Pass out grace like popsicles.
Learning anew.
This pandemic has brought some challenges to shooting! Usually I can physically touch and move my clients into the pose I want, but now I stay 6 feet away or more. Having a mask on my face means my facial communication is gone and I need more words to communicate as I go. It’s an interesting challenge but I’m not here to complain about it. I understand the protocols for safety and I’m fine to abide by them. It’s teaching me a new way of working with clients, I’m using my long lens more and am explaining poses instead of placing them, and it’s stretching me creatively which I think is always a good thing. Having been a photographer for 15 years now, these are the things that keep me on my toes and are what help me to never get bored!
The fact that I can figure out a way to keep working in a time like this is something I do not take for granted. Everyone is in a new space of figuring out how to pivot their businesses to keep their boats afloat at the end of the day and it is not a simple ask. The thing I find amazing right now (in my world) is how a photoshoot can bring simple connections forward. It’s been a very isolating year, so to get to meet with friends and clients outdoors for some photos is an absolute highlight and a kind of connection I think we all are craving. Even with a mask on and some space between us, it’s different but good.
It turns out that we all need a lot of grace these days. We are hurting and that can look foreign, depending on who is doing the watching. I read somewhere that they were working on giving out grace like candy, but in my neighborhood it’s popsicles that the kids are excited for. So, I’ve made it a point to give out grace like popsicles on a hot summer day in our cul de sac. Everyone is excited for them, looking forward to getting their favorite flavor. and needing the moment of rest it provides more than they know. I hope the pictures we are taking during this time will also offer us that same feeling of abounding grace when we are able to look back on this year. It isn’t easy, but I hope the grace we might find can connect us all along the way.
