Photo and Video Consent for Bharatanatyam and Kathak Schools
Use a written photo and video consent form to record what you may film and where you may share it. Ask adult students directly and parents or legal guardians for children. Keep the responses in one register, check it before every upload, and reconfirm permission before each recital, when it expires or when you propose a new use.
What should a photo and video consent form include?
A photo and video consent form should give students separate choices about recording, sharing, names and account tags. A broad agreement to studio promotion does not tell you whether a particular Instagram clip is approved.
Offer these choices, and record each response:
- No photos or recordings: keep the student off-camera and plan camera positions accordingly.
- Individual teaching use: share feedback footage only with the student and, for a child, their parent or guardian.
- Closed studio sharing: share with a named batch or enrolled-student audience through a private portal, gallery or group.
- Public sharing: use only the public channels listed on the form, such as Instagram, YouTube or your website.
Permission for Instagram does not cover press submissions, a teacher's personal account or every private group. Name each channel you intend to use.
Ask separately about still photos, recorded videos and livestreams. Include choices for class footage, recital footage, group shots and solo close-ups. A student may accept a public group photograph and decline a solo reel.
Ask separately about names in captions and account tags. Leave both out unless approved.
State when permission expires and how to change it. Explain that public photos and videos can be downloaded or forwarded, so you cannot guarantee removal of every copy. Declining publicity must not affect teaching or enrollment.
How do I keep a photo consent register?
Keep one up-to-date record of each student's permissions, linked to their signed response, in a spreadsheet or folder with restricted access. A spreadsheet and a folder with restricted access can work if you keep both up to date.
Use columns for the student's name, who gave permission, permitted audiences, photos or videos, class or recital footage, group or solo shots, names and tags, expiry date, and date of any change. Keep the original response so you can check the wording the student or parent accepted.
Adult students give their own consent. For children, get permission from a parent or legal guardian; if you are unsure who can give it, confirm that before recording. Ask teenage students too, and respect their objection to being posted even if a parent agrees.
Treat an unanswered form as no permission to share. Do not ask anyone to explain a refusal. Tell teachers and camera operators what they may record or share without passing on private reasons.
Review the register at the start of each term. Reconfirm permission before each recital, when it expires and before a new use, such as a livestream. Name the proposed use in your reminder email and ask for a clear response.
Put one person in charge of approving uploads. If that is you, check every visible student, the destination and the caption before posting. Teaching assistants should submit proposed posts for approval and follow the same rules on personal accounts.
How should I handle recital photos and class recordings?
Give photographers and videographers written instructions before a recital, then check the photos and videos against current permissions before publishing. Private class recordings also need permission from everyone they capture.
For a recital:
- Prepare a private filming list showing students who must stay off-camera, those allowed only in group shots and any other restrictions.
- Brief the photographer, videographer and assistant teachers. Identify students privately and confirm that camera operators can recognise them.
- Plan camera angles and separate promotional photos. Keep stage participation unchanged for students who decline publicity.
- Check everyone visible before approving a public photo or clip. Crop, blur or leave out footage that includes someone whose permission does not cover that use.
Keep naming and tagging permissions separate from the filming list, and check them when writing captions. Add these tasks to your recital production schedule.
Get separate approval for livestreams because you cannot edit someone out before viewers see them. If your camera plan cannot respect a student's restrictions, do not stream that portion.
For Zoom classes, announce what you record, why, who receives it and how long you keep it. Sharing a recording with the whole batch counts as closed studio sharing. Avoid recording home interiors, other children and private conversations where possible.
Tell viewers not to download or forward recordings containing other students. Explain that this rule cannot prevent copying.
What should I do when photo consent changes?
Stop further sharing immediately, update the register and remove the relevant photos or videos from places you control. Check scheduled posts too.
Record the request date and identify the files, posts and galleries involved. Ask photographers and other recipients to remove their copies, and be clear about any removal you cannot verify.
Decide how long to keep raw footage and practice recordings. For example, delete unused raw recital footage after the approved edit is delivered, unless you have stated another purpose and storage period. Restrict access while you keep the files.
Teaching-material permissions need separate rules. Label notation and choreography PDFs for enrolled-student use, avoid public links and add a recipient's name to individual copies. Watermarks can identify a shared copy but cannot prevent copying.
As of October 2026, DanceHall Studios displays each student's name and email over class videos and lets the teacher choose which weeks are visible. You still need to check consent before sharing recordings, and these features cannot prevent copies.
Questions studio owners ask
Do I need written consent to post recital photos on Instagram?
Use written permission covering Instagram and the type of photo you intend to post. A student or parent knowing that you post recital photos does not establish their agreement to appear in them.
Can I share Zoom class recordings with the whole batch?
Only share when everyone captured has agreed to batch sharing. If someone has agreed only to individual teaching use, provide individual feedback or record a separate teacher-only demonstration.
What if a parent asks me to remove a video already posted?
Remove the child's video from channels you control and update their consent record. Confirm receipt of the request, tell the parent what you will remove and follow up once you have done it; do not promise to erase every downloaded or forwarded copy.