Privacy Policy

I. Data protection at a glance

1. General information

The following information provides a simple overview of what happens to your personal data when you visit this website. Personal data is all data that can be used to identify you personally. Detailed information on data protection can be found in our privacy policy listed below this text.

In section IX I explain how I, as a photographer, handle the data of clients and of the people I photograph.

2. Data collection on this website

a. Who is responsible for data collection on this website?

Data processing on this website is carried out by the website operator. You can find their contact details in the “Note on the responsible body” section of this privacy policy.

b. How do we collect your data?

Your data is collected, on the one hand, when you provide it to us. This may, for example, be data you enter in a contact form.

Other data is collected automatically or with your consent by our IT systems when you visit the website. This primarily includes technical data (e.g., internet browser, operating system, or time of page access). This data is collected automatically as soon as you access this website.

c. What do we use your data for?

Some of the data is collected to ensure the error-free provision of the website. Other data may be used to analyse your user behavior. If contracts can be concluded or initiated via the website, the transmitted data will also be processed for quotes or other order inquiries.

d. What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right to obtain information about the origin, recipient, and purpose of your stored personal data free of charge at any time. You also have the right to request the correction or deletion of this data. If you have given your consent to data processing, you can revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future. You also have the right, under certain circumstances, to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.

You can contact us at any time with any questions about this or other issues relating to data protection.

3. Analysis tools and third-party tools

When you visit this website, your browsing behavior may be statistically evaluated. This is done primarily using so-called analysis programs.

Detailed information about these analysis programs can be found in the following privacy policy.

II. Hosting

We host the content of our website with the following provider:

1. All-Inkl

The provider is ALL-INKL.COM – Neue Medien Münnich, owner René Münnich, Hauptstraße 68, 02742 Friedersdorf (hereinafter All-Inkl). Details can be found in All-Inkl’s privacy policy: https://all-inkl.com/datenschutzinformationen/ .

The use of All-Inkl is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in presenting our website as reliably as possible. If consent has been requested, processing will be carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR and Section 25 (1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g., device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

a. Order processing

We have concluded a data processing agreement (DPA) for the use of the above-mentioned service. This is a contract required by data protection law, which guarantees that the personal data of our website visitors will only be processed according to our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

III. General information and mandatory information

1. Data protection

The operators of these websites take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data confidentially and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

When you use this website, various personal data is collected. Personal data is data that can be used to identify you personally. This privacy policy explains what data we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose.

We would like to point out that data transmission over the Internet (e.g., when communicating via email) may be subject to security gaps. Complete protection of data from access by third parties is not possible.

2. Note on the responsible body

The responsible body for data processing on this website is:

Dr. Jan Söhlke

The responsible body is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (e.g. names, e-mail addresses, etc.).

3. Storage period

Unless a more specific storage period is specified in this privacy policy, your personal data will remain with us until the purpose for data processing no longer applies. If you assert a legitimate request for deletion or revoke your consent to data processing, your data will be deleted unless we have other legally permissible reasons for storing your personal data (e.g., retention periods under tax or commercial law); in the latter case, deletion will occur once these reasons no longer apply.

4. General information on the legal basis for data processing on this website

If you have consented to data processing, we will process your personal data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR or Art. 9 (2) (a) GDPR if special categories of data are processed pursuant to Art. 9 (1) GDPR. In the event of express consent to the transfer of personal data to third countries, data processing will also be carried out on the basis of Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. If you have consented to the storage of cookies or access to information on your device (e.g. via device fingerprinting), data processing will also be carried out on the basis of Section 25 (1) TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time. If your data is required to fulfill the contract or to carry out pre-contractual measures, we will process your data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR. Furthermore, if your data is required to fulfill a legal obligation, we will process it on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR. Data processing may also be based on our legitimate interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The relevant legal bases in each individual case are explained in the following paragraphs of this privacy policy.

5. Recipients of personal data

As part of our business activities, we work with various external parties. In some cases, this also requires the transfer of personal data to these external parties. We only pass on personal data to external parties if this is necessary to fulfill a contract, if we are legally obliged to do so (e.g., passing on data to tax authorities), if we have a legitimate interest in the transfer pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, or if another legal basis permits the data transfer. When using contract processors, we only pass on our customers’ personal data on the basis of a valid contract for order processing. In the case of joint processing, a contract for joint processing is concluded.

6. Revocation of your consent to data processing

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You can revoke your consent at any time. The legality of the data processing carried out up to the time of revocation remains unaffected.

