Privacy Policy: Shot By Mason

1.Who we are

Shot By Mason is the photography business of Mason Stretch, trading as a sole proprietor from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and shooting throughout South Africa and internationally. Website: shotbymason.com. All prices are quoted in South African Rand (ZAR).

Mason Stretch is the Information Officer for the purposes of POPIA and is the person responsible for answering any request about your personal information.

For anything relating to your personal information, contact owner@shotbymason.com.

2.Information we collect

Information you give us

Your name, email address, phone number and WhatsApp number when you enquire or book a shoot.
Shoot details you share: dates, locations, subject matter, budget guidance and any notes or briefs.
Billing and delivery details needed to issue invoices, confirm payment or ship merchandise.
Reviews, messages and any files or links you choose to send us.

Information collected automatically

Basic technical data such as browser type, device type, approximate location and referring page.
Page views and interactions, used only to understand which work and pages people find useful.
Security data such as IP address, used to prevent spam and abuse of the contact and booking forms.

We never collect card numbers. Card payments are handled entirely by the payment provider, and EFT payments are made directly into the business bank account.

3.How we use your information

To reply to enquiries and prepare quotes and estimates.
To confirm bookings, send reminders and deliver finished galleries.
To issue invoices and keep accurate financial records.
To keep the website secure and functioning correctly.
To send you updates about new work only if you ask us to.

4.Legal basis and POPIA

We process personal information in line with South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We rely on your consent when you submit a form or subscribe, on the performance of a contract when you book a shoot, and on legitimate business interests for security, record-keeping and fraud prevention.

5.Sharing your information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers needed to run the business: website and database hosting, email delivery, payment processing, and the editing partner assigned to your shoot where relevant.

Every provider is required to keep your information confidential and to use it only for the service they provide to us.

6.How long we keep it

Enquiries that do not become bookings: up to 12 months.
Booking and client records: up to 5 years, as required for tax and accounting.
Delivered galleries and archives: kept for portfolio and re-order purposes unless you ask us to remove them.
Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe.

7.How we protect it

Data is stored on access-controlled hosted infrastructure, protected by row-level security rules so that only you and authorised staff can see your records. Administrative access requires authentication and, for privileged accounts, two-factor verification.

8.Your rights

Ask what personal information we hold about you.
Ask us to correct anything that is wrong or out of date.
Ask us to delete information we no longer need to keep.
Withdraw consent for marketing at any time.
Object to processing or lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa.

To exercise any of these rights, email owner@shotbymason.com. We respond within a reasonable period.

9.Children

Where a shoot involves anyone under 18, we require the consent of a parent or legal guardian before collecting information or publishing images.

10.Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the business or the law changes. The version number and effective date at the top of this page always reflect the current policy.