Coronavirus/Covid-19 Update
June 2020 Update
I’m now taking bookings for end June/start July 2020 onwards, using a redesigned studio layout for socially distanced portrait photography.
After a crazy few months with so much heartbreak – lost loved ones, distance from friends & family and so many restrictions on day-to-day life – we are starting to emerge into a new normal.
Reduced availability
Due to the number of shoots that I had to rearrange due to the pandemic, the next few months (July to December) are getting booked up much more quickly than normal. Please don’t leave it too late if you are interested in a specific date or are looking to capture a time-specific occasion (e.g. newborn shoot, sitter session, first birthday etc.).
Covid-secure Photography Sessions
To become Covid-secure I have redesigned my studio layout to meet the Government’s criteria, and am now able to offer socially distanced portrait shoots for clients in and around Bicester, Oxfordshire.
I have also signed up to the Master Photographers Association Covid-19 Protocol (full details here) and I’m making all necessary adjustments to ensure the safety and wellbeing of my clients.
Read more about the steps I’m taking to deliver COVID-secure photoshoots here.
Your responsibilities
If you have booked a shoot with me and are experiencing any of the known symptoms of Covid-19, or if you have been in contact with anyone who has recently experienced symptoms, or if you or any member of your household has been asked to self-isolate, then please inform me immediately so we can rearrange your shoot.
An informed risk
Despite taking the above steps to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, carrying out any activity in the UK currently carries a degree of risk of infection. Continuing with your booking and attending your photography session constitutes an acceptance of this risk. Please consider any health conditions of yourself or those you live with before making an informed decision about whether you are happy to accept this risk.
Thanks for your interest, and please do get in contact if you have any questions or would like to find out more about booking a shoot!
Sarah
March 2020
With sadness I’ve temporarily closed the studio doors. As a business owner, it’s essential that I support the message of staying home to ensure I do my bit to minimise the casualties of this global pandemic.
Given how vital social distancing is to the containment of this virus – and how closely I work with newborns, children and their families – it’s just not possible (or ethical) to continue operating under the current circumstances.
I’ve been in contact with all clients who had March, April and May appointments to offer them options alternative appropriate to the type of shoot they had booked, whether that’s a simple postponement or switching newborn sessions into sitter sessions (6-8 months’) or first birthday shoots instead.
As the weeks pass, I will monitor the situation and continue to update clients and amend June/July/August bookings as appropriate.
Next steps
At the moment, I am taking bookings for September 2020 onwards. If the social distancing rules are relaxed before this, then I will open the diary for earlier bookings, too.
I am also still emailing and posting out e-Gift Certificates and printed Gift Certificates which make beautiful, thoughtful and incredibly precious gifts for birthdays, anniversaries and new arrivals. All Gift Certificates are valid for 12 months, so there will be plenty of time to redeem them once life returns to normal.
On a personal note, I will miss seeing my lovely clients, and especially having cuddles with their tiny bundles of joy between shots! I can’t wait to meet new clients and revisit returning clients once the current threat passes.
In the meantime I wish you and your loved ones a safe and healthy spring and summer, and time to appreciate the good in these tough times.
As always, you can reach me via [email protected] or text/call 07832 196657 if you have any questions in the meantime.
See you on the other side!
Sarah Plater LMPA
MPA Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 (Central Region)
Love photography? Check out these Portrait Photography books written by Sarah Plater:
