Hello friends! My existing clients know that I'm a little nutty (and generally just a little nutty) about sanitising and keeping the studio clean; but, for new clients, here's a little reminder of the safety protocols that are kept in place and will be implemented to keep yours and my family safe!

Unless you have been living under a rock, I’m sure you are aware of the concern caused by Coronavirus. I figured now is the perfect time to go over how I keep my studio safe and clean for my precious little clients and their families. These safety and cleaning procedures have always been in place, not just applied due to the recent scare. I hope this helps ease the worry for my new mums and dads.

• My plan is to be shooting again starting beginning of July or when the government lifts the close contact restrictions. I will restrict my sessions to only my studio which is exclusive to my use. My studio remains closed right now and has done since 24th March, the newborn arrivals I've spoken with know my plan to still capture their newborn even if it means that their little one will be between 2-8 weeks of age by the time we schedule their newborn photo shoot. Please reach out for rescheduled sessions, just so I dont miss anyone.
• Once I am back in the studio, understandably I will be very busy and priority sessions will go to those who had already prebooked their newborn session with me and for those, whos babies have arrived first in late March or early April. I wanted to take this time to address upcoming sessions. After careful assessment and considering a variety of things, I've decided to reach out to all clients who were due and booked for late March, the whole of April and early May to offer rescheduling or complete refund options. Time sensitive shoots like newborn sessions will be given the option to continue as planned for now and I will happily photograph your little one up to 8 weeks of age or you will be given the option to reschedule for a sitter, milestone or family session later in the year, with a strict no signs of illness policy by both myself and clients. I don't want anyone stressing!! I'm here for you.
• I feel it’s important to note that I have an appointment-only studio so the number of people that actually come into the space is very limited, typically only 1-2 families per day, but I will be reducing this timeframe to just one family within a 24hr period. I'm not a fan of maths, but statistically-speaking that has to be way safer than say, a supermarket or GPs waiting room. And the people coming here aren’t sick. I strongly advise clients to reschedule if someone in their family has any symptoms of a communicable disease (fever, sneezing, coughing, runny nose). Not only is that just common sense, no one wants photos of a miserable, crusty-nosed baby. I’m super flexible with my schedule at the moment so please reschedule.
• As per government and insurance guidelines I will be wearing a mask and gloves for newborn and young children's sessions and will for the most part keep a 2 meter distance from all clients apart from baby.
• All clothing items, posing fabrics and wraps are washed before use. The majority are washed in the washing machine with non bio detergent. If it is a super delicate material it is hand washed. Posing fabrics and wraps are usually dried in the tumble dryer and outfits and delicate materials are line dried.
• Yes, poop happens. Often. But I do my best to avoid it happening on my props. If I pose a baby in a prop with delicate, hard to clean fluffy stuff, there’s usually a folded up nappy or hospital pad under their bottom to keep it contained. Any fabric that touches a baby’s skin, with or without accidents, gets washed after their session. My posing fabrics usually take the brunt of the 💩 and 💧mishaps so they get washed in the washing machine. Tough stains are pre-washed with Vanish hand soap and then a full wash in the machine with non bio liquid. Poo'd on fabric gets washed twice.

• Babies that are 6 months old and up drool a lot and put everything in their mouths so those outfits get washed and any props/toys that get gnawed on.

• In the toilet we have soap and water to wash your hands and a air dryer so that we are not reusing fabric hand towels and hand sanitizer in the studio space. I don’t want to leave anything out. 😝 After every session the changing mats, sink, and toilet gets sprayed wiped down with Detol wipes. And after every session the toilet and studio floor gets a deep steam cleaning.
• I regularly clean my equipment (camera, lens, etc) with alcohol wipes. Sometimes I go to local hospitals for shoots and I always make sure to wipe everything down before returning to the studio.
• Let’s see….what else? I wash and sanitise my hands a LOT. I’m also up to date on my flu and pneumonia immunisations. I do have a lot of allergies though, so if I sniffle, don’t freak out, I'm just allergic to the wool in the studio. 😵

I can assure you that my studio is one of the safest, cleanest places you can bring your baby…. even during the Covid-19 Apocalypse of 2020. But if you still have concerns, please don’t hesitate to discuss them with me.

Love,

Victoria 💜