May a photo studio keep my photos forever in its archive?
Retention must be proportionate. "Forever" rarely justified. Customer can demand erasure via Art. 17 — photographer must honour.
Photo studios + portrait photographers archives = classic storage-limitation application. Allowed retention: (1) Treatment/assignment administration = 7 years fiscal for invoices + delivery proof. NOT the photo files themselves. (2) Portfolio use = duration consent + revoke option. (3) RAW files for possible re-print = max 2 years without consent, longer with consent. Delete thereafter. (4) Personal photographer archive = only anonymised or with explicit consent. What is NOT allowed: "Forever in my portfolio" without revoke procedure. Photos from wedding 10+ years ago in new marketing without new consent. Photos of underage model from old shoot. GDPR Art. 17 (erasure): client can request anytime — photographer must act within 30 days. Exception: artistic + journalistic freedom (UAVG Art. 43) — limited. Model contract with "photographer may use unlimited" = sometimes invalid under Art. 7 (withdrawable). For commercial shoot (model release contract): retention must be explicit in contract. Standard 5 years is practice + withdrawable. On refusal to delete: GDPR complaint AP + civil damages claim Art. 82 + portrait right (Cruijff). DuPho (Dutch professional photographers) has sector guidelines.
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- “photographer archive erasure”
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