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I'm a wedding photographer — this is how I'm offering photo shoots over FaceTime

I'm a wedding photographer — this is how I'm offering photo shoots over FaceTime

Sarah Wight Sayeed

An example of a quarantine shoot.Sarah Wight Sayeed

Sarah Wight Sayeed is a New York City photographer specializing in lifestyle portrait and wedding photography.
During the lockdown, she's been photographing couples over FaceTime to keep business and her passion alive.
Couples set up their phones and the author directs them over FaceTime.
Sayeed edits the photos within 48 hours; although the pictures taken over the call may be grainy, everyone has said the experience is fun and worth it.
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The past couple months have been quite the change for me.

As a commercial and wedding photographer, I've always had to travel somewhere for a photo shoot, whether it's a studio or an outdoor location. March is when my busy season starts to ramp up, and I had lots of shoots on the calendar.

But then all of NYC was directed to stay home — and all of my jobs were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. It was a little financially terrifying, since I wasn't going to be able to earn income for the foreseeable future. I wasn't going to be able to take on any of my scheduled client sessions, and I was heartbroken for all my soon-to-be-married couples who had to postpone their wedding and engagement photos.

At first, I busied myself with all the business projects I don't usually have time for during the busy shooting season — upgrading my website and optimizing my workflows, learning new marketing skills and social media strategies, reorganizing files, etc etc ...

But none of those things are driving any income or really doing anything for my current clients, and, as NYC kept extending the "Pause" program, I began to feel anxious that I still had no money coming in. Beyond that, I felt isolated from the clients I love to serve, and was looking for meaningful ways to support them during what was a trying time for them as well.

I saw other photographers starting to do remote photoshoots over FaceTime, and I was blown away at the resourcefulness. This was the perfect way to keep creating and serving my clients! I took a mini tutorial from a colleague, Tia Nash, and I immediately asked my sister and her husband if I could practice with them. While they were super skeptical at first, by the end of the session, they were gushing about how much fun they had.

These remote photoshoots are a super unique way to spend some quality time together, to break up the monotony of Netflix and closet reorganization. Every session is full of chaos and laughs, devising clever ways to prop up iPhones and fur babies photobombing at the absolute best times. The photos we create together are grainy and low-resolution — no one's going to be framing these anytime soon — but they are genuine, in-the-moment photos to remember that crazy time when we were all stuck at home together for months.

I love how challenges like this can force us to flex our creativity in a new way. It's a thrill to be miles away from my subjects and yet capture such intimate, genuine photos through FaceTime — a tool I'd never thought I'd be using as a professional photographer!

Read the original article on Business Insider

And anyone can schedule to pass the quaran-time!

The author. Sarah Wight Sayeed

Sarah Wight Sayeed is a New York City photographer specializing in lifestyle portrait and wedding photography. When the city isn't on lockdown, she is usually photographing portraits for artists and professionals, creative lifestyle stories for brands, and weddings in the New York City area and beyond. You can learn more about her on her portrait or wedding photo websites, and book your FaceTime photo shoot here.

The final photos capture moments couples will never forget

Finished photos. Sarah Wight Sayeed

Everyone has really loved the photos, commented on how much fun the session was, and how pleasantly surprised they were with how cute the photos turned out! I'm planning on continuing to offer these sessions to couples, even when the world gets back to normal.

After the shoot is over, it's time to edit

Editing the photos in lightroom. Sarah Wight Sayeed

I import the files into Lightroom from Photos, and crop and edit them to make them prettier. They're definitely not the high-resolution files I'm used to working with, but I tweak the contrast and colors a bit to give them more of a "film look," and embrace the grain. If the colors really aren't working (or if I just want to add a little more mood), I'll do some photos in black and white. Once I'm happy with how they look, I send them to my client! My turnaround time for these is 1-2 days.

Couples are naturally giggly, making the photos more authentic

The couples have a good time. Sarah Wight Sayeed

Once we've done 3-4 locations around their apartment, we've usually got quite a few good photos. We'll chat for a bit and then say goodbye, and I'll get to work editing.

Snapping the right photo means waiting for the perfect candid moment

I need to keep my eye on Photos to make sure all the images are saving properly. Sarah Wight Sayeed

When I'm photographing a couple, there's inevitably a lot of giggling and snuggling. When I see the right moment, I snap the photo! FaceTime has a tiny white button on the bottom right side of the screen to take a photo, which uses their camera rather than taking a screenshot of my screen. The photo is much better than just a screenshot, since screenshots are often blurry from bad wifi connections. The photos are saved to my Photo library on my computer. It can be a little glitchy, so I have to keep an eye on it to make sure they're coming in.

Then, it's photoshoot time

Directing Diego and Rachel. Sarah Wight Sayeed

Once we get the camera at the perfect spot, I direct them like I normally would during a photoshoot, but only using my voice. Since I ask them to use the back-facing camera to get better quality photos, they can't see me at all. Usually during an in-person photoshoot, I'm demonstrating poses and giving visual cues or moving them physically, but for these I have to give very clear spoken instructions. It actually hasn't been difficult at all, and I think it will make me more articulate when posing people during normal in-person sessions.

After touring, time to set up a 'camera stand'

Rachel and Diego devised a genius camera setup with two water bottles and a rubber band on a stack of books. Sarah Wight Sayeed

I tell them to balance their phone between two candles — it's the best trick! Some people even have iPhone tripods, which is a bonus. I'll have them set it on a counter or a chair, and stack books underneath if we need the extra height. Setting up the camera just right is the trickiest part — I'm used to being the one moving the camera around, but now I have to direct my subjects to adjust the camera entirely with my voice!

The sessions are donation based and open to everyone

Rachel showing me around her studio apartment. Sarah Wight Sayeed

I'm offering these sessions to anyone, current client or not, all donation-based, because I know times are tough for everyone, and this is just about connecting and creating.

Anyone can book a time on my calendar.

When it's time for a session, I FaceTime them from my laptop. First I ask them to give me a little tour of their apartment, so I can scope out the best light and backgrounds. I'll also ask if they had a spot in mind they especially want a photo of — they often do!