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 some of the crew members I utilize have undergone training to become Covid-19 Compliance Officers through companies like Safety First or similar training programs. ‘‘
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):
• For shoots taking place in New York State all crew, clients, and subjects will need to present a valid New York State Excelsior Pass to attend and participate in the production. Click here for more information on the Excelsior Pass Program and learn how to get your pass.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.