Your privacy, looked after

Who I am

This website and Fitlike Photography are run by Mike Custer, a photographer based in Elgin, Moray, Scotland. I’m responsible for your personal information (the law calls this the “controller”).

If you have any questions about this policy or your information, email me at mike@fitlikephotography.co.uk or call 07889 850804.

What I collect

When you get in touch

The contact form asks for your name, email address and phone number, what you’re planning, the date and venue or location, and your message. You can also tell me roughly how many guests you’re expecting and how you found me. I also record the internet (IP) address the form was sent from, to help stop spam and misuse.

Your enquiry is saved securely on this website and emailed to me, so nothing gets lost.

When you book

If you book, I’ll also need details such as your address, the plan for your day or shoot (times, places, and names for group photos) and records of your payments. I never see or store your card details.

When you visit this website

The site keeps its own simple visitor statistics, without cookies. It records the page you viewed, the website that linked you here, your type of browser and device, and a shortened version of your IP address with the last part removed. Each visitor gets an anonymous code that changes every day and can’t be traced back to you. I use these figures to see which pages are popular and to improve the site. They never leave this website, and they’re deleted automatically after 12 months.

Like every website, the company that hosts this one also keeps short-term technical logs, including IP addresses, to keep it secure and running.

How I use your information

• To reply to your enquiry and check my availability — because you’ve asked me to, and so we can agree a booking.
• To provide your photography — planning, shooting, editing and delivering your photos, and keeping in touch about your booking. This is needed for our contract.
• To keep business and tax records — because the law requires it.
• To run and improve this website — visitor statistics, spam protection and security. These are my “legitimate interests”, and they never override your rights.
• With your permission — for example Google Analytics cookies, or sharing your photos (see below). You can withdraw your permission at any time.

I won’t send you marketing emails unless you’ve asked for them, and I never sell or rent your information.

Your photographs

Photography is personal, so I’m careful with your images. I’ll only share your photos on this website, on social media or in competitions with your permission, and you can ask me to take them down at any time.

Photos can sometimes reveal sensitive details, such as a religious ceremony or a pregnancy, and many include children. I only use them to create the photography you’ve asked for. I won’t publish them without your explicit permission, or a parent’s or guardian’s for children.

Who I share it with

I only share your information when it’s needed to provide my service, and only with companies that look after it properly:

• my website host and email provider, which store this website and my messages
• the online gallery I use to deliver your photos, and professional labs if you order prints or albums
• my accountant, for tax records
• Google, which runs the “I’m not a robot” check on the contact form, and Google Analytics if you allow it

If you buy from my online print shop, which runs on Pixieset, your order is handled by Pixieset under its own privacy policy.

Some of these services store information outside the UK. When they do, they’re bound by UK-approved safeguards to protect it to the same standard.

I’ll only share your information with anyone else if the law requires it — never for marketing.

How long I keep it

• Enquiries that don’t lead to a booking: deleted within two years.
• Client details, contracts and payment records: as long as the law requires for tax and accounting, usually six years after the end of the tax year.
• Your photographs: I keep backup copies of the photos I deliver, so I can help if you ever lose yours. Just ask if you’d like me to delete them.
• Website visitor statistics: 12 months, then deleted automatically.

Keeping it safe

This website uses a secure, encrypted connection. Enquiries are stored in a password-protected system that only I can access, and my computers and backups are protected too.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• ask for a copy of the information I hold about you
• ask me to correct anything that’s wrong
• ask me to delete your information
• object to, or ask me to limit, how I use it
• ask for a copy in a format you can take elsewhere
• withdraw your permission at any time, where I rely on it

Just email mike@fitlikephotography.co.uk. There’s no charge, and I’ll reply within one month. Sometimes I have to keep information for legal reasons; if so, I’ll explain why.

If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your information, please tell me first so I can put it right. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

I’ll update this page if anything changes, for example if I start using a new service. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that a website saves in your browser. This site uses as few as possible, and none for advertising. The list below updates itself to match what the site actually uses.

• flsiteEssential

  Protects the contact form from spam, and remembers what you typed if something needs correcting. Only set on the contact page.

  Until you close your browser

• _GRECAPTCHAEssential

  Set by Google’s “I’m not a robot” check when you use the contact form, to tell people from spam robots.

  6 months

• fl-privacyEssential

  Saved in your browser to remember your choices below, so the site doesn’t ask again.

  Until you clear your browser’s data

• _ga, _ga_XD92PPLC4KOnly with your permission

  Google Analytics. Counts visits and shows how people use the site, so I can improve it. Google may process this information outside the UK.

  Up to 2 years

• fladminEssential

  Keeps me signed in while I update the website. Visitors never receive it.

  8 hours

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser’s settings, but the contact form may not work without the essential ones.

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or “Do Not Track” signal, the site treats it as a no to visitor statistics and Google Analytics.