Privacy Notice
1. About this Privacy Notice
Athlone Photography Club ("APC", "the Club", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting personal data. This Privacy Notice explains how the Club collects, uses, stores, shares and protects personal data relating to members, prospective members, competition entrants, volunteers, visitors, models, speakers, judges and other people who interact with the Club.
It also explains your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Who is responsible for your personal data?
Athlone Photography Club is the Data Controller for personal data processed by the Club.
Data protection and privacy enquiries may be sent to: hello@athlonephotographyclub.com
Website: athlonephotographyclub.com
3. Personal data we may collect
Depending on how you interact with the Club, we may collect and process the following categories of personal data.
Membership information
Name
Email address
Mobile number
Membership category and status
Date of joining
Membership payment information
Records relating to membership administration
Photography interests and Club participation
Photography experience
Camera equipment
Photography interests
Photographic distinctions
Training interests
Volunteer interests
Participation in Club activities
Information requested through a member questionnaire is optional unless clearly stated otherwise.
Competitions, exhibitions and awards
Competition entries and photographs submitted
Photographer's name and image titles
Competition scores and results
Awards and distinctions
Judging information
Exhibition participation
Some competition results and significant Club achievements may form part of the Club's historical record.
Photographs and video
As a photography club, photography and video recording form an important part of our activities. Photographs or video may be taken during Club meetings, photography outings, workshops, training, studio and model shoots, competitions, exhibitions, award presentations, social events, Culture Night and festivals, fundraising activities, and public or community events.
Where a person is identifiable, a photograph or video may constitute personal data.
4. Why we use your personal data
We may process personal data to:
Process membership applications and administer Club membership
Maintain the membership register and record membership fees
Communicate with members
Organise meetings, competitions, outings, workshops and exhibitions
Manage Club volunteers, competitions and awards
Promote the activities of Athlone Photography Club
Maintain our website and official social media accounts
Respond to enquiries and issue Club newsletters and notices
Maintain appropriate financial and governance records
Protect the Club and its members
Comply with legal, regulatory, insurance and financial obligations
Preserve appropriate records relating to the history and achievements of the Club
We aim to collect only personal data that is reasonably required for these purposes.
5. Our lawful bases for processing
Contract
We may process personal data where necessary to administer your Club membership or to take steps at your request in connection with becoming a member.
Legitimate interests
We may process personal data where reasonably necessary for the legitimate operation, administration, development, promotion and historical record of the Club, provided those interests are not overridden by the rights and interests of the individual.
Consent
We may ask for consent for particular optional activities, including certain uses of identifiable photographs, optional promotional communications, or particular sharing of images. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn.
Legal obligation
We may process and retain information where necessary to comply with legal, taxation, financial or regulatory requirements.
Vital interests
In exceptional circumstances, information may be processed or shared where necessary to protect someone's life or safety.
6. Member communications
Members will receive communications reasonably necessary for the administration of their membership. These may include meeting information, competition notices, AGM or EGM notices, membership renewals, outing information, workshops and training, exhibition information, important Club announcements, and safety or operational information.
We may separately offer members the opportunity to receive optional information about external photography events, competitions, courses or opportunities.
7. WhatsApp and messaging services
The Club may operate WhatsApp or similar messaging groups. Participation in these groups is optional. Members should be aware that joining a group may make their mobile number, messaging name and profile photograph visible to other group members.
Members must not use contact information obtained through a Club messaging group for unrelated commercial, marketing or personal purposes without appropriate permission. Members who do not wish to participate in messaging groups may receive essential Club communications by another available method, such as email.
8. Photography at Club activities
Photography is fundamental to the nature and purpose of Athlone Photography Club. Photography and video may therefore take place at Club meetings, outings, workshops, exhibitions and other activities.
Where appropriate and practical, the Club will:
Inform attendees that photography or filming is taking place
Explain how official Club photographs may be used
Respect reasonable objections
Avoid intrusive or inappropriate photography
Provide an opportunity for a person to indicate that they do not wish to be the principal subject of promotional photographs
Take particular care when photographing children or vulnerable persons
Not every photograph requires consent as its lawful basis. Depending on the circumstances, the Club may rely on legitimate interests or another appropriate lawful basis.
9. Website and social media
The Club may publish photographs, video and information concerning Club activities on the Athlone Photography Club website, Facebook, Instagram, other official Club social media channels, Club newsletters, exhibition material and printed promotional material.
This may include photographs of Club meetings, outings, exhibitions, competition winners, presentations, workshops and other Club activities. Where appropriate, members will be given choices regarding identifiable photographs in which they are the principal subject.
The Club will consider objections to the publication or continued use of identifiable photographs on a case-by-case basis in accordance with GDPR.
10. Press and media
Athlone Photography Club may issue press releases and provide photographs to legitimate media organisations to publicise Club activities, exhibitions, competitions, awards, community activities, fundraising, festivals and significant Club events.
This may include local and national newspapers, broadcasters, online publications and other media organisations. Where an independent media organisation receives personal data for its own journalistic purposes, it may become a separate Data Controller and its subsequent processing may be governed by its own legal obligations and privacy arrangements.
11. Club sponsors
Athlone Photography Club may work with sponsors who support Club activities, exhibitions, competitions or events. Selected photographs may be supplied to recognised sponsors for purposes directly connected with acknowledging their sponsorship, reporting on a sponsored event, promoting a sponsored Club activity, or publicising the relationship between the sponsor and the Club.
