Health & Safety Plan | Vancouver Newborn, Maternity, Family Photography
Kim Forrester Photography has always treated safety as our #1 priority. During the uncertain time of Covid-19, we have created an official Health & Safety Plan that includes extra measures around germ control, sanitization of equipment, and a strict illness policy. We require the cooperation of all clients in understanding our procedure at the time of booking. A Covid-19 section has been added to our photography contract and pre-session waiver.
Outdoor sessions, including maternity and family, are available as socially distanced sessions upon the client’s request. For a socially distanced session, we will provide 2 meters of distance between the photographer and family members, with verbal direction given for adjusting clothing/hair and posing. For a non socially distanced session, the photographer and assistant will wear a mask and follow the same strict precautions as we do for our newborn sessions (below). Outdoor sessions will only occur if (a) all family members and photographer have not had symptoms of illness over the past 7 days, (b) all family members and photographer have not traveled in the past 7 days.
Social distancing is not possible for in-home maternity or newborn photography, since setup, styling and posing within an enclosed space is not possible within physical proximity. Furthermore, newborn poses can only be safely achieved by a newborn photographer, so we strive to provide a safe service as opposed to having untrained parents attempting their own newborn photos. Therefore, we (photographer and assistant) are requiring additional safety measures to be taken by ourselves and our clients.
Here is what WE will do to keep us all safe:
Photographer and assistant will ensure we have not had any symptoms of illness, or confirmed cases of sickness in ourselves or family/friends we’ve been in contact with, for at least 7 days
Just as in normal circumstances, we wash and heat dry all fabrics (ex. blankets and wraps for baby) and disinfect all props prior to your shoot, and wash our hands before placing items in their cases
We are now taking the extra step of organizing all props 24 hours before your shoot
If carrying cases need to be accessed prior to your shoot, we will will wash our hands, wear a mask, and disinfect newly added items
When accessing apartment complexes, will use a dolly to transport our items to avoid our items touching any surfaces outside your home during unloading
Upon entry to your home, we will immediately remove shoes and use your bathroom to tie up our hair and wash our hands
We will wear masks anytime we are touching or photographing your baby within 2 meters
We are currently only photographing immediate families who share a household including parent(s) and their children, and unfortunately cannot accommodate other family members such as grandparents who live in a separate household at this time
All consultations and proofing sessions are currently done by video call, and prints are available for curbside pickup or delivery
Our print labs have implemented strict cleanliness and social distancing measures
Here is what we ask YOU to do to help keep us all safe:
We require a questionnaire to be completed, signed, and sent back to us no later than 1 day prior to your session
If you, any household members, or others you’ve come into contact with have had symptoms of illness, confirmed illness, or have traveled within 7 days prior to your session, we require you to contact us to reschedule, and no rescheduling fees will be imposed
Prior to your session we request that you disinfect surfaces that we may come into contact with in your home, such as door knobs and high contact bathroom surfaces
We request that you declutter areas that may appear in the photos, such as side tables next to the bed, to reduce our need to touch surfaces while shooting
When we arrive at your home, we request a family member to come out to help open doors, so we’re not touching surfaces while unloading our equipment
Wear a face mask, provided by us if you don’t have your own, anytime you’re near us, until it’s time to take the photos (and maybe even to wear for a photo or two – let’s capture what’s real about this time!)
We encourage you to Contact Us with any questions, and we thank you for helping us make family photography safe for all of us. We hope your photography session will provide some warmth and happiness during this uncertain time.
Sending big hugs!