At Behrman House, I’m lucky that my position allows me to wear many hats. Usually, I’m answering the phones. Sometimes, I’m uploading books on Amazon and talking with printers. Other times, I get to assist at conferences, book fairs, and help plan events. I have to admit, helping plan events is one of my favorite parts of the job. Recently, I got to help plan a really fun event—a photo shoot.
It’s pretty hard to find some of the specialized shots we need for our books, so we rely on these photo shoots to get loving and appropriate pictures of scenes like a Passover Seder or a Shabbat dinner. Behrman House is always mindful to include a good mix of non-traditional families, to represent all of our readers.
My main responsibilities were to organize the props and find the photo subjects. When I called the bakery and placed an order for hamantashen, coconut macaroons, and round challah, the staff thought I was one mixed-up Jew! Thankfully, we were able to use many of the ritual objects we needed from our colleagues’ personal possessions. We had a flurry of emails around the office with subjects like: “Who has a Miriam’s Cup?”and “Where can I find a stuffed toy Torah?” Organizing the models was a bit more difficult, but with our families and local congregations, we were able to get a good mix of kids, parents, and grandparents. I’m especially excited to see my family represented in upcoming Behrman House books.
Want to be in an upcoming book? Just send us your pictures of any Jewish holiday or lifecycle event at your home or congregation, and we’ll gladly add them to our photo library. You might even find your face on the cover of our next book!
For more information please contact jessica@behrmanhouse.com
