GDPR and Photography– What you need to know…

As we all know, GDPR came into effect on 25 May 2018 and these regulations represent a fundamental shift in the way we must treat personal data.  

SERC is committed to practices that protect students from harm and creating a safe learning environment that promotes well-being and security for all learners.  

Media relationships have a significant impact (positive and negative) on the external image of the College.  

The purpose of this document is to assist you when taking photos and help to ensure that published information is consistent, accurate and representative of the College’s strategy as well as complying with the Data Protection Action 2018. 

What you must do…  

Under GDPR, consent must be proportionate to the capacity and age of the individual and to certain circumstances. Consent does not last in perpetuity and should be renewed at appropriate and reasonable times. An individual giving previous consent can withdraw this at any time and must be informed of this right to withdraw at the time consent is sought.

For photographs taken of students, staff members or visitors, regardless of the purpose, we must have consent before the photo is taken. Consent must be provided in written form before the photo can be used.

It is the request that any photos taken are in landscape view only. The internal College Intranet is restricted to landscape view and images that are in portrait view do not display correctly. Any images sent through in portrait view will not be used. Images should be taken on a digital camera and not a smart phone and only stored on SERC servers.

How will the image be used?  

The member of staff in charge of taking the video/photograph will inform those in the photo of how images and information will be used.  

Photographic and video images used for promotional purposes include publication in SERC publications, website, intranet and social media sites. In some cases images will be accompanied by the full name of the student and course studied.

How do we get consent?  

Consent forms can be found on the Marketing and Communications team site through the Communication’s Toolkit which is accessible by all SERC staff or by clicking here

You will see four forms in the tool kit:

• Parental/guardian Consent Form - for individuals classes as vulnerable 
• Photography and video image notice – to be given to all those involved
• Photography and Video Authorisation Form – for individuals classes as non-vulnerable
• Request to Withdraw Consent Form - invoke my right to withdraw consent If an individual wishes to withdraw consent for image/video/sound to be used.

Contacting Marketing

If you would like to have a story promoted whether it be an event, student success, fund raising etc. you should contact PR and Communications Officer Michelle Rankin who is responsible for promotion.

You can assist marketing by providing as much detail as possible regarding the promotion when you first contact them. Examples of things to include are: student names and course details, where and when this takes/took place etc.  This will help to cut down on the time needed to promote your story and back and forth emails to collect the information required.

If you are including pictures for use in the promotion you should also include scanned copies of the consent forms so we can store them collectively in case of withdrawal.

If you have any further questions regarding GDPR, images or publicity you can contact SERC’s PR and Communications Officer Michelle Rankin or Records Manager Sian Harvey.