Photography

Smoke and Mirrors

Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 22, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Photography-Smoke and Mirrors (the “Site”), operated by Alexandra Lucas (“I,” “me,” or “my”), collects, uses, and protects information when you visit.

1. Information I Collect

Contact form submissions. If you use the contact form on this Site, I collect the information you provide (such as your name, email address, and message content) in order to respond to you. This information is sent to me via the form provider (currently WPForms) and is not sold, rented, or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

Analytics (Google Analytics). This Site may use Google Analytics to understand general audience patterns, such as which regions visitors are located in and which pages are viewed. Google Analytics collects information such as your approximate location (derived from IP address), device and browser type, and pages visited. This data is aggregated and used to understand my audience — it is not used to identify you personally. Google may process this data on servers located outside Canada. You can learn more about how Google handles this data in the Google Privacy Policy, and you can opt out of Google Analytics tracking using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Cookies. At this time, this Site uses only essential cookies required for basic site functionality (such as security and site preferences), plus Google Analytics as described above. It does not currently use cookies for advertising or marketing purposes. For visitors in the EU/EEA, non-essential cookies (including Google Analytics) are only set after you give consent through the Site’s cookie banner; you can withdraw consent at any time by adjusting your cookie settings.

If I begin offering items for sale on the art site, I may introduce additional cookies (for example, to support a shopping cart or checkout process) and additional data collection related to processing orders, such as shipping information and payment confirmation (payment details themselves are handled by a third-party payment processor and are not stored by me). This Policy will be updated in advance of any such change, and where required by law, you will be asked for consent to non-essential cookies.

2. How I Use Information

Information collected through this Site is used to:

  • respond to messages sent through the contact form;
  • understand general audience trends (location, device, popular content) to improve the Site;
  • if applicable in future, process and fulfill orders placed through the art site.

I do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

3. Legal Basis and Location

I am based in Nova Scotia, Canada, and this Site is hosted in Montreal, Canada. Personal information collected through this Site is handled in accordance with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). If you are visiting from outside Canada, please note your information may be processed in Canada and, where third-party tools like Google Analytics are used, potentially in other countries as well.

For visitors in the European Union / European Economic Area. I aim to handle your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For GDPR purposes:

  • I, (“Alexandra Lucas”), am the data controller for personal information collected through this Site.
  • The legal basis for processing contact form submissions is your consent (given by submitting the form) and, where applicable, my legitimate interest in responding to inquiries.
  • The legal basis for analytics cookies (Google Analytics) is your consent, collected via the cookie banner described in Section 1. Analytics scripts are not loaded for EU/EEA visitors until consent is given.
  • Where personal data is transferred outside the EU/EEA (for example, to Google’s servers, or to me in Canada), such transfers rely on the receiving party’s applicable safeguards — for Google Analytics, this is Google’s own GDPR-compliant transfer mechanisms, described in its Privacy Policy.

4. Data Retention

Contact form submissions are retained only as long as needed to respond to and resolve your inquiry, after which they may be deleted. Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics’ standard retention settings.

5. Your Choices

You may:

  • decline to submit the contact form if you prefer not to share your information;
  • opt out of Google Analytics tracking using the browser add-on linked above, adjusting the Site’s cookie banner, or using browser settings/extensions that block analytics scripts;
  • contact me at any time to ask what information I hold about you or to request its deletion (see Section 8).

Additional rights for EU/EEA visitors (GDPR). You have the right to:

  • request access to the personal data I hold about you;
  • request correction of inaccurate personal data;
  • request erasure of your personal data;
  • request restriction of, or object to, processing of your personal data;
  • request a copy of your personal data in a portable format;
  • withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal;
  • lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data has been mishandled.

To exercise any of these rights, contact me using the details in Section 8. I will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

6. Children’s Privacy

This Site is not directed at children, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

7. Changes to This Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, particularly as the Site evolves (for example, if e-commerce features are added). Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date.

8. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests regarding your personal information, can be directed to:

Alexandra Lucas

Please reach out via the Contact page