GDPR/ Data Privacy compliant for event photography and filming + my template notice to download
I can’t tell you the number of times a client has hired me to take images of their events. Either for workshops, retreats, group coaching sessions, stage events with artists or keynote speakers, corporate conferences, annual general meetings, cocktail parties, weddings, or a company retreats, you name it; I did it.
I will not go into why you should have someone capturing these events or how to carefully choose the right photographer for you, who is going to be an ambassador of your brand or blend with your family in a non-intrusive way.
I am going straight into HOW to do it GDPR compliantly:
If you follow these principles bellow, you are likely to respect people’s privacy and meet the basic requirements of GDPR.
Know what personal data is.
Collect, store, or use personal information only if your group needs to do so for a clear, specific purpose.
Collect, store and use only the minimum amount of data that you need for your purpose.
Do not keep additional data if you don’t know why you need it. You should also not keep data that is no longer needed for a clear purpose.
Make sure people know how to contact you if they want you to have their information removed from your records.
Tell people what data you have on them when they ask and remove it when prompted.
Store data securely.
Make it clear whether data belongs to your group or to you personally. Just because you have access to the group’s contact details, doesn’t mean they are your personal contacts.
INFORM - EDUCATE - INSPIRE
It is all about informing, education and inspiring other to join you on any quest.
Being photographed during an event, as a participant, is already a very delicate matter. First, you should be aware that people who pay or travel big for events might not appreciate having to appear in images they have no control of.
Photographs in which people can be identified are a form of personal data. Personal data is protected by data-protection legislation, which implies how you or your organizations should treat people’s data to respect their privacy.
INFORM
The first and perhaps most important step is to make you inform the people you are photographing in a timely manner. They should also understand how the images will be used. People might have their reasons for not wanting themselves or their children to be photographed. It is essential to respect this.
EDUCATE
Why do you need the images, and how will you use them?A confused mind will always say no. If you inform people WHY you take these images helps them understand why they should be part of your photoshoot. Typically it would be to help achieve your aims to grab attention for future events, explain the concept of our event, inspire others to join etc.
INSPIRE
Be transparent and show your professionalism. Mention on your announcement how you will securely store the images and when they will be deleted. You can also reassure your attendees that you will not share these images with third parties. Explain why does it help your brand and offer a name and their contact details and invite attendees to inquire there should they not want to be in the images taken during your event or request to delete their pictures at a later stage.
What about children?
For one-off events, the person taking photos should check with an accompanying adult before taking pictures of children. If a child’s legal guardian is absent, do not photograph their child.
If you do regular activities for children, it is a good idea to get written consent using a simple consent form. Parents and legal guardians can sign this to state that they are permitting for their child to be photographed or filmed and for the images to be used in a certain way. This consent form should include the name of your organization, why you are taking pictures, what they are used for, how long they are kept, and how you can contact you to request that they are deleted. If you are giving the pictures to third parties, you should make this clear too, including individual members of your organization.
Copyright ©
According to copyright rules, photos, films, and other media can only be used with the permission of the person who created them. So if anyone takes photos at your event, they have the copyright of the images. This also applies if the person volunteers to take the photos on behalf of your group. The images should only be used with their permission.
If the photographer is a formal employee of your organization and the photos were taken as part of their work, the organization owns the copyright, unless otherwise agreed.
If you contract a photographer externally, make sure the copyright owner and conditions are clearly stated in your agreement. If you want to include the copyrights too, not only the reproduction rights, the photographer might ask you a higher fee.
Click bellow to download my GDPR compliant Template notice for photography/filming. Simply fill it in with your (company) details and share it with your attendees.
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