"Portraiture, as I knew it, was very physical, a constant moving of my body to suggest poses to the subject and change equipment and environments with my assistant. Most of my portrait sessions involved at least three participants: subject, assistant, me. Sometimes as many as ten people—hair and makeup artists, stylist, second assistant, agent, client reps—crowded onto the set, filling my studio with background chatter and music beyond my dialogue with my subject.

"In-person media productions, the only kind I’d known, were banned in New York days into the pandemic. In September they were permitted again if one followed certain safety protocols. I had hospital-grade disinfectant. I had a HEPA/UV air purifier. Plenty of PPE. In-person commissions returned slowly. On September 30th, an email from the novelist David Hoon Kim arrived with “query regarding remote portrait work” in the subject line. “I am a writer living near Los Angeles in need of an author photo for my novel,” he wrote. After exchanging a few emails, I was confirmed to make my first remote author portrait."

Article: On Learning to Take Author Photos Remotely During the Pandemic