GooD PRactice
GDPR, love it or ignore it, it isn’t going away. My view is simple; for as long as I’m making and storing photos of people, often including their names within caption data, then it’s simple enough to comply.
If other photographers don’t want to, that’s up to them, but I see it as having multiple advantages.
For a start, I need to be compliant because in addition to the storing of peoples’ pictures with their names, I have a mailing list for my takeagander newsletter. The newsletter alone is enough to tip me into requiring compliance, but I also want people to understand what information I have on them, how I store it and what I do (and don’t do) with it. GDPR gives me a formal framework within which to set that out, which you can see on my GDPR page.
Working with larger organisations, I see no harm in being able to assure them that the information I gather in the course of assignments is treated with respect and only used for legitimate purposes. I imagine that as data holders and controllers themselves, they might want to know that the work I do for them dovetails with their obligations.
Not all photographers need to be GDPR compliant, it really does depend on what they’re doing, what data they’re collecting and how they’re using it. However, working with businesses and professional organisations, I see my compliance as being part of my professional practice, just like Public Liability Insurance and paying my licences to use software.
Ultimately, I’m not concerned that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is going to send in a SWAT team to batter down my door and arrest me for non-compliance. My compliance with GDPR is for assurance to my clients, and for the continued professionalisation of my business. And the annual fee is less than I spend on coffee in a month.
Let me know your thoughts in GDPR. Is it reassuring? or do you feel irked by it? Or is it just part of your business practice?
Feel free to comment here, or if you’re a client looking for further reassurance, drop me a line. I promise I won’t sign you up to a newsletter!