Wedding and event photographers are among those worst hit by the pandemic. Along with them, of course, are the people who had to put weddings and life on hold.
In many parts of the world, many weddings and related activities were canceled and postponed due to COVID-19. In anticipation that the implications of this pandemic might last throughout the year, many couples have decided to postpone their big day to 2021 or even further. One such couple is Poy and Jeryl from the Philippines. They were supposed to get married in November, but have decided to push it back to 2021. The couple, however, wouldn’t let the pandemic keep them from having their engagement photos.
Engaged couple, Poy and Jeryl.
Photography by Lex Alinsod
They had originally planned to do an engagement shoot on a beach, but the lockdown in their area made it impossible to happen. That’s when the wedding photographer, Lex Alinsod, came up and shared with them the idea of having a remote “new normal” photoshoot via FaceTime. The couple was delighted and excited to have such a unique photoshoot immortalize their experience, not just about their wedding but also being an engaged couple in the time of the modern pandemic that is COVID-19, from the simple fact that their marriage has been affected by the crisis, to immortalizing memories of this hopefully impermanent new normal of having to rely on technology as an alternative to physical social contact.
Photographing the couple through a mobile phone screen.
Photography by Lex Alinsod
This extraordinary time and how it encourages pushing past the limitations of the pandemic creates an avenue for celebrating creativity and artistry and paying less attention to the nitty-gritty of image resolution and high-megapixel sensors. Before all the crazy things going on, most photographers would tell you not to shoot wedding photos with a phone. Even more, not through the screen of a phone. Pushing to be able to do a shoot like this when no other choice is safe shows that there are photographs that, more than anything, require you to simply capture the moment. For the couple in the frame, their wedding has been pushed back into the next year, and that will remain to be an instrumental part of their lives.
Photography by Lex Alinsod
Being behind the camera in this shoot obviously wasn’t as easy as doing a simple engagement shoot in person. Imagine that in addition to directing the couple on posing, Alinsod basically also had to direct the couple on where and how to place the camera to virtually compose his images. Relying entirely on FaceTime’s screen capture function, Alinsod thought to infuse a bit more creativity by adding some elements in the post to give this unusual photo set much more character.
Photography by Lex Alinsod
A remote shoot via Skype or FaceTime may not be all that new. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been using it as a way to continue creating and shooting portraits even without actual contact or proximity. But for a couple who just had to postpone the wedding of their dreams and the entire life that follows it, they take this opportunity as a subtle way to move forward given the situation and what it allows them to do.
Photos and story shared with permission.
