Covid-19

“What are we going to do different?” I asked the Boss.

“That’s what everyone keeps asking.” He said and sounded a bit put out by the question. “The clients want to know what we’ll be doing to keep everyone safe.”

“And what have you told them?”

“That’s we’ll be doing deep cleaning.” He said and I could hear the shrug in his voice. “We’ll put the clothes in a dryer for a cycle or two, that should be good enough. We barely have time to do our own laundry, what do they expect us to do?”

Most Assembly Line Portrait studios have a box of props, or a rack of clothes, or some sort of jewelry that everyone shares. These items are handed from person to person and seldom, if ever, cleaned. Most of these places also have some kind of data entry requirements-we have to know where to send the portraits, who to bill, where to send the sales letter and so on. We all share pens and pencils. We all tap at the same keyboard. Everyone sits on the same posing stool. We all breath the same air.

In The Days Before I would photograph a hundred people, one at a time, crowded together into a small room waiting their turn. There was a lot of old school walking over and adjusting ties and necklaces and clothing. A lot of being close to someone while they entered their info into the computer. A lot of talking. It’s hard to see how that will change. I have the new schedule from The Company. They’re giving me the same time to shoot a hundred people as they always have. No added time for cleaning or limited gatherings or social distancing.

The Professional Photographers of America have a nice list of guidelines. Do only outdoor shoots, limit gathering to 10 persons or fewer, wipe down all hard surfaces between sittings, wear a mask at all times. There are a few other common sense steps. I await The Company’s application of Common Sense.

No word yet on exact procedures. Masks and hand sanitizer? Social distance? Appointment times? Large rooms? Plastic shields? Last time I talked to the Tech Guy he was still talking about white balance. Dude, is that really the most important issue right now? Really?

I’ve been watching videos of amusement park re-openings and how they have limited guests, clean the rides with enough chemicals to kill the Andromeda Strain, and have strict mask wearing orders. The accompanying story is that they are all losing their asses since they only make profit with more guests than are allowed in the parks at the moment.

The portable portrait studio is usually small. The background is six feet wide, the light are about six feet apart, the camera is about six feet from the Subject. It is a mostly set it and forget it studio. I’m not fiddling with the lights and distances once they are in place, so it should be easy enough to maintain distance while I’m shooting. Just thinking about how I was trained. The Trainer touched every single person who came in, adjusting their clothes, positioning their hands once they were seated, turning them this way or that. I wonder what he’s going to do. I’ve never been that much of a hands-on kind of photographer.

I know that people have been working this whole time. I also know that people have been getting sick and dying this whole time. Several of my Twitter buddies have recently talked about having Covid-19 and how horrible it is, and how long the symptoms last even after they have recovered. As Jayne said in Firefly, We‘re gonna explode? I don’t wanna explode!

So I expect one of three things to happen. 1) Everyone pretends that nothing has changed and goes back to working exactly as we did before the pandemic. That could be bad for everyone. 2) We will show up to work, but we only get a fraction of normal business. That would be bad for the Company and if too few people show up, they won’t be able to pay for everyone to be out on the road. 3) We will enforce social distancing and clean as best as we can between sittings and we will no longer have enough time to work as we once did. This might be the safest of the possibilities, but it will also be one of the most stressful. The Company still has me scheduled for two shoots a day on most of my days out.

There is always, of course, the possibility of the unexpected. That somehow things will just work out fine. The kids will all cooperate. Everyone will wear masks and not complain about the extra time needed to clean and give instructions. Maybe the virus will just go away.

Maybe the schools will not even open. There’s a real possibility that we will not be allowed to shoot. Some cities have Quarantine Orders for people from out of state. I’m constantly moving from one state to another, how am I supposed to quarantine for two weeks? Are these things the Company has even considered? I doubt it. The last time I talked to anyone they were talking about how they had to hire a lot of new people to try and make up for the lost money from the Spring.

I can only plan for things to go forward as they always have. I’ll be getting new tires and an oil change. I’ve been to the Doctor for a checkup and the Dentist to have a tooth worked on. I’ll do what I can to keep safe and keep the young men and women I photograph safe. For now all I can do plan and hope for the best.