I truly hope you’re in good health and enjoying life as we all adjust to changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Like many of you, we’re a bit shocked by how the COVID-19 situation quickly escalated and we’re following the safety recommendations being announced for our personal and business lives. In fact, because our photographers need to be out in public to do their jobs they are even more cautious about protecting you, your sellers and themselves.
We definitely do not want to inconvenience any of our clients with currently scheduled shoots or upcoming listings that we’ll be photographing in the coming weeks. So, the Mediamax team of photographers has agreed as a group to continue delivering services but with an ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION.
I’ve shared this great article Coronavirus: A Guide for Realtors from the NAR site with my team so they’re aware of the message being sent to the real estate community.
What We’re Doing To Be Safe
- First and foremost, our photographers are avoiding contact as much as possible with people and objects as they enter and within homes during shoots.
- Photographers are using hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to clean any objects they need to touch, to clean their hands and equipment before, during and after each shoot.
- Photographers are practicing the ‘social distancing’ recommendations being advertised everywhere and attempting to keep a safe distance without contacting you or your sellers during shoots.
- If a photographer arrives at a property and it appears that anyone is sick or we’re advised by our client that someone living in the home has been sick, I have given them permission to only shoot exterior photos and either return for interiors at another more safe time or credit back a full or partial payment if we happen to cancel the order or they only shoot exteriors.
- I’ve ask all photographers to let me know immediately if they begin feeling sick and they’ve agreed to take time off for as long as needed to confirm they have not contracted the Coronavirus or to avoid showing up at shoots with even common cold or flu symptoms.
What You Can Do To Help
- We would greatly appreciate you asking homeowners, their family members and others to not be present during shoots. We do know this might not be possible for all shoots, but we hope many sellers will understand and actually prefer to not be in the home while it’s being photographed.
- Now more than ever, it’s very important that your listing is ready for pictures at the scheduled appointment time! We’ve always asked our clients to follow our Preparing Your Listing For Photography Guidelines but now it’s even more important that you and your listings are ready when our photographers arrive.
- We feel it’s in everyone’s best interest for our photographers to not help moving furniture or other personal objects within a home. We’ll adjust small things that can be moved with a foot or elbow but we honestly think homeowners would prefer that our photographers aren’t touching their personal belongings!
- PLEASE let us know in advance if you find out homeowners or family members have been sick or, heaven forbid, tested positive for the Coronavirus. I’m sure you’re all following common sense guidelines about ill homeowners for your own and buyer safety. We’d ask that you also let us know before shoots if you suspect a home could be unsafe.
I truly appreciate your loyalty to Mediamax and our team of talented photographers!
Sincerely,
Mark Schow – President/Owner