Updated COVID Photography and Videography Policy

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY POLICY
Please provide this information to your photographer.

[While there is no photography or videography allowed in the sanctuary during the B’nai Mitzvah service itself, this information is for photography and/or videography that will be used at the rehearsal and/or before and/or after the service.]

Please remember that the B'nai Mitzvah service is first and foremost a religious service. Our goal is to create an atmosphere which is conducive to worship and to protect the spirit of the ceremony.

While we recognize that families wish to remember this significant occasion and photographers strive to provide an excellent visual record, it has become necessary for the clergy, with the full support of the Board of Directors, to provide this statement to each family celebrating a B'nai Mitzvah in the Sanctuary.

• Photography with the open Torah is permitted in the Sanctuary ONLY during the final rehearsal. (Feel free to come dressed for pictures.) Out of respect for the Torah scrolls please do not remove them from the ark for photography on Shabbat. Bimah furniture should not be rearranged and the microphones on the podiums may not be removed. The photographer should understand that the Sanctuary is in use prior to 4:00 pm on Rehearsal Day and should be considerate if he/she needs to set up prior to the 4:00 PM rehearsal.
   
• There are no video cameras allowed in the Sanctuary during the worship service. Your service will be streamed and recorded to an MP4.
   
• For bimah services, please advise immediate family members who may come with cameras that there are no pictures allowed in the sanctuary during the service.
   
• Family or individual portrait photography may also take place between 9:00-10:00 AM on the day of the B'nai Mitzvah for the morning service and 3:30-4:30 PM for the afternoon service.
   
• If you are unable to take pictures during your final rehearsal, you may contact Julie Kaplan (JKaplan@templerodefshalom.org) to schedule a separate photo session.