Photography and Video Guidelines

At Christ Church we are passionate about reaching people that do not normally come to church and help those that do grow in their faith. This is a why we run a significant number of services/activities/events/courses that are accessible to the community around us. In order to create awareness of Christ Church in general and what we have to offer, we create publicity materials, such as flyers, posters, noticesheets, notice slides, web pages and posts on social media. Our website and social media presences are an ever more important way to share what we believe in, create awareness of what we have is happening at our church and to connect with those around us.

Because we strongly believe that church is not primarily about the building but about people, we often take pictures/videos of people. The opportunities on offer need to be balanced with the risk to individuals, in particular to children and common courtesy. We therefore ask everyone to honour the following guidelines:

Get Authorisation

On church grounds, i.e. the area around the church and inside the church premises, but only during church-run activities, only “Official Photographers” are allowed to take pictures and videos that can be posted on the web and social media. They are recorded on the Official Photographers list. Everyone else is asked to not post pictures that include children, except their own, on social media and the web. When taking pictures, the Official Photographer should wear the Official Photographer badge to communicate that only certain people are allowed to take pictures for public display.

Ask for Permission

Official photographers must ask for explicit verbal or written consent from anyone who will be identifiable in a photograph or video beforehand. If the picture/video was taken with intent to make it public in any way, e.g. by posting on the website and/or the social media sites, they have to make them aware that it will be made public and may be used for publicity purposes before getting their agreement. They need to get explicit permission if personal information will be associated with the picture and video, in particular their name. If general written consent has been given, Official Photographers should still check with the individual concerned that they are happy with the particular picture.

Protect Children

Particular care must be taken when taking pictures/video of children under 16. The following guidelines are loosely based on NSPCC guidance and apply in addition to those stated above: o Do not associate the children’s names with the photograph/video. If a child is named, avoid using the photograph. o Get verbal or written parental permission beforehand. o Only use images of children in suitable clothing to reduce the risk of inappropriate use. o Do not take pictures of children in a setting where they are unsupervised. o If the child is of an appropriate age, ask them for permission as well.

Store Them Securely

All pictures and videos taken should be stored under CCC Photos on the church’s SharePoint site. Media for which consent for public sharing has been given should be saved in the Authorised for Public Use folder.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact publicity@ccchislehurst.org.