Update Covid-19 Photo Sessions

MAY 21, 2020

This is to let you know that the Quebec government has reopened practice of photo sessions on May 25, 2020. All necessary sanitary measures related to Covid-19 will be applied to ensure safety.

Please contact me for more info.

SPECIAL MESSAGE

APRIL 1, 2020

As of mid-March, the Covid-19 pandemic caught us by surprise and changed our lives. As a photographer - for now - I am unable to be close to you, to your business or to your loved ones. I am certain we will see each other in a near future.

In the meantime, rest assure that I am polishing my creative and technical skills in order to come out stronger. I invite you to contact me and schedule a "virtual coffee" and read my page entitled Covid-19 Sessions. I look forward to getting to know you and how I can be of service to you.

As you enjoy my portfolio in this website, I added a link to my "Covid-Art Portfolio" which I am enriching on a weekly basis, thanks to my Photo Club, numerous online courses and to an International Photo site.

With grace & gumption, Claudia.

Dear Clients,

APRIL 9, 2020

As a photographer I was given various examples of photographers in Montreal that were "ahead" of the game, working more than ever and that I was losing business and potential clients. Thankfully I have amazing mentors in my field who I consulted regarding this topic. For now, I want to share part of a blog from an award-winning Canadian portrait artist, Heather, who sums up beautifully the reason why I am currently not active:

A couple of weeks after the Covid-19 outbreak, "a new type of photography session has burst on to the scene and is gaining popularity and a great deal of media attention. Perhaps you’ve heard of ‘porch portraits’ or ‘front-step sessions’. In theory, the photographer maintains their ‘social-distance’ by shooting from the street or sidewalk, and that’s pretty easy to do if all involved are understanding and abiding.

However, what is happening here is NOT in accordance with all of the strong recommendations and advice coming down from Canada’s governing bodies and medical professionals. As much as I would love to argue this in non-pandemic times, photography is NOT an essential service.

Portrait Photography involves continuing to operate a non-essential business. Portrait photography involves the gathering of people. It involves at least one party (the photographer) leaving their home to provide a non-essential service. All of these things are not acceptable in our current states of emergencies and government mandates. Photographers offering any type of in-person sessions are simply not abiding by the rules that are so necessary to move us through this battle as fast as we all want us to move. They are, in their own individual way, risking health and civil liberties. They are not leading by example.

Furthermore, by continuing to offer in-person services, photographers – and I’m referring to those who are running legitimate businesses – risk financial penalties, voiding insurance coverage, and being denied access to the government crisis funding currently being rolled out for small businesses. 

Finally, the PPOC (Professional Photographers of Canada), which us members see as our guiding force, “recommends canceling or postponing all photography sessions involving people”. Full stop.

While I actually really love the theory and energy behind COVID-19 Porch Portraits, they are quite simply irresponsible given today’s level of pandemic response. And for portrait photographers who are struggling with business – as we must all be at the moment – it’s a slippery slope to shooting, say, a ‘Driveway Session’, or a ‘Backyard Session’, or a ‘Local Park Session’… the latter of which is just business-as-usual for many modern-day family photographers.

Photographers, and families considering engaging with photographers at this time, PLEASE stop. Only united will we win this battle against COVID-19 in a timely manner. And when we do, the sun will still come out and the leaves on the trees will still bud – and we will all have come to realize how treasured our family is and we will be filling family portrait photography calendars around the globe.

 STAY AT HOME."

I will keep you abreast as I get any updates regarding the world of photography. Until then, keep smiling please!