Privacy policy

Last updated: 6 September 2026

Rachel Stevens Photography (“we”, “us”, “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and disclose your personal information when you visit https://rachel-stevens.com/, purchase from our online store, subscribe to our emails, contact us, enter a promotion or otherwise interact with Rachel Stevens Photography.

We handle personal information in accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and its Information Privacy Principles.

For the purposes of the Privacy Act 2020, Rachel Stevens Photography is the agency responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

1. PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us.

We may collect information such as:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • billing and delivery address;
  • order and transaction information;
  • products you purchase;
  • products you view or add to your cart;
  • payment confirmation and transaction information;
  • communications you send to us;
  • competition, giveaway or promotional entries;
  • reviews or other content you choose to submit;
  • marketing preferences;
  • IP address;
  • browser and device information;
  • website usage and interaction information; and
  • information collected through cookies, pixels and similar technologies.

Where you create a customer account, we may also collect information necessary to establish and manage that account.

Payment card details are generally collected and processed by our payment providers rather than being directly stored by Rachel Stevens Photography.

We will only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for our business activities or where otherwise permitted by law.

2. HOW WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION

We may collect personal information directly from you when you:

  • place an order;
  • create a customer account;
  • contact us;
  • subscribe to our email list;
  • enter a competition, giveaway or promotion;
  • complete a form;
  • leave a review;
  • communicate with us through social media;
  • attend an event, market or exhibition where you provide your details; or
  • otherwise provide information to us.

We may also automatically collect certain information when you use our website through cookies, pixels and similar technologies.

In some circumstances, we may receive personal information from third parties, including Shopify, payment providers, shipping providers, marketing platforms, advertising platforms and other service providers.

3. INFORMATION COLLECTED FROM OTHER SOURCES

Sometimes we may collect personal information about you from someone or somewhere other than directly from you.

Where required by the Privacy Act 2020, including Information Privacy Principle 3A, we will take reasonable steps to make you aware that we have collected the information, the circumstances in which it was collected, why it was collected, who may receive it, and your rights to access and request correction of the information.

There are circumstances under the Privacy Act where notification may not be required.

We may receive information from third-party services where this is necessary to operate our business, fulfil orders, provide customer service, prevent fraud, analyse our website or undertake marketing and advertising.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We may use your personal information to:

  • process and fulfil your orders;
  • process payments and refunds;
  • arrange delivery;
  • communicate with you about your order;
  • provide customer service;
  • manage returns, replacements or other customer enquiries;
  • maintain customer accounts;
  • operate and improve our website;
  • understand how customers use our website;
  • personalise your shopping experience;
  • maintain the security of our website;
  • prevent and investigate fraud or misuse;
  • administer competitions, giveaways and promotions;
  • send marketing communications where you have consented or where otherwise permitted by law;
  • measure and improve our advertising and marketing;
  • display advertising that may be relevant to you;
  • comply with tax, accounting and other legal obligations;
  • establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and
  • otherwise operate Rachel Stevens Photography.

We will not use personal information for a purpose that is unrelated to the purpose for which it was collected unless permitted or required by law.

5. SHOPIFY

Our online store is hosted by Shopify.

Shopify provides the e-commerce platform that enables us to operate our online store and sell our products to you.

When you visit our website or make a purchase, Shopify may process personal information on our behalf in order to provide its services.

Shopify may also collect and process certain information in accordance with its own privacy policies and terms.

Because Shopify operates internationally, information associated with our online store may be processed or stored outside New Zealand.

You can learn more about how Shopify handles personal information by reviewing Shopify's Privacy Policy.

6. PAYMENT PROCESSING

Payments made through our website are processed using third-party payment providers available through Shopify or otherwise offered on our website.

These providers may collect information required to process your transaction, including payment card information, billing information and transaction details.

Rachel Stevens Photography does not generally receive or store your complete credit or debit card number.

Payment providers handle your information in accordance with their own privacy policies and security requirements.

7. EMAIL MARKETING

We may use your name, email address, purchase history, website activity and other relevant information to send marketing communications and personalise those communications where permitted by law.

Our email marketing may be managed through third-party platforms such as Klaviyo.

Marketing communications may include:

  • new artwork releases;
  • product launches;
  • special offers;
  • competitions and giveaways;
  • behind-the-scenes content;
  • photography news;
  • exhibitions and events; and
  • other information relating to Rachel Stevens Photography.

We will send commercial electronic messages in accordance with applicable New Zealand law, including the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.

You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained in our emails.

You may also contact us directly and ask to be removed from our marketing list.

Unsubscribing from marketing communications will not prevent us from sending necessary transactional messages relating to an order, payment, delivery, account or customer service enquiry.

8. COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Like most online stores, our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files placed on your device that help websites operate and remember information about your visit.

We may use cookies, pixels, tags and similar technologies to:

  • operate our website;
  • remember your preferences;
  • maintain your shopping cart;
  • understand how visitors use our website;
  • measure website performance;
  • improve our website;
  • measure marketing campaigns;
  • prevent fraud and improve security; and
  • provide or measure advertising.

Some cookies are necessary for our website to function properly.

Other cookies may be provided by third parties such as Shopify, analytics providers, social media platforms and advertising services.

9. ANALYTICS AND ADVERTISING

We may use analytics and advertising services to understand how people interact with our website and to measure or improve our advertising.

Depending on the services currently enabled on our website, these may include platforms such as Shopify, Meta, Google and other advertising or analytics providers.

These services may use cookies, pixels and similar technologies to collect information about your interaction with our website.

For example, information may be used to:

  • measure whether an advertisement resulted in a website visit or purchase;
  • understand which pages or products visitors view;
  • measure advertising performance;
  • create audiences for advertising campaigns; and
  • provide advertising that may be more relevant to you.

