Some Predictions on Photography and the Covid 19 Pandemic
Writing this in May 2020, it’s hard to see when this will be behind us, but I would hope to begin to return to a NEW normal come September. If I’m wrong, then I’d prefer to be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.
However things will be quite different. Firstly on all jobs until this crisis is behind us I will be wearing a face mask, and maintaining a 2 meter distance from everyone. Not only for my own health but also for the health of others. Also no hand shaking and all of my equipment will be sterilized.
Regarding conferences, it will be all about making the event look busy! This will be especially challenging as each person may have 2 empty seats beside them. I have various techniques I use to make rooms look full. Looking at the photographs afterwords you would never guess there were empty seats at all. I can easily make a half full room look full. Distance will be key, as to maintain the 2 meter limit, my longer lenses will be vital!
Social media hasn’t gone anywhere and companies will still wish to maintain their social media presence. This will continue to be important for corporate events. Capturing speakers onstage and audience engagement will be vital, as well as getting these to the clients in real time for their social media channels. If anything, the world’s use of social media has only increased in recent months.
For portraiture and headshots I would have always maintained a distance of at least 2 meters before the chrisis, so this area will be the least affected. Long lenses work the best for portraits. They are also the most flattering for the face. It will not be a problem for me to come into offices and setup, and see one person at a time for a few minutes to take their headshots. I just won’t be able to greet them with a handshake. Again I will maintain a strict 2 meter distance at all times.
Some other areas of photography such as property photography won’t be affected, as usually the properties are vacant. Also many times I’m left in the building alone for the required time to photograph.
Product photography will also not be affected, as this can also be done in my own time. I can also do this with the clients in the same room. We would both need to wear face masks of course and keep our distance.
Regarding set stills it remains to be seen how things will move forward. Normally on set if there is any kind of bug, the whole crew gets it, as it’s such a closed nit group. It remains to be seen when television and film productions can return. I’d expect this might come back in September also, but with many new rules and requirements for safety. Promotional shots would still be ok as we can work within the rules.
PR photography should also be workable. Obviously no wide lenses and getting up close and personal, but there are many workarounds here.
Advertising photography shoots will still go ahead as there will be a backlog of campaigns. Brands will be eager to get their messaging out there. Many months have gone by, so people will be eager to get going!
Some things are still very uncertain, but I’m confident that the photographic industry can alter itself to accommodate any new rules after Covid 19. We will all have to wait and see how the economy is and how quickly it can recover.
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