‘Elf and Safety
As a specialist Personal Brand Photographer, I (just like you) run a small business, and neither of us can afford to be isolated or seriously ill with Covid. I am fully vaccinated, which hopefully will not only protect me from infection, but just as importantly, will also help to keep my clients safe.
I always take a lateral flow test just before leaving home for a photo shoot, and always wear a mask during every shoot, either when indoors or less than 2 metres away from anyone outdoors, plus I sanitise with hand gel regularly. I am more than happy to wear a mask throughout the shoot, if that is your preference. Even in winter, we can plan most brand shoots so that they can be held partly or entirely outdoors, to further minimise any risk of infection.
As I said earlier, I'm fully vaccinated – even though I don't know "what's in it". Neither my two AstraZenica vaccines, nor my Pfizer booster vaccines, nor any of the other vaccinations that I had as a child. Throughout my life, I've been vaccinated against many diseases (measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, pneumonia, influenza, tetanus, hepatitis). My parents (and I) trusted the science, and hence I never had to suffer through or transmit any of those said diseases.
I also don't know exactly what's in the Rivaroxiban or Loperamide tablets that I have to take every day - I only know that they will prevent any further blood clots / pulmonary embolisms and keep my bowel movements under control. I also don't know exactly what's in Cocodamol, but that doesn’t stop me from taking it as necessary against any severe pain.
Nor do I know what's in the 11 secret herbs and spices at KFC, nor the secret sauce in a Big Mac. I don't even know what's in my soap, shampoo, deodorants or packaged food. I don’t know the long term effect of radiation from using my mobile phone or microwave, or whether or not the restaurant where I ate yesterday evening REALLY used clean foods and washed their hands.
There are so many things that I don't know. I even don’t know how many things I don’t know.
But I definitely do know one thing: life is short. Very short. And I, personally, still want to do so many things. I want to be able to travel again and enjoy the rest of my life, be that another 1 day or 40 years (hopefully the latter).
So I'm now fully vaccinated against Covid. Not to please the government. Not to make other people do it. But only because I personally don't want to:
* die from Covid-19 (I caught it pre-vaccination in May 2020, and very nearly didn’t survive it)
* spend quite possibly my last moments in an induced coma with a pipe down my throat in ICU (where even my wife can’t visit me – I don’t want her to have to go through that either)
* not be able to hug my loved ones
* live my life in fear
These are very worrying times, but life and business goes on. Enjoy your Christmas festivities, but be prepared for another lockdown in early 2022. Be assured that when we are working together, I will do everything that I can to keep both of us safe
To promote my Brand Photography business and expand my portfolio, I am currently running a competition limited to the first 10 Brand Photography clients that contact me. The 1st prize is a free 3…