(Newswire.net — January 12, 2021) —
Photographers are one of the many economic groups that has been devastated by the pandemic. When millions of people are postponing their vacations and even medical treatments, they are understandably not leaving their homes for more elective-seeming activities such as having their photographs taken. But photography is still an important business that cannot be done in a completely virtual way. Photographers have to adapt in order to survive and even thrive in this stressful business climate.
Social distancing and photographs
Social distancing has become a hallmark of the current pandemic. According to Daniel Doyle in Pleasantville, it is the basis by which a large number of jurisdictions have restricted the movement and activities of citizens. Millions of people have been forced out of their workplaces and back into their homes. They have had to stay distant from large crowds and even from small gatherings.
Some places have restricted the gatherings of even friends and family members. These restrictions have led to significant problems for a wide variety of businesses. Daniel Doyle in Pleasantville argues that photography has been one of the most resilient fields. It is not possible to avail one’s self of the benefits of a professional photographer at home. There has to be a certain level of interaction in order to make photography work. Therefore, photographers have kept up a steady level of demand over the past few months. Those that have remained working have gained somewhat of an advantage over the older people and people with compromised immune systems who cannot have any interaction with others at this time.
At the same time, demand has still decreased. There are fewer opportunities for photographs. Fewer people are getting married and investing the time and energy into significant weddings. People are not having parties or having celebrations for births and graduations. Fewer people are on the job market and paying for headshots. All of these factors have pushed photographers to innovate like people in practically every other economic field.
More natural focus
One of the shifts that the pandemic has caused for photographers is a significant shift in their choices of settings. Many photographers previously had a mix between indoor and outdoor scenes. They had a number of scenes inside of homes, businesses, and industrial areas. The pandemic has forced photographers to embrace more outdoor images than they would have before. These settings are beneficial for numerous reasons.
First, the preparation required for an outdoor shoot during a pandemic is significantly less than an indoor spread. There is less cleaning required and more natural ventilation to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. Also, there are aesthetic benefits to natural settings. Natural backdrops were already preferred to artificial ones by a large number of photographers for families, professionals, and newly married couples.
But there is also the significant chance that artificial areas would be less than ideal at this time. A photographer would not be able to capture the excitement of a crowded area. The imposition of plexiglass shields and individuals with masks would reduce the allure of many of these areas. As a result, the move towards natural settings will probably remain popular as long as the world still needs to take steps to control the pandemic.
Careful measures
Photographers have to continue working and embrace outdoor areas. But even when they work outdoors, they need to have a number of comprehensive, clear rules about safety. They need to enforce rules about social distancing and wearing masks. Ideally, individuals who are outdoors should only have their masks off when they are taking photographs. Maskless images are only recommended for the members of a household. Every other person who is not having their pictures taken should be wearing a mask at all times.
There is also the necessity of keeping up with contact tracing. Contact tracing and virus prevention are almost as important as making sure the location of a photo shoot is as safe as possible. All of the employees at a photography company need to be careful what activities they engage in. They must ensure that they are not around crowds and are not opening themselves up to significant risks. If any person who works for a photography company feels sick, they need to be trusted not to come into work and potentially infect others.
Photography is a field that will survive throughout 2021 and beyond. But for individual photographers to survive throughout the pandemic, they need to be able to continue bringing in business while social distancing laws and guidelines are in place. They need to be just as careful about health and safety as they are about angles and lighting. Most importantly, they need to remember the stress that many clients are under and treat them with respect and dignity. Only by taking these steps will photographers be able to withstand 2021.