This site is mine — Raquel de Castro Maia, conservation and commercial photographer, based in South Africa. I work on my own, so when you send something through this website it comes to me and nobody else.
This page explains what the site collects, why, and what you can ask me to do about it. It is written to meet South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and, for visitors in the UK and Europe, the GDPR.
Last updated 29 July 2026.
What I collect, and when
When you contact me
The enquiry forms ask for your name, email address, phone number, what best describes you, and whatever you choose to tell me about your project. Only your name, email and message are needed — the rest simply helps me give you a more useful answer.
I use it to reply to you, to quote, and to carry out work you commission. I do not sell it, rent it, or pass it to anyone for marketing.
If you ask for occasional news
There is an option on the contact form to hear from me now and then about new work and field stories. It is off unless you tick it, and every email I send will have a way to stop. Ticking it does not sign you up to anything else.
While you browse
Like almost every website, mine records some technical information automatically: your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, and where you arrived from. I use it to understand which work people are looking at and to keep the site secure and fast. I do not try to identify you from it.
Cookies
Cookies are small files a site stores in your browser.
- Analytics. Google Analytics sets cookies so it can tell a returning visitor from a new one and follow a path through the site. They hold no name, email or contact detail.
- Security. The bot check on my forms may set a short-lived cookie to confirm you are a person.
- Advertising. None. I run no advertising or tracking cookies on this site.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The site works without them; the forms still need the security check to submit.
Who else handles your information
A few services make the site work. Each sees only what it needs to, and each is bound by its own privacy terms.
- WPMU DEV — hosting, security and image delivery. Server and security logs, which include IP addresses.
- Google — Analytics and Tag Manager, for visitor statistics.
- Cloudflare — the bot check on my forms.
- My email provider — carries your enquiry to my inbox and my reply back to you.
Some of these operate outside South Africa, so your information may be processed abroad. I only use providers that commit to protecting it to a standard POPIA and the GDPR recognise.
How long I keep it
- Enquiries that do not become work — up to two years, then deleted. Commissions are seasonal and people often come back a year later.
- Client records — for as long as we work together, and afterwards for as long as tax and company law requires.
- News subscribers — until you unsubscribe.
- Analytics — on Google’s standard retention, which does not identify you individually.
Keeping it safe
The site runs over an encrypted connection, sits behind a firewall and malware scanning, and is backed up. Access to enquiries is limited to me and the developer who maintains the site. No website can promise perfect security, but if anything ever went wrong in a way that put your information at risk, I would tell you and the Information Regulator.
What you can ask me to do
Whatever country you are in, you can ask me to:
- tell you what information about you I hold;
- correct anything that is wrong;
- delete it, where I am not required to keep it;
- stop using it for a particular purpose;
- send you a copy in a portable format;
- stop emailing you, at any time.
Email me and I will deal with it within 30 days. There is no charge.
If you are not happy with how I have handled it, you can complain to South Africa’s Information Regulator, or to your own data protection authority if you are in the UK or Europe.
Images on this site
Every photograph here is my own work and protected by copyright. Saving, copying or reusing an image without written permission is not allowed. This is a copyright matter rather than a privacy one, but it is the question I am asked most, so it belongs somewhere findable.
Children
This site is meant for adults commissioning or licensing photography. I do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has sent me something, please tell me and I will delete it.
Changes
If I change how the site handles your information, I will update this page and the date at the top. Worth a glance if you have not been here in a while.
Getting hold of me
For anything on this page — questions, requests, complaints — email raquel@raqueldecastromaia.com. I am the person responsible for personal information on this site, and I answer these myself.