Privacy
Policy

Last updated: October 4, 2026

Stephen Lawson Photography is a photography studio based in Richmond, Virginia. This policy explains what information we collect through stephen.photography and while working with you, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

Information We Collect

Information you give us:

• Inquiries and bookings — your name, email address, phone number, session date and location, and anything you tell us in a contact, booking, or sign-up form.
• Client details — answers and inspiration photos you send in a questionnaire, shot-list notes, and messages you send through your client portal.
• Contracts — when you sign a contract online we record your typed signature, the date and time, your IP address, and your browser type, as the record that you signed it.
• Print orders — your name, shipping address, and the photos and products you order.
• Payments — card details are entered directly into Square's secure payment form and never reach our server. We receive confirmation that the payment went through and its amount; we don't store card numbers.
• Photographs — the images we make of you and your guests during your session.

Information collected automatically on our public pages:

• Cookies the site needs to work — to keep you signed in, remember your print cart and gallery PIN, and protect forms from forgery. These can't be switched off without breaking those features.
• Analytics — we use Google Analytics, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to understand which pages people visit and how they found us. It uses cookies and collects information such as the pages you view, your approximate location, your device and browser, and the site that referred you.
• Advertising — we use the Meta Pixel, which tells Meta (Facebook and Instagram) when someone visits our site. Meta may use this to show our ads to people who have visited, to measure how well our ads work, and for its own purposes as described in Meta's privacy policy.

How We Use Your Information

• To answer your inquiry, book and plan your session, and deliver your photographs.
• To send invoices, take payments, prepare contracts, and fulfil print orders.
• To send you updates about your booking and gallery.
• To send occasional news and offers, if you've subscribed — every one includes an unsubscribe link.
• To understand how the website is used and improve it, and to advertise our work.
• To keep business, tax, and legal records.

Your Photographs

Whether we may use photographs from your session in our portfolio, website, or social media is set out in your contract. If you'd like a particular image taken down, email us and we'll take care of it.

Who We Share It With

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers that help us run the business, and only what each one needs:

• Payment processing — Square, for invoices, session payments, and print orders. Square also keeps a customer record (name and contact details) for billing.
• Print fulfilment — our print lab, WHCC, receives your name, shipping address, and the images you order.
• Hosting and storage — our website, records, and galleries are stored with cloud providers including Amazon Web Services and Cloudflare.
• Email and scheduling — Google, for email and our calendar.
• Analytics and advertising — Google and Meta, as described above, for visits to our public pages.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect our rights, our clients, or others.

Your Choices

• Cookies — your browser settings let you block or delete cookies. Blocking analytics and advertising cookies won't stop the site from working.
• Google Analytics — you can opt out with Google's browser add-on.
• Meta ads — manage how Meta uses this information in your Facebook ad preferences, or through the industry opt-out at optout.aboutads.info.
• Email — unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the link in any of them. You'll still receive messages about an active booking.
• Your information — email us to ask what we hold about you, or to correct or delete it. We may need to keep some records, such as signed contracts and payment records, for legal and tax reasons.

Do Not Track: our website doesn't currently respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals. The choices above are the way to limit tracking.

Data Retention

We keep inquiry and client records for as long as we're working together, and afterwards for as long as we need them for business, tax, and legal purposes. Contracts and payment records are kept for several years. Gallery download links expire as described in your delivery email.

Data Security

We use reputable providers and industry-standard measures, including encrypted connections, to protect your information. Client pages are reached through unguessable private links, so please don't share yours with anyone you wouldn't want to see your gallery or documents.

Children

This website isn't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them online. Photographs of children are taken as part of a session booked by a parent or guardian.

Changes to This Policy

We'll update this page if our practices change, and revise the date at the top.