From the moment we were told to stay home I spent the immediate days rejigging my Bar & Bat Mitzvah bookings to months and even a year away from the original date leaving me bereft of work and purpose. I spent many a phone call and email to my clients hoping to accommodate their new plans whilst they too were spinning plates to make their event work for everyone. Incredibly, I was able to accommodate all but 1 booking whose new date post Covid 19 rules and regulations, I could not fulfil.

They say you should be able to pivot in times like this…. that’s what every podcast had been telling me in the four weeks since mid March that I consumed in every second of my waking day. Advice to change with the times to survive was essential. I stood at my kitchen sink diligently washing my dishes every day thinking how on earth can I pivot and what an utterly obnoxious new word we have added to the ever growing list of buzzwords.

Well it wasn’t long until I realised how after putting my camera to good use in week five. I quickly learned to reinvent my days with documenting as many families as I can with the national photography initiative which I coined for my use, the 2 metre portrait project. Sitting at over 70 families within 8 days, I started to feel quite overwhelmed with the new craze and needed to put the reins on.

I also felt like I was shooting more than I needed as the opportunity was begging at my feet. I felt like I still had more to give creatively and started offering a mini shoot still at a very serious 2 meters but using more of the exteriors of houses and where permitting, through to the garden.

Having raised exactly £2300 for charity, I have now stopped taking bookings for the doorstep portrait and will solely focus on this new phase. My commitment to contributing a percentage of each shoot to the ongoing cause will continue.

Six weeks in to our lockdown, each family were super relaxed, having fun together and at ease in front of my camera. I have provided images that will generate happy and loving memories when telling their story of this unparalleled time in their lives.