Here I am writing a blog about sickness.......not my own....well kinda my own.....but more about sick kids coming into my studio for sessions.

I am not the only photographer out there with issues similar to what's described below. So many of us have lots of stuff going on with ourselves or kids at home. This is a Public Service Announcement to all our clients and potential clients to PLEASE hear us!

I suppose it's one of those things where you don't consider it being a major issue if you or your child has the sniffles or wakes up not acting normal with signs of a cold...as long as there is no fever most places like schools and daycare say it's ok to attend. I'm writing this because school and daycare are necessary places to go. You need your child to get an education and don't want them to miss too much school due to a little cold or cough. You need to work and can't stay home every single time your child gets the sniffles. I get it, honestly I do. But photographs are NOT a necessity for you to do while your child is sick. If you have booked with a time crunch that does not allow you to disregard the rules. Not only does it cause them to not act like themselves but they can be completely miserable and it be a complete waste of your time and money. You won't love the photos of your little one who woke up congested and unable to breathe staring at you with strange looks as we try to act like psychotic people to get them to smile. They won't. They will cry. They will hate being changed because they don't feel well. Think about how you feel with a head cold........There's just no need to force it. RESCHEDULE. All sessions can be rescheduled if your child is NOT in optimal health. I understand some colds run their course and can last weeks, but if your child is newly sick as in wakes up that day or has not been feeling well the past couple days hacking and coughing with their nose spilling snot it is not necessary for you to come to your session. It is necessary for you to stay home and let your child get better. At the first sign of illness I BEG you to contact your photographer to discuss options to reschedule. I promise the photographer will most often be appreciative that you've done so. I know I would be.

A little about why this is so important to me. First, I have been diagnosed with another (I have Celiac Disease and Asthma) autoimmune disease call AS (Ankolosing Spondilytis) and I have been put on a biologic called Enbrel. This drug I have to take in order to feel better and stop further damage to my joints causes my immune system to be compromised and more susceptible to getting sick. I'm sure you've seen the commercials on TV for it. If not, I'm sure you'll see them. Listen to what they say. Lowering my exposure to direct sickness will prevent myself from getting sick.  Second, I work with all types of kids/babies which means I do have children who have lowered and/or compromised immune systems due to diseases/surgeries/etc as well as working with lots of Newborns who's immune systems are under developed. Although the studio is cleaned and sanitized the best possible between sessions a newly sick child can infect myself at a session or leave germs on a missed surface. If I catch something that takes a few days to show signs and in the meantime worked with multiple other children and newborns there is a potential to contaminate them. I do not want this to happen. I do not want to get sick and I surely don't want to unknowingly get others sick. I take the utmost care to ensure I stay healthy, my studio stays clean to keep my clients healthy too. If I get sick I have to reschedule sessions and that just messes my life up.

So why am I telling you this? Well, I'm hoping if you have a session scheduled with me that you will take the same precautions I do and contact me if your child gets sicks within a week of your session and especially if they wake up not feeling so great the day of their session. I understand this becomes more of an inconvenience  to yourself to have to reschedule but please think about how many others it could affect if you don't.

For my future clients if you show up to a session and your child is visibly sick and miserable I will ask you to reschedule your session. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me at the first sign of sickness and don't make me do this.

So this means that maybe Christmas cards won't go out this year.....or is it worth you possibly infecting myself or another child/baby with a cold that could manifest into something that puts us in the hospital for Christmas..... Please think about other people.

With so much LOVE,