7. Right to object to data collection in special cases and to direct advertising (Article 21 GDPR)

If data processing is based on Article 6 (1) (e) or (f) of the GDPR, you have the right to object to the processing of your personal data at any time for reasons related to your particular situation; this also applies to profiling based on these provisions. The respective legal basis on which processing is based can be found in this privacy policy. If you object, we will no longer process your personal data concerned unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims (objection pursuant to Art. 21(1) GDPR).

If your personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object at any time to the processing of your personal data for such marketing purposes; this also applies to profiling insofar as it is associated with such direct marketing. If you object, your personal data will subsequently no longer be used for direct marketing purposes (objection pursuant to Article 21 (2) GDPR).

8. Right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority

In the event of violations of the GDPR, data subjects have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of their habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged violation. This right of complaint is without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies.

The supervisory authority responsible for me is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia (LDI NRW), Postfach 20 04 44, 40102 Düsseldorf, Germany, https://www.ldi.nrw.de.

9. Right to data portability

You have the right to have data that we process automatically based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract handed over to you or to a third party in a common, machine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to another controller, this will only be done if technically feasible.

10. Information, correction and deletion

Within the scope of applicable law, you have the right at any time to obtain free information about your stored personal data, its origin and recipient, and the purpose of data processing, as well as the right to have this data corrected or deleted. You can contact us at any time with any questions about this or other issues relating to personal data.

11. Right to restriction of processing

You have the right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data. You can contact us at any time to do so. The right to restriction of processing exists in the following cases:

• If you dispute the accuracy of your personal data stored by us, we generally need time to verify this. You have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted while we verify your claim.
• If the processing of your personal data was/is unlawful, you can request the restriction of data processing instead of deletion.
• If we no longer need your personal data, but you require it to exercise, defend or assert legal claims, you have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted instead of deleted.
• If you have lodged an objection pursuant to Art. 21 (1) GDPR, your interests must be weighed against ours. As long as it is not yet clear whose interests prevail, you have the right to request that the processing of your personal data be restricted.

If you have restricted the processing of your personal data, this data may – with the exception of its storage – only be processed with your consent or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims or to protect the rights of another natural or legal person or for reasons of important public interest of the European Union or a Member State.

12. SSL or TLS encryption

For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as inquiries that you send to us as the site operator, this site uses SSL or TLS encryption. You can recognize an encrypted connection by the browser’s address line changing from “http://” to “https://” and by the lock symbol in your browser’s address bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you send to us cannot be read by third parties.

13. Objection to advertising emails

The use of contact information published in accordance with the imprint obligation to send unsolicited advertising and information materials is hereby prohibited. The operators of these pages expressly reserve the right to take legal action in the event of unsolicited advertising, such as spam emails.

IV. Data collection on this website

1. Cookies

Our website uses so-called “cookies.” Cookies are small data packets and do not cause any damage to your device. They are stored either temporarily for the duration of a session (session cookies) or permanently (permanent cookies) on your device. Session cookies are automatically deleted after your visit. Permanent cookies remain stored on your device until you delete them yourself or they are automatically deleted by your web browser.

Cookies can originate from us (first-party cookies) or from third-party companies (so-called third-party cookies). Third-party cookies enable the integration of certain third-party services within websites.

Cookies serve various functions. Many cookies are technically necessary, as certain website features would not work without them (e.g. the display of videos). Other cookies can be used to evaluate user behaviour or for advertising purposes.

Cookies that are required to carry out electronic communication, to provide certain functions you have requested or to optimise the website (e.g. cookies to measure web audiences) (necessary cookies) are stored on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, unless another legal basis is specified. The website operator has a legitimate interest in storing necessary cookies for the technically error-free and optimized provision of its services. If consent to the storage of cookies and similar recognition technologies has been requested, processing will take place exclusively on the basis of this consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR and Section 25 (1) TDDDG); this consent can be revoked at any time.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies and to only accept cookies on a case-by-case basis, to exclude cookies for specific cases or in general, and to automatically delete cookies when you close your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

You can find out which cookies and services are used on this website in this privacy policy.

2. Server log files

The website provider automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These include:

• Browser type and version
• operating system used
• Referrer URL
• Hostname of the accessing computer
• Time of server request
• IP address

This data will not be merged with other data sources.

This data is collected on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the technically error-free presentation and optimization of its website – for this purpose, the server log files must be collected.

3. Contact form

If you send us inquiries via the contact form, your information from the form, including the contact details you provided there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing your inquiry and in case of follow-up questions. We will not share this data without your consent.

