Graduation Portraits In The Time Of Covid 19

 First Congratulations to Brian and Gabe and all the #classof2020 !!! Graduation Portraits In The Time Of Covid 19? How does that story go? Oh yeah… It was the Best of times, It was the Worst of times… In other words, when the world gets lemons, the world makes lemonade!

@lloydsstudio recently (and safely 9ft plus distance) proudly photographed our #FAUGraduates @bslushie and @gabecruz737 both at our downtown #bocaratonphotostudio (actually just outside because our studio is closed by order of the local government) and at the #fauboca entrance sign. People driving by congratulated our “models” by honking their car horns and giving us air high fives, it was uplifting to see such spirit and comrodery! Akin to the time after 911.

We were one of the downtown businesses that closed on March 13th 2020, the day the national emergency was declared, twelve days before the City of Boca Raton ordered the closure of non essential businesses on March 25th 2020. We have remained closed as of this writing.

All this time we would still get calls from customers asking if we were open and we obviously said we were not. So we added a popup note to the website explaining our status. Still we got calls, one in particular was for FAU Graduates who would unfortunately, not get a graduation ceremony because of Covid 19. People still wanted to have some sort of Graduation Portraits to commemorate the occasion regardless of Covid 19.

When Graduation Portraits In The Time Of Covid 19 Became Real

So we decided to somehow answer the call but do it safely!  We also decided to do the photo-shoots outside. This would keep us in compliance with all the orders and restrictions. By using the correct lens, we were able to stay 9 feet away from the subject, get great shots, but more importantly do it safely. We never thought we would have to think about a portrait shoot in this way but such are the times… Graduation Portraits In The Time Of Covid 19

Photography by: ©Michael B. Lloyd

How to do Graduation Portraits In The Time Of Covid 19

We also communicated with our clients clearly as to what the expectations would be and what was expected of them in a photo-shoot during a pandemic.  Letting everybody know what their role is and how to act, what to bring and especially the social distancing rules, creates the best environment in order to have the best (smooth sailing) experience that can be possible in these times.

Wearing gloves, a mask and a face shield may not look that “hot”, but in the hot South  Florida weather it can be really be hot! Photographing like this is like ten times harder and longer. You end up as tiered as if you had done 5 or ten shoots! I’m exaggerating but still it’s tough. I can only wonder how our doctors and nurses can cope wearing even more stuff all day long, that is really tough!  They are the real heroes here. No doubt about it!

Thinking Ahead for our Graduates

This situation also made us think of how hard it might be for our graduates once this is over and its time to go and actually find a job in the new normal… I would be excused to think if there will ever be such a thing.  It probably will be even harder, so why not give them something else, something they can really use? We decided to include a professional head-shot for their LinkedIn profile.

We asked them to also bring their suit and tie and we would give them a leg up with a professional photo that will make them stand out and help them land a job!  We often talk about the importance of a professional head-shot, it will be even more important then. Check out this blog post on it if you are also thinking of getting one.

Keep calm and photograph on!

Photography by: ©Michael B. Lloyd

Keep calm and photograph on!