Photographer (and Bridal Bliss alum) Kareem Virgo of Reem Photography clearly knows his way around a camera. Like many creatives, the current social distancing rules have greatly impacted his line of work. In order to keep his business thriving, Virgo put on his thinking cap and came up with a genius way to conduct virtual photoshoots via FaceTime.
Speaking exclusively with ESSENCE, Virgo talks about how he came up with this creative solution. “All of my weddings and photoshoots from the end of March to early June have been postponed,” he says. “My wife Sandy and I thought of a very crazy idea, or so we thought, to still shoot some of our couples while quarantined. To our surprise, everyone loved it!”
In lieu of being able to shoot his clients in person, Kareem calls them via FaceTime and directs their poses over the phone. He then snaps the photos during the call and later edits the shots on his computer. The results are incredible.
See how it’s done in the video below:
To no surprise, Virgo’s virtual photoshoots have since gone viral. Since sharing them on social media, his company has booked over 450 appointments.
“Some of our couples shared that it was the best 10 minutes during their time in quarantine, or that the virtual photoshoot felt like a mini date night,” Virgo told ESSENCE. “This was solely intended to spread positivity and because of that our sessions are completely free.”
He also says there’s a greater lesson to be learned here. “We would also like for people to know that even during this time in quarantine, we can all find ways to make light of the situation. Something is only crazy until it’s done.”
Amen to that!