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, provided your request is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR), if requested; consent can be revoked at any time.

The data you enter in the contact form will remain with us until you request its deletion, revoke your consent to storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g., after your request has been processed). Mandatory legal provisions—in particular, retention periods—remain unaffected.

4. Inquiry by email or telephone

If you contact us by email or telephone, your inquiry, including all personal data (name, inquiry), will be stored and processed by us for the purpose of processing your request. We will not share this data without your consent.

This data is processed on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, provided your request is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is necessary to carry out pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the requests addressed to us (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR) or on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR), if requested; consent can be revoked at any time.

The data you send to us via contact requests will remain with us until you request its deletion, revoke your consent to storage, or the purpose for storing the data no longer applies (e.g., after your request has been processed). Mandatory legal provisions—in particular, statutory retention periods—remain unaffected.

5. Comment function on this website

For the comment function on this page, in addition to your comment, information about the time the comment was created, your email address and, if you do not post anonymously, the user name you have chosen will be saved.

a. Storage of the IP address

Our comment function stores the IP addresses of users who post comments. Since we do not review comments on this website before they are published, we need this data to take action against the author in the event of legal violations such as insults or propaganda.

b. Storage period of comments

The comments and the associated data will be stored and remain on this website until the commented content has been completely deleted or the comments must be deleted for legal reasons (e.g. offensive comments). 

There is no right to have a comment published. We reserve the right to delete or not publish comments that we consider unfriendly and/or irrelevant.

c. Legal basis

Comments are stored based on your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR). You can revoke your consent at any time. To do so, simply send us an informal email. The legality of the data processing operations already carried out remains unaffected by the revocation.

V. Analysis tools

1. Matomo

This website uses the open-source web analytics service Matomo, which I run on my own server. It shows me which pages are viewed when, and roughly which region the visits come from. Among other things, the shortened IP address, referrer, browser and operating system are recorded.

On this website, Matomo works without cookies and stores nothing on your device. It is used on the basis of my legitimate interest in analysing and improving my website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

You can object to the analysis at any time: if you activate “Do Not Track” in your browser, your visits will not be recorded.

a. IP anonymization

When analyzing with Matomo, we use IP anonymization. This means your IP address is shortened before analysis so that it can no longer be clearly assigned to you.

b. Hosting

We host Matomo exclusively on our own servers, so all analysis data remains with us and is not passed on.

VI. Plugins and tools

1. YouTube

This website embeds videos from the YouTube website. The website is operated by Google Ireland Limited (“Google”), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

When you visit one of our websites that integrates YouTube, a connection to YouTube’s servers is established. The YouTube server is informed of which of our pages you have visited.

Furthermore, YouTube may store various cookies on your device or use similar recognition technologies (e.g., device fingerprinting). This allows YouTube to receive information about visitors to this website. This information is used, among other things, to collect video statistics, improve user-friendliness, and prevent fraud. Furthermore, the collected data is processed in the Google advertising network.

If you are logged into your YouTube account, you allow YouTube to associate your browsing behavior directly with your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

YouTube is used in the interest of providing an appealing presentation of our online offerings. This represents a legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. If consent has been requested, processing will be carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR and Section 25 (1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g., device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Further information on how user data is handled can be found in YouTube’s privacy policy at: https://policies.google.com/privacy .

The company is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the United States designed to ensure compliance with European data protection standards when processing data in the United States. Every company certified under the DPF is committed to adhering to these data protection standards. Further information can be obtained from the provider at the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/participant/5780 .

2. Google Fonts (local hosting)

This site uses so-called Google Fonts, provided by Google, for the consistent display of fonts. Google Fonts are installed locally. There is no connection to Google servers.

Further information about Google Fonts can be found at https://developers.google.com/fonts/faq and in Google’s privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=de.

3. Akismet

We have integrated Akismet on this website. The provider is Aut O’Mattic A8C Ireland Ltd., Business Centre, No. 1 Lower Mayor Street, International Financial Services Centre, Dublin 1, Ireland (hereinafter Aut O’Mattic), whose parent company is based in the USA.

Akismet enables us to analyze posted comments for spam. For this purpose, we process the provided visitor name, email address, IP address, comment text, browser type, and access time.

Akismet is used on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. The website operator has a legitimate interest in uninterrupted, spam-free communication with website visitors. If consent has been requested, processing will be carried out exclusively on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR and Section 25 (1) TDDDG, insofar as the consent includes the storage of cookies or access to information on the user’s device (e.g., for device fingerprinting) within the meaning of the TDDDG. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Further details can be found here: https://akismet.com/gdpr/.

