A Belated Reflection On 2020

There is really no way to avoid understating what a (Bizarre? Mournful? Remarkable? Turbulent? - you pick), year it has been. Weathering a pandemic was not in anyone’s plan this year, but here we are as 2020 has concluded and we are on to a new start. Although there is still a ways to go in getting through this public health crisis there is bright hope on the horizon to bringing this chapter of our lives to a close soon. I wanted to reflect on and share my experiences working during this time. 

As most of the workforce shifted to work from home indefinitely last April, I was fortunate to feel little of that change due to the existing digital studio in my own home. If we worked together this year and touched base via zoom, I truly enjoyed getting to meet your family, cat, office/living room/kitchen/hopefully not bathroom. I continue to find the experience to be endearing to the people I work with, lifting the veil of our work facades that we wear around a little and a reminder of that which we surround ourselves with is what makes us who we are.

I also look back on this past year with real gratitude for the projects I was a part of and really admire the creativity of our collaborative teams through the adversity we were faced with. During the pause of photo production in the spring, we were able to continue post production work on projects shot over the winter and even re-imagine new imagery using existing assets. Like the rest of the world, being flexible and ready to pivot was omnipresent, as project timelines were constantly changing. Delays in manufacturing, studio closings and crew availability were perpetual. 

My work also includes on site capture support and on set retouching. Naturally, this is where protocols changed pretty drastically. On set, we used PPE, social distancing and limited crews to the greatest extent possible. Creative direction was even altered at times to keep talent at a safe social distance and always included mask wearing. I utilized separate monitors and ipads connected to the capture software to keep our crew and clients up to date but apart from congregating at the capture cart. With studios closed, our crews had to get really creative with locations - at times shooting in a crew member’s home. During the times that corporate studios were open to use for projects, we were temperature screened and symptom checkers were required. In all, I’m very impressed with how my colleagues were able to rise to the extenuating circumstances and put themselves and others in a safe position to do our work.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this, I hope you were healthy and prosperous in 2020 and I would love to hear about your experiences in the photo industry through the pandemic. The beginning of 2021 really brings little change to the production parameters over the last nine months, save maybe a little more experience with dealing with it all. However, if there is anything at all I can do to help with your studio’s project challenges at this time, please get a hold of me any time at tyler@tylershumway.com.