From large corporations to small gig workers, there's hardly anyone that has not faced the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. As international travel remains restricted and health safety protocols become mandatory, photographers and models, too, have discovered new ways of continuing their work without needing to meet face-to-face.
No flights, no expensive hotels or the usual paraphernalia of costume stylists, make-up artists, directors or even lighting experts -- photography in the pandemic era requires only the photographer, model and of course a common video calling platform. From Vogue Italia's FaceTime cover featuring Gigi and Bella Hadid to photographer Subi Samuel pulling off India's first magazine cover shoot done remotely via Zoom with Milind Soman, virtual photography has taken over across the world.
Fashion brands like Zara sent their products directly to models’ homes to be styled and shot, giving quarantine style a new meaning. While luxury label Burberry took the opportunity to have its employees from merchandising to finance, retail and design departments to model the clothes outside their own homes.
While the shift has pushed many out of a job, it has also opened up new opportunities for many as you don't need to be based in a country to shoot someone living there anymore. Many photographers have begun offering FaceTime shoots as a professional service.
Photographers are also exploring lensing people with a barrier. American photographer Kyle Roper turned the front door of his house into a large format camera to shoot 'socially distanced portraits.' Didi von Doch started shooting families from their windows, dubbing it 'The Window Shot' series. Similar window and 'doortrait' photography projects have been adopted by many all over the world.
(Chiara Mac Call, Rania Matar, Arne Senson, Jim Barker)
Many photographers have, of course, been able to brave the health crisis and capture it from the front lines. From eerie atypical spatial patterns formed due to social distancing rules to almost comical disinfection of the entire planet and of course the intermingling of more disasters amid a literal pandemic -- it is safe to say that almost every photo from 2020 is preservation-worthy.
Capturing this global perspective is the 'Covid Photo Museum' which claims to be the world’s first virtual museum dedicated to curating photos captured during the Covid-19 pandemic, including those shot by professionals and common people. Here's a look at some of them.