PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: May 2026

1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Privacy Policy for Estherography. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This policy informs you how we look after your personal data when you visit our website, book a session, or use our digital galleries.

2. THE DATA CONTROLLER

Estherography is the data controller responsible for your personal data.

  • Legal Status: Sole Trader

  • Location: Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom

  • Email Contact: contact@estherography.com

3. THE DATA WE COLLECT

We collect, store, and process the minimum personal information necessary to provide our services:

  • Identity Data: First name, last name.

  • Contact Data: Email address, telephone number, billing address.

  • Visual Data: Digital photographs captured during your scheduled photography sessions.

  • Communication Data: Messages sent via email, website forms, or social media platforms.

4. LAWFUL BASIS FOR PROCESSING

We only process your data when the law allows us to. We rely on the following legal bases:

  • Performance of a Contract: To fulfill bookings, deliver galleries, and process payments.

  • Legitimate Interests: To communicate regarding your booking and manage business operations.

  • Consent: We will only publish your images on our public portfolio, website, or social media channels if you provide explicit, written consent. You can withdraw this consent at any time.

5. HOW WE COLLECT AND STORE YOUR DATA

We collect data directly from you and use industry-standard cloud platforms to store and process it:

  • Squarespace: Hosts our website and captures contact form inquiries.

  • Stripe: Processes online invoice payments securely. We never see or store your credit card details.

  • Zenfolio: Hosts password-protected digital galleries for image selection and download.

  • Social Media & Email: Messages sent to us are stored securely on our password-protected devices and platform accounts.

6. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

The third-party platforms we use (Squarespace, Stripe, Zenfolio) store data on servers based in the United States. These transfers are protected by standard contractual clauses and legal safeguards approved under the UK GDPR to ensure your data remains secure.

7. DATA RETENTION

  • Client Contact & Billing Data: Retained for up to 7 years to comply with UK tax laws.

  • Visual Data (Photographs): We store your digital photographs for a period of 6 or 12 months following your session. After this period, files are permanently deleted from our storage systems and galleries.

8. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS

Under the UK GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data and images.

  • Request correction of inaccurate data.

  • Request erasure of your data or photographs (where we no longer have a contractual or legal obligation to keep them).

  • Withdraw consent for portfolio or social media usage at any time.

  • To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@estherography.com

9. THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE

You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO, so please contact us first.