A recent report from South Texas reveals the harsh realities of being a wedding photographer amid the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the United States. In an article called ‘ Texas Wedding Photographers Have Been Seeing Some $#!+ pictures of COVID-19 ‘, which was published in Texas Monthly, reporter Emily McCullar tells the story of one photographer at a wedding who contracted COVID-19 when it was discovered that the groom was cheerful for COVID-19 but didn’t inform the photographer.
The photographer, who stays anonymous throughout the piece, was informed that the bride’s diagnosis was positive through one of the bridesmaids in the wedding celebration. However, this was after the photographer had sat for ‘half an hour or so inside the wedding’s unmasked party photographing the wedding. The photographer claimed that the bridesmaid] was trying to get me to respond, “Oh, that’s crazy,” thinking that I was going to say with her and say that it was okay.’
It wasn’t so. The photographer has asthma, a major factor that could increase the likelihood of having a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. In addition, the photographer has three children and a husband she does not intend to infect should she become COVID-19 positive.
When they discovered the groom’s secret photographer and assistant had left. Texas Monthly notes ‘her exit was very tense. The wedding planner told me that it was the worst event she’s ever witnessed. […] Bridesmaids accuse her of being heartless and ruining an innocent bride’s wedding. The photographer recalled the bridesmaids telling her, “I’m a teacher. I’ve got fourteen students. If I’m willing to risk it, why wouldn’t you?’
After the photographer left, she had to cancel her plans to spend Thanksgiving with her family, took her children to relatives’ homes to avoid getting sick, and informed brides of her forthcoming weddings that she would be subcontracting other photographers,’ reports Texas Monthly. It was true that a couple of days following her wedding ceremony, she began suffering from symptoms and was eventually positive for the coronavirus novel.
The photographer claimed that the couple at whose wedding she photographed ‘didn’t seem to take a second thought’ about the diagnosis, and they didn’t offer to reimburse her for the test or apologize for making her sick.’
The report goes on to emphasize that this isn’t a singular one. When you search for Instagram’s hashtag, #TexasWedding‘ on Instagram, there are numerous pictures that show a group of family and friends celebrating marriage with what appears to not pay attention to the protocols that are suggested to stop spreading COVID-19 which is a disease that has been proven that it has killed more than 302,000 people within the United States alone.
A snapshot of a couple of images that appear when you search for ‘#TexasWedding” on Instagram. The faces have been blurred out for security reasons.
The report contains comments from other photographers who have shared their experiences of trying to photograph weddings through the epidemic. The most frequent theme is the lack of masks, a lack of social distancing, and a lack of sanitizing, including hand disinfectants.
For the wedding’s original photographer, she recounted an emotional conversation she was having with a bridesmaid before the marriage:
“I have children,” the bridesmaid asked. “What happens if my children die and I die?’ The bridesmaid said, “I’m sorryabout , but it’s their wedding day.’
The report says there are exceptions to the rule. Not all wedding stories they heard from photographers were as reckless as the one featured. However, in instances that were more responsible weddings, half the guests were not covered, including those with high-risk factors. Although Texas decreased the size of wedding parties between 500 and 250 guests, there are many risks involved in having more than one person in a single location.
Vaccines are being distributed globally; however, according to experts, it will remain until things return to normal, regardless of what might appear. This sad reality is the one many photographers of weddings (and other professionals) will face as the number of deaths continues to increase, especially within the United States.
