry, consultation or booking forms;

- details required to prepare and administer photography contracts;

- payment and transaction information;

- correspondence between you and S A Thomson Photography;

- photographs and video containing identifiable individuals;

- information relating to your preferences and photography requirements;

- website usage information, such as IP address, browser type and information collected through cookies or similar technologies.

I only collect information that is reasonably necessary for the services I provide or for the operation of my business.

2. How I collect your information

I may collect personal information when you:

- complete an enquiry or contact form on my website;

- contact me by email, telephone, social media or another messaging service;

- arrange a consultation;

- book photography services;

- complete a booking questionnaire or wedding information form;

- sign a photography agreement;

- make a payment;

- access an online photography gallery;

- interact with my website;

- attend a wedding, event or photography session that I am contracted to photograph.

For weddings and events, photographs may also contain guests and other individuals who are not direct clients of S A Thomson Photography.

3. How I use your information

I may use personal information to:

- respond to enquiries;

- provide quotations and information about my services;

- discuss and plan your photography requirements;

- enter into and fulfil photography contracts;

- communicate with you before, during and after your booking;

- photograph weddings, events and portrait sessions;

- edit, process, store and deliver photographs;

- provide online galleries and other image delivery services;

- process payments and maintain financial records;

- manage bookings and my business administration;

- deal with questions, complaints or legal matters;

- maintain appropriate backups of photography and business records;

- improve my services and website;

- promote S A Thomson Photography where I have an appropriate lawful basis to do so.

I will not sell your personal information to third parties.

4. Lawful bases for processing your information

UK data protection law requires me to have a lawful basis for processing personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on the following:

### Contract

Where you make an enquiry about my services or book S A Thomson Photography, I need to process certain personal information in order to take steps towards entering into a contract and to fulfil that contract.

This includes communicating with you, preparing your booking, providing photography services and delivering your photographs.

### Legal obligation

I may need to retain or process certain information to comply with legal obligations, including accounting, taxation and other regulatory requirements.

### Legitimate interests

I may process personal information where it is necessary for the legitimate operation of S A Thomson Photography and where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

These interests may include:

- managing and developing my photography business;

- maintaining appropriate business and photography records;

- protecting and backing up photographs;

- preventing fraud and protecting my legal rights;

- photographing people attending weddings and events as part of documenting the occasion;

- responding to enquiries and maintaining appropriate records of communications.

When relying on legitimate interests, I consider the nature of the information, how it is being used and the reasonable expectations of the people concerned.

### Consent

In some circumstances I may ask for your consent before using your personal information for a particular purpose.

Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

5. Photographs and identifiable individuals

Photography is central to the services provided by S A Thomson Photography and photographs may constitute personal data where an individual can be identified.

For weddings and events, it would not normally be practical to obtain individual consent from every person appearing in photographs. Photographs may therefore be captured and processed where this is necessary for providing the contracted photography service and/or where there is an appropriate legitimate interest in documenting the event.

I take reasonable steps to respect the privacy of individuals attending events.

If you have concerns about a photograph in which you appear, please contact me and I will consider the circumstances and any appropriate action.

6. Use of photographs for my portfolio and marketing

I may wish to display photographs from photography sessions or weddings in places such as:

- the S A Thomson Photography website;

- social media accounts;

- online and printed portfolios;

- wedding directories;

- promotional materials;

- photography competitions, exhibitions or publications.

The basis on which photographs are used for promotional purposes will depend on the circumstances, the nature of the photograph and any agreement made with the client.

Particular care will be taken where photographs prominently feature children or where their use could reasonably be considered sensitive or unexpected.

You can contact me at any time if you have concerns about the promotional use of a photograph featuring you.

7. Children

Wedding and family photography will sometimes include children.

I recognise that children require particular consideration under data protection law and will take appropriate care when processing and publishing photographs of children.

Where appropriate, permission may be sought from a parent or person with parental responsibility before photographs primarily featuring a child are used for promotional or marketing purposes.

8. Sharing your information

I may use trusted third-party providers where necessary to operate my business and provide my photography services.

These may include providers of:

- website hosting;

- online photography galleries;

- cloud storage and backups;

- image editing and photography software;

- email and communications;

- payment processing;

- accounting and bookkeeping;

- printing and photographic products;

- IT services and security.

These organisations may process personal information on my behalf or independently where necessary to provide their services.

I only share information where reasonably necessary and expect service providers handling personal information on my behalf to protect it appropriately.

I may also disclose information where required by law or where reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

9. International transfers

Some technology, cloud storage, website, gallery or software providers may process or store information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, I take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law.

## 10. How long I keep your information

I will not retain personal information for longer than is reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

Different information may need to be retained for different periods.

For example:

- enquiry information may be retained for a reasonable period to allow me to respond to and manage enquiries;

- client, contractual and payment records may be retained for the period required for business, taxation, accounting and legal purposes;

- correspondence relating to bookings may be retained where reasonably necessary as part of my business records;

- photographs may be retained for longer periods as part of my photography archive and backup arrangements.

When information is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymised where appropriate.

11. Security

I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction.

These measures include appropriate password protection, access controls, secure storage and backup arrangements.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure and absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

12. Cookies and website analytics

My website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate correctly, understand how visitors use the website and improve its performance.

Some cookies are essential for the operation of the website. Other cookies, such as analytics or advertising cookies, may require your permission before they are placed on your device.

Where required, you will be given an opportunity to manage your cookie preferences.

Further information about the cookies used on this website may be provided through the website's cookie settings or cookie notice.

13. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you rights concerning your personal information.

These may include the right to:

- ask for access to the personal information I hold about you;

- ask for inaccurate information to be corrected;

- ask for information to be deleted in certain circumstances;

- ask for processing to be restricted;

- object to certain types of processing;

- receive certain information in a portable format;

- withdraw consent where processing relies on consent.

These rights are not absolute and whether a particular right applies will depend on the circumstances and the lawful basis on which the information is being processed.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact S A Thomson Photography.

14. Complaints

If you have concerns about how I have handled your personal information, please contact me in the first instance so that I can try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection.

Further information is available at the ICO website: [www.ico.org.uk](http://www.ico.org.uk).

15. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how S A Thomson Photography handles personal information, please contact:

S A Thomson Photography

Website: www.sathomsonphotography.com

Email: [email protected]

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my services, business practices or legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this website with the date it was last updated.