Privacy Policy

Ian Herd Wildlife & Nature Photography ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of visitors to our website and users of our services. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it and your rights in relation to that information. By using our website or contacting us, you accept the practices described in this policy.

Controller; The data controller for personal information collected via this website is: Ian Herd Wildlife & Nature Photography

Information we collect; We collect personal data that you provide directly and certain information automatically when you visit our website.

1. Information you provide

• Contact details: name, email address, postal address, telephone number when you contact us, make an enquiry, book a service or sign up for newsletters.

• Transaction information: details of any purchases, bookings or deposits you make.

• Communications: messages you send to us via contact forms, email, phone or social media; comments on blog posts where applicable.

• Images and permissions: images or content you supply to us and any rights/permissions information relating to those materials.

• Marketing preferences: preferences you express about receiving marketing and promotional communications.

2. Information collected automatically

• Technical data: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, screen resolution.

• Usage data: pages visited, time and date of visits, referral source, search terms, interactions with content.

• Cookies and similar technologies: see the Cookies section below for details.

How we use your information; We use personal data for the following purposes:

• To respond to enquiries and provide photography services, bookings and customer support.

• To process payments, manage orders, invoices and fulfil contractual obligations.

• To manage our relationship with you and send service-related communications (including booking confirmations, updates and support messages).

• To send marketing communications where you have consented or where we have a legitimate interest, such as newsletters, promotions, exhibition announcements and blog updates. You can opt out at any time.

• To improve and personalise our website, services and content, and to analyse usage and trends.

• To comply with legal and regulatory obligations, prevent fraud and protect our legal rights.

Legal bases for processing (where applicable) Where the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract: processing necessary to perform a contract with you (e.g. bookings, purchases).

• Consent: where you have given clear consent for us to process your data for a specific purpose (e.g. subscribing to our newsletter).

• Legitimate interests: processing necessary for our legitimate interests, such as improving our website and marketing our services, provided that these interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

• Legal obligation: processing necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

Sharing your information; We may share personal data with third parties in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: trusted third-party providers who perform services on our behalf (e.g. payment processors, hosting providers, email delivery services, analytics providers, printers). These providers are contractually required to safeguard your data.

• Professional advisers: legal, accounting or other professional advisers where necessary.

• Legal or regulatory authorities: where required by law or to respond to lawful requests or to protect the rights, property or safety of us, our customers or others.

• Business transfers: in the event of a merger, sale, reorganisation or acquisition of assets, your personal data may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will seek to ensure continued protection of personal data in such circumstances.

International transfers; Personal data may be transferred to, stored and processed in countries outside the UK. Where transfers are made, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as standard contractual clauses or other lawful transfer mechanisms, and that your data is afforded an adequate level of protection.

Retention of personal data; We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes set out in this policy, to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce agreements. Specific retention periods depend on the nature of the data and the context in which it was collected; for example, booking and transactional records are typically retained for a minimum statutory period required for tax and accounting purposes.