Providing photographs for sponsorship publicity does not automatically permit a sponsor to use an identifiable person's image for unrelated product advertising, endorsements or other independent commercial purposes. Where broader commercial use is proposed, additional permission or another appropriate legal basis will be considered.
12. Photographs submitted by members
Members may voluntarily provide photographs to the Club for competitions, exhibitions, social media, the Club website, press releases or other Club activities. Copyright in a photograph normally remains with the photographer unless otherwise agreed.
The Club's Competition Rules, membership conditions or other applicable terms may provide the Club with permission to display or publish submitted photographs for specified Club purposes. Photographers are responsible for informing the Club of relevant restrictions applying to photographs they submit.
13. Children and young people
Athlone Photography Club recognises that children's personal data requires particular protection. Where the Club organises photography specifically involving children, appropriate safeguards will be applied.
Parent or guardian permission where appropriate
Consideration of the child's own wishes
Avoiding unnecessary publication of full names
Avoiding unnecessary disclosure of schools, addresses or locations
Restricting the purposes for which photographs may be used
Providing a method for raising concerns or objections
The Club will also comply with applicable safeguarding requirements.
14. Who may access your personal data?
Access to personal information held by the Club is restricted according to operational need. This may include authorised committee members, the Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, competition administrators, website administrators, social media administrators, and other volunteers specifically authorised to perform a Club function.
Access to personal data does not automatically extend to every Club member. Committee members and volunteers with access to personal data are expected to use it only for authorised Club purposes.
15. Sharing personal data
Where necessary and appropriate, limited personal data may be shared with:
Service providers acting on behalf of the Club
Website, hosting, email, communication and cloud storage providers
Payment providers and competition services
Professional advisers and insurers
Event organisers
Recognised Club sponsors
Media organisations
Public authorities where legally required
We do not sell our membership database or members' contact information.
16. Third-party websites and social media
Our website may contain links to external websites or social media services. Those organisations operate under their own privacy policies and Athlone Photography Club is not responsible for independent processing carried out by third-party websites or services. Social media platforms may also process information about users in accordance with their own privacy policies.
17. International data transfers
Some technology and social media providers may process information outside Ireland or the European Economic Area. Where Athlone Photography Club is responsible for an international transfer of personal data, we will seek to ensure that an appropriate GDPR transfer mechanism or safeguard is in place.
18. How long we retain personal data
We do not retain personal data for longer than reasonably necessary. Different types of information require different retention periods.
Active membership information is retained while membership continues
Former member contact information is reviewed and deleted when no longer required
Financial records may be retained for the period required by law or accounting requirements
Competition results and significant awards may be retained as part of the Club's historical record
Consent and image permission records may be retained while the relevant images continue to be used and for an appropriate period afterwards
Photographs documenting significant Club activities may be retained as part of the Club archive where there is an appropriate lawful basis
Unnecessary duplicate and working records will be deleted when no longer required
The Club will maintain and review appropriate retention periods for its records.
19. Security
Athlone Photography Club takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data. These may include password protection, multi-factor authentication where available, restricted access, secure cloud storage, appropriate device security, access reviews, secure deletion, appropriate backup arrangements, and removal of access when committee members leave office.
No electronic storage or communication system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, but the Club will take measures proportionate to the nature and risk of the information being processed.
20. Data breaches
A personal data breach may include loss, unauthorised disclosure, destruction, alteration or unauthorised access to personal information. The Club will investigate suspected personal data breaches and will notify the Data Protection Commission and affected individuals where required by law.
21. Your GDPR rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
Be informed about how your personal data is used
Request access to your personal data
Have inaccurate information corrected
Request erasure of personal data
Request restriction of processing
Object to certain processing
Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent
Receive certain personal data in a portable format
Object to certain automated decision-making
These rights are not absolute and may be subject to legal exemptions or other lawful grounds for retaining or processing information.
22. Photograph removal and objections
If you have concerns about a photograph of you published by Athlone Photography Club, please contact us at hello@athlonephotographyclub.com.
We will consider the request in light of the purpose for which the photograph was taken, the lawful basis relied upon, your particular circumstances, whether you are the principal subject, whether the photograph forms part of an important historical record, whether the Club continues to require the image, and the rights and interests of other people.
Where appropriate, we will remove the image from platforms controlled by Athlone Photography Club. We cannot guarantee removal of copies already independently published, downloaded, shared or archived by third parties, although we will take reasonable steps where legally required.
23. Making a data protection request
Requests concerning your personal data should be sent to hello@athlonephotographyclub.com. Please provide sufficient information to allow us to identify you and understand your request. We may request reasonable proof of identity where necessary to protect personal information from unauthorised disclosure.
24. Complaints
If you are concerned about how Athlone Photography Club has processed your personal data, please contact us at hello@athlonephotographyclub.com so that we can investigate the matter.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission:
Data Protection Commission
6 Pembroke Row
Dublin 2
D02 X963
Ireland
www.dataprotection.ie
25. Changes to this Privacy Notice
Athlone Photography Club may update this Privacy Notice where our activities, technology or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on the Club website. Where a change materially affects how existing members' personal data is used, we will take reasonable steps to inform affected members.