As of 15th June 2020, as per government guidelines, photo studios can open again, which is great news having been closed since early March. However, whilst the excitement has been building, we know that our clients’ health and wellbeing come first - so we have been extraordinarily busy putting lots of steps and procedures in place to protect everyone as much as we can possible do. We hope this will reassure everyone, that all steps are in place to mitigate as much risk of infection spreading as we possibly can. Below is a detailed list of all of the steps that are no in place:


Studio Reopens on 15th June in line with Government guidance

Until further notice, all family members attending a session must live in the same household.

We have reduced the amount of portrait sessions available each day and increased the amount of time in between sessions. This has two impacts. Firstly it avoids crossover of visitors which minimises contact, this extended gap also give us time to thoroughly clean down the studio including floor, surfaces, door handles, chairs, props and equipment prior to the next client entering

Any props, fabrics, materials and accessories will only be used once each day - before being taken for cleaning and returned another day

On arrival, clients will be asked to contact us, from their vehicle, when they arrive into our carpark. We will then go meet them outside, when everything is clear and ready for them.

No Touch Protocol. Following Government guidelines, will will be implementing a no touch protocol. On first meeting there will be no handshakes or physical greeting (don’t take this personally).

Prior to entering, the main contact of your session will be asked to sign a short form to confirm that all people in the group are safe and well. At this point we will happily let families into our clean studio space. Our three questions will be:

1. How is everyone feeling?

2. Has anyone had a cough or any flu-like or Covid symptoms in the last 14 days.

3. Have you been around anyone exhibiting these symptoms within the last 14 days, including a visit to hospital


 

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Once inside the Studio

On entry to the studio, all visitors will be asked to use hand gel to sanitise. We will do the same at the same time, so everyone is comfortable.

We will follow all Social Distancing guidelines wherever possible, though due to the nature of our role this can’t always be followed in full, hence we have put in place a rigorous cleaning and controlled entry process to mitigate any risk of infection. That said, The World Health Organisation’s recommendation is 1m, so whilst 2m may be tricky at some times the 1m will be fine.

Our key PPE protection is through cleanliness, distancing wherever possible & sanitisation gel on arrival, for both you and us. We would prefer to work without PPE, like masks and gloves, most of the time, but at your request or for specific reasons, we will of course do so. This is primarily to ensure natural reactions in front of camera and so much of our interactions are done through facial expressions and mirroring etc.

No Touch Protocol. We always work with a no touch policy, so if movements are needed then will will instruct without contact. If touch is required, such as working with newborns, then this will be minimised and we will wear gloves as a protective barrier. These gloves will be disposed after your session (Single use only)

Exiting the studio will be managed as well. Before leaving the studio, all clients will be required to sanitise their hands with hand gel. Again, we will accompany our clients back to their vehicles, ensuring that communal entrance is clear for them first.


We are taking this seriously

Just to show how seriously, we have taken part in courses with the WHO to learn about infection control (we passed this), we enlisted guidance from HSE which we followed and were approved for certification and the Xperience Group of which we are an approved member have also implemented a duty of care and Cleanliness course which again we passed and are now certified. All of the certificates are below

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