Data transfer to the USA is based on the EU Commission’s standard contractual clauses. Details can be found here: https://wordpress.com/support/data-processing-agreements/.

The company is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF). The DPF is an agreement between the European Union and the United States designed to ensure compliance with European data protection standards when processing data in the United States. Every company certified under the DPF is committed to adhering to these data protection standards. Further information is available from the provider at the following link: https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/participant/4709.

VII. Newsletter

1. Subscription and sending

If you subscribe to my newsletter, I process your email address and, if provided, your name in order to send you the newsletter. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

I use the double opt-in procedure: after signing up, you receive an email with a confirmation link, and only then are you subscribed. To document your subscription, I store the time of sign-up and confirmation.

The newsletter is sent using software that I run myself on my own server. Your data is not passed on to a newsletter service provider.

2. Unsubscribing

You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every issue or with a short message to me. The lawfulness of the processing carried out up to that point remains unaffected. I then mark your address as unsubscribed so that you are not contacted again by mistake (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); on request, I will delete it completely.

VIII. Social media

1. My profiles

I have my own profiles on the following platforms:
– LinkedIn (personal profile and company page): LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, Ireland. Privacy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy
– Instagram and Facebook: Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Merrion Road, Dublin 4, D04 X2K5, Ireland. Privacy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy
– Bluesky: Bluesky Social, PBC, USA. Privacy: https://bsky.social/about/support/privacy-policy

On this website, these profiles are only linked. Data is only transferred to the respective platform once you click a link.

2. Data processing by the platforms

When you visit one of my profiles, the respective platform processes your data according to its own terms, for example through cookies and for advertising, even if you are not logged in. Data may be transferred to the USA in the process. I have no influence on this processing.

I use these profiles to show my work and to get in touch with you (legitimate interest, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). If you message me or comment there, I process your information in order to reply.

3. Joint responsibility

For the visitor statistics that LinkedIn provides for the company page and Meta provides for professional Instagram accounts, I am jointly responsible with the respective provider (Art. 26 GDPR). The providers have published agreements on this:
– LinkedIn: https://legal.linkedin.com/pages-joint-controller-addendum
– Meta: https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms/page_controller_addendum

I only see these statistics in aggregated form. You can exercise your rights both with me and with the respective provider; the providers are usually best placed to implement them.

 

IX. Photography commissions

1. Clients and commissions

When you commission me, I process the data required for this: name, company, address, contact details, the content of quotes and agreements, and invoicing and payment data. The legal basis is the performance of the contract or of pre-contractual measures (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and compliance with legal obligations, such as the retention of invoices (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR).

I manage this data in software that I run myself on my own server. I only pass it on to third parties where this is necessary to process the commission (e.g. to tax advisors, the tax office or banks).

I keep invoices and other tax-relevant documents for as long as tax and commercial law require (up to ten years, depending on the document). I delete other commission data as soon as it is no longer needed.

Clients who have commissioned me occasionally receive my newsletter with information about similar services of my own, sent to the email address I received in connection with the commission (Section 7 (3) of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG), Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object to this at any time without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs at basic rates: via the unsubscribe link in every issue or with a short message to me.

2. Photographs of people

As a photographer, I process photographs showing people, along with the information this requires (e.g. name, contact details, signed consents).

a. Commissioned work

When I take photographs on behalf of clients, I process them to fulfil the commission (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR; for people shown who are not themselves party to the contract, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The clients obtain the consent of the people photographed.

b. Self-promotion

I only show photographs of people on my website, in my newsletter and on social media with their consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can give this consent, for example, with a model release, on a consent sheet at the shoot, or by email.

c. Free shoots (e.g. Time for Pictures, TFP)

The basis is the agreement on the use of the photos (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and your consent to publication (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

d. Contact details

If you sign up on a consent sheet, I only use your email address to send you the link to the photos.

e. Recipients

Photographs from commissions go to the clients. Published photographs are visible to visitors of the respective website or platform (see section VIII). My hosting provider (section II) and, where applicable, print service providers are involved for technical reasons.

f. Storage period

I keep photographs and consents for as long as the photographs are used, and afterwards for as long as I need to be able to prove the consent (usually three years).

g. Withdrawal

You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future; a short message is enough. I will then no longer use the photographs for new publications and will remove them from my own channels where possible. Printed material and publications by third parties cannot be recalled. Your other rights are described in section III.

Last updated October 2026

Based on source https://www.e-recht24.de