Social Distancing & Apocalypse survival
Dear clients,
I hope you're all surviving and staying sane in these strange times.
I've been taking a few days (or is it weeks? I'm not sure any more) off emails to pause, restore... and reconfigure my mind, work and lifestyle around becoming a bunker dwelling apocalypse person. It's going ok thus far. I've made quite a few pies, planted some vegetables, gone through phases of doing yoga at 8am every morning and also phases of failing to get out of bed until 3pm and forgetting to shower. I'm discovering that the key to survival through this time is most likely in the balance between healthy self-care and impulse adopting kittens (please see my instagram for kittens)...
In the mean time, here's a little info for the curious on how it will be possible to conduct photoshoots moving forward whilst observing the rules of the dystopian future we now find ourselves in:
Lock-Down permitting, I'm planning to resume shooting from mid-May onwards. I will be shooting either indoors at my home studio in West London (for which social distancing guidelines will be observed.. please wear a mask for travel, wear gloves, hazmat suits etc, don't expect a hug) OR more likely; in a big outdoor location where we can work peacefully at a safe distance without coming into contact with anyone else.. I normally shoot on long lenses and stand around 2 meters away from my clients when shooting headshots anyway, so it will be possible to observe social distancing rules during sessions without any great change to the style of my work. I never touch clients (please bring a hand mirror to do your own hair adjustments). The only major difference will be that you will need to bring your own thermos of coffee and if we're shooting on location please use the bathroom before leaving your house as we won't be visiting any cafes during the session. It may not be possible for me to show you the images on-camera during the session.. so you can just pretend we're shooting on film and the images will remain an exciting mystery until you receive your digital contact sheets next day.. Like in the olden days.
On a practical level - I'm waiving all cancellation fees for the time being and in addition to closely monitoring the changing situation and government advice on a daily basis - I'm very happy to be led by my clients in terms of how they're feeling in the run up to the session. If you have a booking in the next 3 months and you or anyone in your family develops mild symptoms you should definitely cancel. Obviously giving sufficient notice is good for my business - but if this is not possible, then am perfectly happy for you to cancel on the morning of the session. Please text me so I can catch up on my sleep..
Likewise, I'm a strong believer that it's important to be in a positive frame of mind when you come and shoot headshots.. it takes a lot of energy, and the best shots tend to emerge when clients are feeling open and playful.. if you're having a bad day or an existential crisis this will probably be reflected in the images. So if everything gets too much and you're feeling crippled with apocalypse related anxiety / depression / struggling to change out of your night pyjamas into your day pyjamas / have been surviving for the past few weeks on a diet of stockpiled pasta and wine or have done something impulsive involving bottled hair dye and late night decision making please just let me know and we can postpone. I am 100% ok with this.
I'm hoping the above might seek to reassure any anxious actors out there who are keen to tick new headshots off a to-do list whilst still managing to avoid the plague... please don't hesitate to let me know if any other questions remain unanswered. It's a super strange time so just give yourself a moment to pause, reset and adapt. On the up-side I am thoroughly enjoying everyone's apocalypse social media content and I cannot wait for all the works of isolation and booze fuelled musical, literary and creative genius to flood the world with art in approximately 3 months time. When we look back, this will be known as the virus renaissance.
On a personal note, I'm finding the most helpful thing to do on a daily basis is to get up in the morning and do some yoga. It clears your mind and sets you up for a sense of achievement before breakfast. And then you can get on with enacting Chekhov plays with your cats and day-drinking etc.. so in the spirit of sharing good things.. One of my favourite online libraries: https://yogisanonymous.com is offering a 15 day unlimited yoga & meditation trial for new users. And most of my awesome London teachers are running round the clock live zoom classes, drop me a line if you want recommendations for turning your lock-down into a super restorative living room yoga retreat...
Sending you all the good vibes... 💜
