I generally keep things pretty upbeat around here, because I do have a really fun job and I work with so many amazing clients. And, boy I have missed seeing clients in the worst way! I’ve been running Brandi Thompson Photography since January of 2008, so it’s been nearly 12.5 years. It is truly one of my babies, and I’ve put my heart and soul into it. It’s also an important part of the income for our family. This period without work has really been hard on my heart and soul. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life, and not being able to work has really been difficult for me to face. I obviously believe in being safe for my family and my client families, but it really has taken a toll on me, emotionally. My work is an important element of who I am, and not being able to operate as normal feels like a piece of me is missing. I should have written this post long ago, but it’s been a struggle for me to look at work related stuff, and not feel anxious and depressed over the current situation.
Right now, I have been continuing to monitor the case situation in Texas, and when I hope to re-open and begin photographing my beautiful clients again. The good part is, I am very low volume, I’m not in a situation where I have a large number of people in the space to begin with. However, I still will be keeping strict guidelines, and even more thorough cleaning than I did typically. Since I work with infants and toddlers, I already had a thorough cleaning process in place. I wipe down hard surfaces with disinfecting wipes, I use hot water to wash things that can be, and other props that cannot be washed, get put away and not reused for at least 3 days. I will continue these, with the added policies put in place:
- Both myself, and all clients will communicate the presence of any fever or cough within a week of the session. This needs to be communicated ASAP, and please do not wait until the day before to let me know. We will monitor the situation and decide on postponing the session, if need be, but all potential symptoms should be communicated in both directions as soon as they come up. Completely honesty is incredibly important.
- Both myself, and all clients will communicate if they find out they’ve come in contact with anybody who has Covid-19 exposure. Sessions with potential Covid-19 exposure will be postponed at least two weeks. However, if you work in the medical industry, please let me know, and we can talk about your situation, as I understand our amazing healthcare workers are put on the frontlines.
- The minimal number of family members will be allowed into the studio. Please do not bring grandparents, siblings, etc, if at all possible (siblings allowed for newborn sessions). If you need an extra family member present, they will need to wait in their car during the session. I really dislike being this way, and this will be temporary, but for everybody’s safety, we want to keep the absolute minimum number of people in studio.
- A bottle of hand sanitizer will be outside the door, for clients to use prior to entering.
Right now, depending heavily on the virus behavior in the next few weeks, I am aiming to start taking sessions again the very last week of May. If, the virus growth does not slow down, this date will be pushed out as need be. As much as it pains me to miss my business, in the end, this is not an essential business, and the safety is what matters most. I will be in touch with all clients who have been patiently waiting to reschedule, and I promise, we will get it done!
In the mean time, I will be getting some blog posts up of some of our adventures from last year! I haven’t posted personal stuff to the blog in ages, so to keep things going, I’m going to be sharing the personal photos I’ve finally finished editing. Stay tuned for those.
Sending lots of love to you all; stay safe out there.