Did you know?
There is a law all about cookies? There is. You can read more about it on the ICO website if you are inclined. It’s very boring, so if you are an insomniac do head over there. They also have details of the rules for something called GDPR or “General Data Protection Regulations”. They are lengthy – you have been warned!
The short version of it is that we need to tell you about our cookies and about how we use your data. In the mean-time here is some information about your privacy on my website and in my business about my website’s cookie use and how you can opt out.
How Symply Boudoir Photography uses your information.
My basic rule of thumb is “how would I feel if my information was treated like that?” So whilst I do use contact details that you give me to send marketing information to you I give you ways to unsubscribe if you wish. I don’t share your name and email details and the like with other people. My aim is to be ethical
If you send an email to me, or if you use the ‘contact’ page you may wonder what happens to your details.
Actually, it is very simple. In both cases I see an email from you in my inbox. I will reply to that email, if a reply is needed.
What if you enquire about me doing a Boudoir session ? In that case you go on my database and I will follow up with you as needed. And because I occasionally use email marketing I will add you to my email list for my newsletter, if you have opted in, (I use MailChimp just now). If you don’t want emails from me in the future just tell me when you first contact me or unsubscribe when I send you an email – there is always an unsubscribe link.
The official stuff.
There are various headings that the Information Commissioner’s Office say should be in a Privacy Policy so here they are, and here are my answers to them.
What information is being collected?
I only get what you send me. Usually details like name/address/email address/phone number and of course things to do with your Boudoir sitting.
Who is collecting it?
Me! Ok, not always me. If you sign in to my client area to view images a company called Zenfolio looks after that for me. If you actually order prints another company (OneVision Imaging) does the orders for me and therefore your details get into their systems and they’ve got their own privacy policies.
How is it collected?
There are a few places that you can get in to “my system”. You might phone me. You might email me. You might use my contact form. You might register to view a gallery. You might place an order. You might fill in a form on another website that then sends me information. In each case I only collect what you give me. That’s usually details of your Boudoir sitting so that I can talk to you about potentially doing your photos
I put this all into my Customer Relationship Management system – something called Light Blue – and I use it to prompt me to do things like follow up with you, to send you contracts and so on. It actually reminds me to do things like check back if you’ve not chosen images for your album. I can’t remember to do everything, after all!
Why is it being collected?
I keep data simply to help me to help you. If I didn’t have your phone number/name/address I couldn’t even contact you to talk about your shoot in the first place.
How will it be used?
I’ve covered this in “how is it collected” above. Essentially I keep everything on my computer and my phone so that I can “do” your photos. Without my Light Blue system I wouldn’t be able to do such a smooth job.
Who will it be shared with?
Nobody. Nearly. As I said in “who is collecting it” – if you enter an order on my client system that goes to Zenfolio and then to the company that does my printing for those orders – usually , OneVision. They keep the data simply to fulfil the orders and so that I know who has gone into different galleries – that allows me to answer questions (that I do get) like “do you know if my aunt, a Mrs Jones has looked at our wedding at all?” I also keep names of people looking at galleries in case there are any problems with who is looking at galleries of images of my boudoir clients.
What will be the effect of this on the individuals concerned?
Well other than me doing a smoother job on their Boudoir sitting I can’t think of one!
Is the intended use likely to cause individuals to object or complain?
Not that I can see. If it were me I would expect my details to go into a system for any order I make. This is no different.
That’s the official stuff done.
As I say I try not to share details that you give to me with anyone else. I hate it when it happens to me and I will not sell/give your information away.
If you do not want further contact with me please simply email me and I will take you off my list, or hit that unsubscribe link in the email.
Oh and if you look at my testimonials page you’ll see stuff written by other clients. If you are kind enough to send me a thank-you card I am likely to scan it and put it up on that page and share it all over Facebook/Instagram/Twitter… it’s lovely when people thank me and I like to share that!
Warm Milk and Cookies
You have probably heard about cookies before. Like many other websites, Symply Boudoir Photography website uses cookies. The ones we use are looked after by Google Analytics and Facebook. They are used to help us analyse how users use our site and/or telling me where they came from (was it a Facebook advert or a Google advert, for example).
I use Facebook for marketing and if you visit my website and have a Facebook user id they will know (somehow – don’t ask me!). It’s just like if you visit Amazon and look at a pair of shoes and they miraculously appear elsewhere. I may appear on Facebook if you come here. Magic. Ditto Google.
The other cookies we use are MailChimp ones in our email campaigns so that we know if our emails are even being looked at!
The only other time we gather your data is if you buy images from one of my galleries. The details there are used, again, for email marketing and… well for sending you what you’ve purchased. My galleries are looked after by company that specialises in galleries (Zenfolio) and my orders are looked after by other companies that looks after printing products for me. They have their own privacy policy which is also GDPR compliant.
But I do not like cookies!
That’s fine by us. We use cookies only to find out how people use our site. If the vision of Big Brother worries you – turn them off. The site will still work. It’s fairly easy – even my Antivirus/Firewall software has a tool for turning cookies off if I don’t want them these days so there are plenty of ways of stopping the Google Analytics cookies if you don’t want them.
Links to other sites
Of course, other sites that we have links to are not in our control and this privacy policy does not cover the links within this site that go elsewhere.
Where you do find links on this site they have been put there because we think they may have something of use to you.
Warm Milk and Cookies – again
I know it is not really anything to do with the privacy policy but my reference to Warm Milk and Cookies is from something someone gave me many years ago on a bit of A4 paper titled Warm Milk and Cookies. If you have never read it the quote from Robert Fulghum’s book called All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten is well worth the read. Songs of similar ilk exist, but this is the original. Enjoy.