Our studio is cautiously re-opening in July! With the intimacy and length of boudoir sessions, I've had to implement a lot of modifications in order to photograph sessions -- for the safety of everyone involved. Here’s the scoop! I thought it might be interesting/reassuring to folks who are curious about boudoir sessions to see what we’re doing to keep ourselves and our clients safe.
Here are some of the new policies and practices we’ve put into place. I’m an open book so if anyone has any questions or clarifications, or heck, if you’re reading this and you’re like, OH YEAH I believe in Kinzie keeping her clients safe and I wanna be one of them, get me a boudoir shoot ASAP — send me an email at kinzie@empowermentphotographer.com!
COVID-19 STUDIO POLICIES as of July 1, 2020:
- For the time being, I will not be able to photograph clients who are high-risk for Covid exposure. If you think this might be you, reach out to me and we can chat it out. (Since we’re all having to make our own best decisions as we navigate the Covid-waters, each person’s situation is so different. As a result, sooooo much of what we’re doing right now is really going to require extensive and thorough communication. Good thing that’s one of my special-est and most practiced skills!)
- I moved the studio downstairs, and it's now in a space where I can photograph you with 6' minimum distance. (Also, the light is even better than it was upstairs, this increases accessibility for clients, AND there's a window seat. This is one weird perk of COVID, that it forced me to look at other options for shooting spaces -- and now look at us go!)
The downstairs area before — it was mostly used as an event space, and it’s also where clients would get their hair and makeup done at the start of their sessions!
Not quite done yet (we need art on the walls!), but it’s getting there!
- Hair and makeup services are optional. My hair and makeup team are taking Covid precautions very seriously, and their already-impeccable hygiene practices are next level now. They'll be wearing masks the entire time they work with you. If you paid for hair and makeup artistry and you would rather come hair and makeup ready (or go for a natural look!), just let me know and I'll apply that fee as product credit towards your package.
- We'll have two client/photographer phone calls before your session to screen for risks. I'll be contacting you to set up a time to chat about your health and your recent experiences leading up to your session. We'll probably talk about a week before your session to go over the big stuff (checking in if you've had any high-risk exposure, if you're feeling any symptoms, etc) and then again the day or two before to make sure nothing has changed, and that you're not having any new symptoms).
- I'll be photographing you from 6' away. This won't be a problem in terms of the quality of your photos, but it does mean I'll be asking you to help me with adjusting your own straps, and arranging your own hair. Funny enough, doing all these Zoom sessions have really helped me get good at guiding clients on this stuff, so I don't think it'll be in any way an issue for your session.
- I'll wear a mask the whole session, so you won't be able to see my big goofy-obsessed-with-you grin, but I'm sure you can picture it.
Hi! It’s me, Kinzie, ready to show you how great your butt is. Let’s do this thing!
- Precautions on your end: I'll take your temp with a touchless thermometer when you arrive. Please wear a mask for your arrival and while you settle in at the studio. I'll ask that you wash hands immediately upon entering, and take off your shoes when you first get to the studio. We’ll also have you put your phone in a basket at the door when you arrive. You can gather it on your way back out of the studio.
- I'll sanitize all hard surfaces before you arrive and after you leave
- I'll also bleach spray the whole shoot space the night before, so it has plenty of time to disinfect and dry before you arrive
- I'm changing clothes immediately before your session, and will change out again right after
- We will still do same-day Viewing and Ordering appointments, but they'll be on video chat instead of in-person // So, on your session day, you'll come to the studio (most sessions start at 10 am), we'll photograph your session, and then I'll send you on your way to grab a bite of food and relax and celebrate how awesome you feel. Then, a few hours later, we'll meet on Zoom -- and I'll have your final images ready for viewing! It's still the same amazing rush of seeing your photos the same day as you're taking them, just in different locations; this is gonna be real good!
- Client Lingerie Closet: I'll be pulling items for you with clean hands 24 hours before your session, and setting them out so that you'll be the only person touching them on the day of your session. Anything you touch (whether or not you try it on), I'll be washing after your session is over.
And then some things will go on as before:
- I'll continue to practice frequent hand-washing, and ask you to do the same.
- I'll have freshly washed sheets for the studio bed, and I'll be putting them on right before your session with clean hands.
- There's probably a whole lot of other things I can't think of right now because even in normal life, I'm a germaphobe, so I'm always extra careful anyways. (Those of you who have been to the studio before know we’ve had a sign up for YEARS that says, “It’s flu season, wash your damn hands.”) This has just taken things to the next level in the Empowerment Studio.
Wall art that I just ordered — courtesy of the incredible artist Mezay Ugbo of The Everyday Print Co / https://www.instagram.com/theeverydayprintco/ — for the new studio set up downstairs. I can’t WAIT to show off the new space once it all comes together!
Y’all, 2020 has been a wild ride so far. And I think that’s gonna keep being what — so now it’s a matter of adapting and pivoting as we need to. We can do that! We can do anything. It feels so worth it to put the puzzle pieces together of how to make it work that we can still do this thing -- boudoir must go on!!
I can't wait to start shooting again. Even though I'm pretty wary of, ya know, the world right now -- I'm also so aware of how good and powerful and transformative boudoir is, and how important connection is, so I know that with all these precautions, we'll be adding a lot of good to the world. And we need that right now. Maybe more now than ever.
Big love,
Kinzie