Cape Town – While lockdowns across the world confine people to their homes, Durbanville photographer Paige Wood has turned to alternative means to do what she loves most.
Wood’s photography business came to a halt when the national lockdown was announced, but quickly thought of the idea of doing virtual photoshoots across the globe to keep her business going.
She has done virtual photoshoots both locally and internationally in countries like Australia, the UK, and the US.
“I wish I could take the credit for the idea, but I saw photographers overseas doing virtual shoots and I thought it was a super cool idea and after the president announced the lockdown was going to be extended, I decided I needed to get on board and do it.”
Wood said the shoot was done through video calling app FaceTime, and has a live photo setting that allows her to access her client’s front camera and take pictures.
“It is super amazing. It not only lets me access people in South Africa, but the whole world, and that was a big goal of mine, to be able to travel and take pictures around the world.
“But because of coronavirus, I was not able to. The quality is not nearly as amazing, the size is super small and people mainly use it for their social media, where the quality will not be as damaged.
"People know that and they are not expecting images that they will be able to blow up.”
Wood said it takes about an hour to do a shoot. She first asks the client to show her around their space to find the best place for great pictures.
“I miss being able to go out and interacting with people and the location and being able to create something. Part of me gets excited to be seeing the locations, even though I am not there physically,” she said.
To see some of the work Wood has created, visit her Instagram account @paigewoodphotography.