No matter where in the world you live, you most likely are being affected by the spread of a contagious disease called Covid-19. I’ve lived in Tacoma, Washington for the past 4.5 years now and my daily life has never been affected by something like this before. I’d like to share how I’ve been affected and why I decided to do this portrait session. On top of running this photography business I also have a full time job as assistant manager at a small retail boutique here in town. I live on my own in the same apartment I’ve had since moving here from San Diego. Living alone has been a great experience overall for me, sometimes I miss having someone to come home to like a roomate but I usually don’t mind the quiet. This spread of this disease has happened so fast in Washington that things were changing on a daily basis. My generation has never seen a pandemic like this, and it’s altering life all over the world. For me I am currently under a stay home order from the government which means not leaving your house except to go to grocery store, get gas or do a walk outside at least 6 feet or more away from any other human. The CDC has also now recommend wearing a mask even if you feel healthy since the virus has a period of time where it’s not apparent.
Since I live alone and usually do all of my photography with other people this created a unique challenge for my brand. Under the current restrictions I don’t feel comfortable planning shoots with people (during this month) even if I stay away 6 feet only because I don’t want to encourage traveling around if it’s not necessary. So I decided to set a day aside to create self portraits and see what I could create. Now like most photographers I don’t actually like being in front of the camera. However with social media culture being what it is, I’ve learned that people follow brands loyally of people they know. So if I want to connect with others on Instagram I need to show who I am a lot. This means I need more images of myself that I don’t mind sharing. What I like most about all of these images is that it gave me a reason to get ready, do my best on my hair and makeup and find outfits that worked with the background colors I wanted to use. I had to blast good music and try all sorts of things. So just for the fact of my mental health it was a good way to spend the day.
Now I want to say of course I’m having many days where I don’t feel like getting dressed and getting in front of the camera. There are days where my anxiety has felt so tight in my chest that I could barely do anything. My fears over money and how long I can handle being on unemployment and pay my bills etc have been overwhelming at times. But as far my creativity it felt good to be in my own little world for the day.
I have another set of images that I’ll share soon that I did by FaceTiming a model. If you’ve read all the way to this point I just want to thank you for supporting me, listening and for being a friend. I hope this encourages you to try something creative and give your day a little bit of color.
In the photos:
The Henry Matisse style Handkerchief is made by Klaedekerchief in Seattle.
Orange Hairclip from Chunks out of Seattle.
The camera is a vintage Argus I bought at an estate sale.
Clothing from Target and Forever 21.
Paper rolls from Savage Universal purchased at Glazers Camera in Seattle and lighting from Fovitec.
All photos taken on iPhone xs and edited with the VSCO app.
