Privacy Policy

Last updated: 29 May 2026

About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Riekert Cloete Photography (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information when you visit riekertcloete.co.za, fill in any of our enquiry forms, book a photography service, or otherwise engage with us.

We comply with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). Riekert Cloete is the appointed Information Officer for the business and can be contacted at info@riekertcloete.com.

We’ve written this policy in plain English. If anything is unclear, please email us and we’ll explain.

Who we are

Riekert Cloete Photography is a professional photography business based in Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa. We provide wedding, family, headshot, events and commercial photography across the Western Cape and South Africa.

Information we collect

We collect the following personal information when you interact with us:

When you submit an enquiry form (contact, quote request, events enquiry, commercial pricing request):

  • Your name
  • Your email address
  • Your phone number
  • The service you’re enquiring about (wedding, family, headshots, events, commercial, etc.)
  • For event/wedding enquiries: event date, venue, event type, expected number of attendees, coverage requirements
  • For commercial enquiries: your company name, business address, VAT/registration number (optional), shoot date and brief
  • Any free-text message or notes you include

When you book a photography service:

  • Booking confirmation details, deposit and payment records
  • Information needed to deliver your shoot (venue contacts, schedule, special requests)

When you visit our website:

  • Standard server log information (IP address, browser type, pages visited, referring website) collected by our hosting provider for security and performance purposes
  • Cookies set by our caching plugin and embedded third-party services (see “Cookies & tracking” below)

When you contact us via email, phone or WhatsApp:

  • The contents of your message and any information you choose to share

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18 without parental consent. Bookings on behalf of minors (e.g. matric farewell shoots, family shoots involving children) are made by a parent or guardian.

How we use your information

We use your personal information to:

  • Respond to your enquiry and provide a quote
  • Schedule, coordinate and deliver your photography session
  • Send you your finished images via secure delivery (typically WeTransfer or Smash)
  • Issue invoices and process payments
  • Send occasional follow-up communication related to your booking (e.g. reminder of your shoot timeline, image delivery notifications)
  • Improve our service and website based on aggregate usage patterns
  • Comply with legal, tax and accounting obligations under South African law
  • Where you’ve agreed, use selected images from your shoot in our portfolio, on social media, or in marketing materials (see “Image use rights” below)

We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

Who we share your information with

We share your personal information only with the following service providers, all of whom process it on our behalf for the specific purposes listed:

  • Google (Google Sheets, Google Apps Script): Enquiry form submissions are automatically routed to a private Google Sheet via a Google Apps Script webhook. This is our internal lead-tracking system. Google’s privacy policy
  • Google reCAPTCHA v3: Our enquiry forms use Google reCAPTCHA v3 to prevent spam and bot submissions. This service collects technical information from your browser to verify you’re human. Google’s privacy policy and terms apply.
  • Hostking (Pty) Ltd: Our website hosting provider, based in South Africa. They process server logs for security and uptime purposes.
  • WeTransfer / Smash: Used to deliver finished image sets to clients. Files are typically held for 7 days then expire.
  • Iza Cloete Make-up: When your booking includes hair and makeup services through Iza Cloete (separately operated business), relevant booking details (date, venue, contact) are shared between the two businesses to coordinate.
  • Banking and accounting service providers: For invoicing, payment processing, and accounting record-keeping as required by South African tax law.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your information with anyone else for marketing purposes.

Cookies & tracking

Our website uses the following cookies and tracking technologies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to function (page caching via AccelerateWP, security via Imunify360). These cannot be disabled.
  • Performance cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the site (anonymous aggregate data only).
  • Third-party cookies: Set by Google reCAPTCHA on form pages, and by embedded YouTube videos in our blog posts.

You can disable cookies in your browser settings, but some site features may not work correctly.

Image use rights

Photography is unique in that the service we deliver IS personal information (your image, your face, your event). We treat this with extra care:

  • Your finished images are yours. You receive a personal-use licence to your images for sharing, printing, and digital use.
  • Our portfolio use: By default, we may use a small selection of your images in our online portfolio, on our social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn), and in marketing materials. If you’d prefer we don’t, let us know in writing before your shoot or during the editing window and we’ll exclude your images from public use.
  • Wedding and family clients: Your photos may appear on our blog or featured in published articles. We will never use names without permission.
  • Commercial and corporate clients: We respect any NDA, brand confidentiality, or pre-launch embargoes you require. Please confirm restrictions in writing at booking.

How long we keep your information

  • Active enquiry data: Up to 24 months from the date of last contact, after which untriaged leads are archived or deleted.
  • Confirmed booking and client data: Retained for 5 years for accounting, tax, and warranty purposes (as required under South African tax law).
  • Image archive: We retain finished image sets for at least 12 months as a backup for our clients. Long-term archive is at our discretion.
  • Server logs and analytics: Aggregated and anonymised after 90 days; raw logs deleted thereafter.

You can request earlier deletion at any time — see “Your rights” below.

Your rights under POPIA

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
  • Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate information
  • Deletion: Request that we delete your information (subject to legal retention requirements)
  • Objection: Object to specific uses of your information (e.g. portfolio use)
  • Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator if you believe we’ve mishandled your information

To exercise any of these rights, email info@riekertcloete.com with “POPIA Request” in the subject line. We’ll respond within 30 days.

You can also contact the Information Regulator directly:
inforegulator.org.za · complaints.IR@justice.gov.za

Direct marketing & newsletters

We may occasionally send marketing communication — primarily a quarterly newsletter sharing photography tips, recent work, seasonal updates, and special offers.

If you’ve previously booked a photography service with us, we may send you our newsletter on the basis of our existing service relationship (POPIA section 69(3)). You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email.

If you’ve enquired about our services but haven’t booked, we’ll only send you our newsletter if you’ve explicitly opted in — typically by ticking a checkbox on one of our enquiry forms.

In either case: every marketing email includes a one-click unsubscribe link, unsubscribing is free and immediate, and we’ll never re-add you without a fresh opt-in. Marketing frequency is moderate — typically four newsletters per year.

To unsubscribe, use the link in any email or contact info@riekertcloete.com with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Data security

We protect your information using:

  • HTTPS encryption on all pages of our website
  • Firewall and brute-force protection (Imunify360) on our hosting
  • Restricted access to client data — only Riekert and (where relevant) Iza Cloete have access to enquiry and booking data
  • Regular security updates to WordPress, Elementor, and all plugins
  • Two-factor authentication on Google Workspace accounts where client data is stored

No system is 100% secure. If a data breach occurs that affects your personal information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator within 72 hours, as required by POPIA.

Updates to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as our business, services, or legal requirements change. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent version. Material changes will be communicated to active clients by email.

Contact us

Riekert Cloete (Information Officer)
Email: info@riekertcloete.com
Phone: +27 82 556 7427
Address available on request