Covid-19 has proven to become difficult from Billions of working people around the world… especially Photographers. Call us bias but as we slowly start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, photographers will have to remain out-of-work for a tad longer. Weddings have, unfortunately, already been postponed… most as far as 2021.

“As a wedding photographer primarily, it’s difficult to have to think that we won’t be getting an actual income before next summer,” said Isabella Rosa, Ella Photography.

So, what’s a photographer to do during this time of “reflection”? Well, some photographers are attempting to push their crafts to another level: By offering sessions on FaceTime. That’s right. Photographers – now around the world – are practicing their craft over a video call. Here’s how it works:

FaceTime, the video calling application by Apple, offers the possibility to take screenshots of your recipient’s phone screen during a call. This means that you are able to take a “photo” of the person you are talking to without the little selfie square of your own face. This allows photographers to take unlimited “photos” of the client. They will then take all these “photos”, bring them in their favourite editing software and “do their thing”. The results are surprisingly good and the sessions are actually a lot of fun! This is not the only option for photographers as well, some are also putting pushing it further by taking photographs of the phone itself placed in a creative background using their professional camera or even using the Zoom platform.

We spoke to a few Montreal photographers and got their opinion on the subject.

Catherine Giroux Photographe, explains: [Translated from French] ” In an era of social distancing, where friends and family gatherings take place via a screen, the concept of Facetime sessions could not be better. For my part, it allows me to stay creative while connecting with old customers as well as new faces. The result, although not optimal in terms of resolution, is surprising and frankly nice.“

” À l’ère de la distanciation sociale, où les réunions d’amis et de famille se font via un écran, le concept des séances Facetime ne peut mieux tomber. Pour ma part, il me permet de demeurer créative tout en connectant avec d’anciens clients ainsi que de nouveaux visages. Le résultat, bien que pas optimal en terme de résolution, est surprenant et franchement sympathique.”

Kerstin Hahn Photo “The way I am doing these sessions is that my couple gives me a virtual tour of their house and we decide together for the best light and where to place the phone. Essential for a FaceTime photo session is a good internet connection. I created a flat-lay with my iPhone on the floor and I had my camera on a tripod. This way, I was able to take screenshots on my iPhone directly and could also take photos with my camera of the phone, while I was guiding the couple to pose in front of their screens. It was definitely a challenging, fun, and new way to capture photos of those moments through FaceTime. It gives us the opportunity, not only to remember how we felt during these uncertain times but also to celebrate maternity and love while spending some good times in our homes.“

Isabella adds “It’s fun to keep our creativity going by doing such a thing as FaceTime sessions. It’s extremely unpredictable as the quality of the photos can completely shift depending on what phone the callers have, the software they are upgraded to, the time of day, number of people, etc, but it makes people so happy and gives them an opportunity to feel normal for an hour.”

“It makes you forget about the quarantine for a little moment“ – Lauren, a client of Ella Photography.

It’s important to keep in mind that these screenshots can be extremely low quality (often not good enough to print) but they sure can be fun to share on your favorite social media network.

Ariann photographer, states: “I started doing webcam session (using messenger app) to continue doing photography and to give another option to my clients. It’s also a great way of using your creativity while staying at home. I ended up using Zoom, because the result was clearer and had bigger files. I love that you can do sessions with anyone in the world.“

For Jay Zack Eli Photographe, he decided to take this opportunity to start “Les STEAMY SESSIONS”  a way for couples to express their passion from one another. He creates gifs and images via FaceTime of his couples and says to be having so much fun.  he states : [translated from french] “I decided to make a slightly different version of the FaceTime sessions. In quarantine, the moments alone between parents […] are quite rare for some. My mission is to offer a free private moment for them. We let go of Netflix, Instagram, and TikTok and we immerse ourselves in a quiet moment. We stick, we tease, we kiss all this in the comfort of the house with a single accessory, a cellphone. My couples receive a whole series of photos and gifs that they can share as they see fit. A small detail, my couples live a particular experience, that of dropping clothes for a photo“. One of his couples commented: “The experience we had was simple and pleasant. Jay was able to put us in his own way. In the beginning, my spouse and I did not want to take a naked photo, surprisingly in the end, we were super comfortable and uncomplicated to take the photos. A new experience and not the last ♥ ️ Merciiiii“

Are photographers charging for these sessions? It depends. Some are and some aren’t. Like any other industry, price is at the hands of the creator. If you are interested in such a session, feel free to ask around, either to these photographers or your favourite artist. One of the true advantages of these new sessions… People can be from anywhere.

Here’s a few photos from these Montreal photographers.