Information collected through these technologies may be processed by the relevant provider in accordance with its own privacy policy.

We do not disclose personal information to advertisers simply so that they can independently market unrelated products or services to you.

10. MANAGING COOKIES AND TRACKING

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings.

Blocking certain cookies may affect how our website operates and may prevent some functions, including shopping cart or checkout features, from working correctly.

Some advertising and analytics providers also provide their own tools for controlling how information is used for personalised advertising.

Your browser or device may provide additional privacy controls.

11. WHO WE MAY DISCLOSE INFORMATION TO

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to operate our business or provide products and services to you.

This may include disclosure to:

  • Shopify;
  • payment processors;
  • banks and financial service providers;
  • email and marketing platforms such as Klaviyo;
  • courier and shipping providers;
  • printing, framing and fulfilment providers where required to fulfil your order;
  • website hosting and technology providers;
  • cloud storage providers;
  • analytics providers;
  • advertising and social media platforms;
  • professional advisers such as accountants, lawyers or insurers;
  • government agencies or regulators where required by law; and
  • other service providers who assist us in operating Rachel Stevens Photography.

We only disclose personal information where there is a legitimate business or legal reason to do so and in accordance with applicable privacy law.

12. OVERSEAS SERVICE PROVIDERS

Some of the companies and technology providers we use operate outside New Zealand.

As a result, your personal information may sometimes be stored or processed overseas.

Where we disclose personal information to an overseas person or organisation, we will comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020, including Information Privacy Principle 12, where applicable.

This may include taking reasonable steps to ensure the overseas recipient is subject to privacy safeguards comparable to those provided by New Zealand's Privacy Act, obtaining your authorisation where appropriate, or relying on another permitted basis under the Act.

Where an overseas service provider stores or processes personal information solely as our agent and does not use that information for its own purposes, different requirements may apply under the Privacy Act.

13. SECURITY

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information against:

  • loss;
  • unauthorised access;
  • misuse;
  • disclosure;
  • alteration; and
  • destruction.

We use appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards having regard to the nature of the information we hold.

Our e-commerce platform and payment providers also maintain their own security systems.

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Please do not send sensitive information such as complete payment card details to us through ordinary email or social media messages.

14. HOW LONG WE KEEP PERSONAL INFORMATION

We retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law.

How long information is retained may depend on factors including:

  • whether you have an active customer account;
  • whether we need the information to fulfil or support an order;
  • accounting and tax requirements;
  • legal obligations;
  • warranty, refund or dispute requirements;
  • fraud prevention and security;
  • whether you remain subscribed to our marketing communications; and
  • whether the information is reasonably required to establish or defend a legal claim.

When personal information is no longer reasonably required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy or anonymise it where appropriate.

15. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE NEW ZEALAND PRIVACY ACT

If you are an individual, you have rights in relation to your personal information under the Privacy Act 2020.

Access

You may request access to personal information that we hold about you.

There are limited circumstances under the Privacy Act where we may be permitted to withhold some information.

Correction

You may ask us to correct personal information that you believe is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading.

If we do not make a correction you have requested, you may ask us to attach a statement of correction to the information where required by the Privacy Act.

How to make a request

To request access to or correction of your personal information, contact:

hello@rachel-stevens.com

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to personal information.

We will respond to requests within the timeframe required by the Privacy Act 2020.

16. DELETING YOUR INFORMATION

You may contact us to ask us to delete personal information we hold about you.

We will consider deletion requests and delete information where appropriate.

However, we may need or be permitted to retain certain information where it is reasonably required for purposes such as:

  • tax or accounting records;
  • completing an order;
  • maintaining transaction records;
  • preventing fraud;
  • resolving a dispute;
  • complying with legal obligations; or
  • establishing or defending legal claims.

A request to delete information does not override legal obligations that require or permit us to retain it.

17. REVIEWS AND USER-GENERATED CONTENT

If you submit a product review, testimonial, photograph, comment or other content for publication, some information you provide may become publicly visible.

Please do not include personal information in a public review or submission that you do not want others to see.

Information that you voluntarily publish publicly may be viewed, copied or used by other people outside our control.

18. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Our online store is intended for a general audience and is not specifically directed at children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children where it would be inappropriate or unlawful to do so.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us and you have concerns about that information, please contact us.

19. PRIVACY BREACHES

We take privacy breaches seriously.

If personal information is accidentally or unlawfully accessed, disclosed, altered, lost or destroyed, we will assess the circumstances and take appropriate steps to contain and manage the breach.

Where a privacy breach has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and affected individuals as required by the Privacy Act 2020.

20. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES

Our website may contain links to websites, social media platforms or services operated by third parties.

Once you leave our website, the collection and use of your information by those third parties is governed by their own privacy policies and practices.

Rachel Stevens Photography is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of websites or services that we do not control.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of third-party services before providing them with personal information.

21. COMPLAINTS

If you have concerns about how Rachel Stevens Photography has collected, used, stored or disclosed your personal information, please contact us first so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve the issue.

Please contact:

Rachel Stevens Photography
Christchurch, New Zealand
Email: hello@rachel-stevens.com

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may make a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of New Zealand.

Information about privacy rights and making a complaint is available from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.

22. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our business, website, technology, service providers or legal obligations.

When we update this policy, we will publish the revised version on our website and update the “Last updated” date.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

23. CONTACT US

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, would like to request access to or correction of your personal information, or have a privacy concern, please contact:

Rachel Stevens Photography
Christchurch, New Zealand

Email: hello@rachel-stevens.com
Website: https://rachel-stevens.com/

For privacy enquiries, please use the subject line “Privacy Request” where possible.