Hi! I’m Carla, trading as Carla Watkins – Visual Magic Maker, and I have total respect for your personal data. You provide data to me in a number of ways by using this website and enquiring/booking my services, by email or my contact form, or making purchases/downloads from the shop (yay, shopping!).
Here’s what I collect & how I use it
Obviously if we are discussing a booking, I need to know who you are 🙂 Similarly if you order from the shop, I need to be able to get your order to you safely, whether physically or by the magic of the internet! (Srsly, what did we do without the internet?!)
I collect your email address, postal address & phone number – I use this to complete your order and contact you if there are any problems (for example, if your parcel gets returned to me because Royal Mail are having an off day).
I keep records of each booking and sale in a spreadsheet in Dropbox, plus in a hard copy folder in my office. I am obliged to keep these for the purpose of running my business properly and completing my tax return accurately. The folder is removed to a locked filing cabinet when I am away from home.
I collect (via Plutio) & retain details of you, your shoot session, your business, and location venue/details if relevant, and process this information only in order for me to provide whatever it is you have booked. I do not share this information except where necessary (for example, to ensure I have a petticoat in your size, or to check room sizes and photography permissions at a venue you have booked).
I keep this information (usually via email) in my email folders, within Plutio plus in hard copy in a folder in my studio along with my handwritten notes. The folder is removed to a locked filing cabinet when I am away from home.
Here’s where else your data may be used:
I use Shootproof as a gallery, contract & invoice service – again, in order for me to fulfil your booking, I have to enter your name, address & booking information here. All galleries are passworded so you can choose who to share them with. Shootproof is GDPR compliant, but all you will ever have to enter in the gallery is your email & the password/PIN I give you for downloading your beautiful images.
Shootproof also uses PayPal and Braintree and Stripe for payment processing. In person/at the studio, you can also use my card processors Square or SumUp to pay for upgrades or shop items, and again I never see your payment details.
My shop payment processor is Square and WooCommerce deals with the automated downloads – I never see your payment details.
My CRM is a combination of Plutio, Shootproof and Clickup – only essential information is kept here to enable me to give you the best possible service during your time with me.
If someone else has booked a shoot because you have said lovely things about me / your own shoot (thank you!)
I may send a little gift to you in the post – but I will probably ruin the surprise (#sorrynotsorry) and contact you first to check I have the correct postal address on file, and that you are happy to receive a thank you present from me. Who doesn’t love presents?!
Using photos for marketing purposes / sharing on social media
I love to share images from my gorgeous clients’ shoots on social media, my website, brochures, emails & other marketing, and also in albums, the walls of my studio and out & about at events & exhibitions.
The default (as outlined in your contract) is that I can use your images for marketing and will usually tag you where appropriate too – extra visibility, yay! Of course if you don’t want this to happen, you can let me know and I will always respect your wishes & privacy.
In the period between you booking your shoot and me delivering your final images, we will have various email, text, phone or in-person conversations. Some of these will talk about where I may use the images, and you may at any point request that they stay private.
This does not affect your right to use & share them yourself, with the commercial licence included in your booking.
Here are other things you need to know:
Marketing / newsletter consent
In various places around this website, on my social media pages and at workshops, fairs & events, you have the opportunity to sign up for my mailing list. This list is where I announce special offers, discounts, new things, personal projects, model calls and similar, and link to blogs, articles & other news & things of interest.
By signing up, you are giving me permission to send you these emails, and if at any time you would like to stop receiving them, you can do so with the unsubscribe link which appears at the bottom of every email I send.
Cookies
Mmmm, cookies! Sadly the ones this website uses are not the edible kind, but on the plus side, don’t leave crumbs! They are small files saved to your computer, which help make your user experience better.
This is a WordPress website, and uses Google Analytics to anonymously track user activity, which gives me data to make your user experience of this site better (because, y’know, there are enough shit websites on the internet without me adding to that list!). It may from time to time also use Meta cookies for advertising/retargeting purposes.
You are in total control of your cookies – you can switch permission on & off in the settings of your browser. However, please know that many modern websites will not function well without cookies.
Links to other websites
I link to lots of other lovely websites, and cannot take responsibility for the content of these. I do try to keep an eye on any links that are broken, but the contents of those sites are nothing to do with me.
Your rights under GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation gives you lots more control over your personal data – yay! If you want to know more, visit the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office – they do love their acronyms) and will tell you all about it.
Phew, we made it!
That’s pretty much it! A long way of saying, I’m doing my very best to be GDPR compliant, and will also do my best to stay up to date with it. However, I will also always prioritise your sessions & editing 🙂
Well done if you’ve read this far – and if you have any questions, you can contact me:
By email: hello@carlawatkins.com
By post:
Carla Watkins – Visual Magic Maker, 27 and 30 Wivenhoe Business Centre, Brook Street, Wivenhoe CO7 9DP
Last updated: 23 April 2024
