Information and best practices about Covid-19 mitigation are constantly evolving as new information comes to light about the disease and how it is spread. Myself, and many of the crew members I utilize have undergone training to become Covid-19 Compliance Officers through companies like Safety First or similar training programs. Likewise, all stylists utilized on set have taken and passed Covid-19 safety and sanitation courses and will act in accordance with all state and local safety guidelines.
I strive to have all productions adhere to the guidelines set forth by the American Society of Media Photographers — the premier trade association for commercial and editorial photographers in the United States. Their Covid-19 Health + Safety Guide can be downloaded here and I encourage all cast, crew, and clients to review it prior to any shoot to educate themselves on how to help protect themselves from Covid-19 on set. These guidelines were developed by Dr. Ezekiel Emmanuel, Dr. James Phillips, and Dr. Saskia Popescu of Covid-19 Recovery Consulting.
The health and safety of my crew, clients, and subjects is paramount to me. And I will gladly delay or reschedule shoots as needed to ensure the safest possible on-set experience for all participants. The only way we beat Covid-19 is together.
Here are some of the precautions and policies that have been put in place to help keep cast, crew, and clients safer on set (this list will be updated continuously as new guidance becomes available):
• Hand Sanitizer will be provided and readily available throughout all production areas. On larger productions, all crew members will be provided with their own personal bottles of sanitizer that may be refilled from refilling stations as needed.
• Multiple handwashing stations are available in my studio, and appropriate hand washing stations will be identified and marked at all other production locations. Handwashing throughout the day is highly encouraged.
• Masks are strictly required on set at all times. Participants are encouraged to wear two layers of masking or an approved KN95 or better mask/respirator.
• Masks may only be removed in strictly specified areas by on-camera subjects during photography/filming and styling. These subjects must be masked at all other times. Any crew members in these specified areas will need to wear additional protective equipment. • Masks will be available on set if yours becomes, lost, damaged, or unwearable.
• Double masking is encouraged, likewise, bringing multiple masks with you is encouraged so that you have fresh ones available if one becomes soiled or has been worn for four or more hours continuously.• Covid-19 effective sanitizing and cleaning products will always be available on set. All areas will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each production. Additionally, we do our best to allow our studio to go unused and empty for several days after each production if possible — and schedule shoots each week with this in mind.
• Covid-19 screening and contact tracing surveys will be provided prior to the start of each day of production. The completion of these surveys is mandatory for all production participants and includes questions regarding travel, known exposures, testing, symptoms, a temperature check, contact tracing info, and more. These surveys are delivered electronically through email to limit cross-contamination of pens/paper/devices.
• The number of people allowed on-set or in-studio at any time will be strictly enforced and in line with any state/local guidelines.
• On some larger or multi-day productions a negative rapid Covid-19 test may be required periodically prior to reporting to set. The location/information regarding appropriate testing sites will be provided to you and you will be reimbursed for these costs.
• Clients are encouraged to attend shoots remotely to limit the number of people on set at any time. I can provide a number of options ranging from zoom screen sharing of our capture monitor to live updating image galleries for review of images as they are shot.
• For clients attending shoots in person, an iPad will be provided to you that will display all images as they are shot through Capture Pilot to minimize exposure to the shooting area and any of the studio's computer equipment. This iPad will be sanitized thoroughly before and after each production. We can also walk you through the process of installing this app on any Apple mobile device and connecting it to our server so that you can use your own private device on-set (note this service is only available on sets where we have access to wi-fi).
• Participants are discouraged from carpooling to set to help prevent unmasked exposure to each other as much as possible.
• The production area will be broken down into several zones, with crew members, cast, and clients limited in what zones they can enter based on their tasks/roles. This helps us to control the flow of traffic on-set and maintain proper social distancing.
• Masks and face shields/eye protection will be worn by all crew members in live shooting areas or styling areas where the removal of masks by subjects may be necessary for the completion of production-related tasks. All production participants in these areas are encouraged to wear two layers of masking or an approved KN95 or better mask/respirator.
• We insist that all participants traveling from out of state comply with all NYS quarantine guidelines and will delay production starts until these guidelines are met.
• Communal meals will no longer be provided on set. Instead, you will be provided with a per-diem to purchase your own food to eat in private during meal breaks. Please do not congregate with others unmasked during meal breaks — eating in your car, outdoors, or in certain designated areas where social distancing must be strictly observed is encouraged.
• A trained Covid-19 Compliance Officer will be present on set for all productions. In the case of large productions, we will have multiple compliance officers in place.
• Cooperation with our on-set Covid-19 Compliance officers in regards to on-set behavior, masking, sanitation, and contact tracing is required.
• if you feel ill at any time prior to or during a production please let us know. We would rather reschedule or delay the start of production than risk people's health.
• If you feel ill during or after a production (or test positive for Covid-19) please let us know ASAP so that all participants can be notified in a timely fashion. We will contact and work with the local department of health to assist with contract tracing, arranging testing, and assisting with isolation/quarantine as needed.