COVID-19 Response & Updates
Daniel & Dante’s wedding plans were canceled because of COVID-19. That’s obviously a pretty big bummer, so we had them over to our studio for a free portrait session. We hope it helped make this time a little easier for them. Their session certainly brightened our world!
And yes, we know: you’re probably sick of hearing pandemic updates from businesses. But in case you’re curious about an honest look at how a small business handles something like the pandemic, we’ve got a few notes to share.
Nearly overnight, COVID-19 reshaped not just the photography world, but also the industries with whom From the Hip Photo is inextricably linked: weddings and events, hospitality, and food beverage.
Here’s some of what we’ve done thus far…
For the Local Small Business Community:
Seeing the existential threat posed to local outfits by the pandemic, we immediately stepped into action by reaching out to and donating thousands of dollars worth of services to small businesses within the community.
These businesses run the gamut from sole proprietors to restaurants, from artisan makers to companies employing dozens of staff, from established neighborhood institutions to fledgling enterprises just starting out. We are continuing with these efforts in the hopes of assisting as many of our peers in the greater Denver area as possible.
For the Events Industry:
We created socially-distanced, pay-what-you-wish Front Porch Photo Sessions for those in Denver with 25% of all proceeds going directly to the Colorado Event Alliance.
The CEA is a nonprofit dedicated to helping frontline workers within the events world during this challenging time. From the Hip is also proud to support the CEA’s efforts as committee members tasked with helming the group’s social media presence.
For Our 2020 Wedding Couples:
Our philosophy about COVID-related wedding postponements boils down to two things: do the right thing and don’t create stress. Doing the right thing means: not charging any fees for rescheduled weddings; giving our current couples first priority for new dates in 2020/2021; applying any received payments toward rescheduled dates.
For ALL 2020 Wedding Couples:
We cannot express how deep our sympathy is for couples who are grappling with COVID-19 while attempting to plan their special day. As a show of support last year, we opened up our studio to any and all 2020 wedding couples whose wedding plans were adversely affected by the pandemic, providing photo sessions within our safe Denver studio completely free of charge. It was a small gesture but one we hope helped to create positive new memories amid this turmoil. Although this offer is no longer valid, we are here to help in any way we can.
For the From the Hip Team:
The safety and stability of our of five-person team is of paramount importance to us. From the onset of the pandemic, we committed to keeping our team fully salaried with benefits intact and have acted accordingly to meet this promise. We adapted to work-from-home protocols during Colorado’s Safe at Home guidelines and will continue to follow all best practices throughout the duration of this event. We love our team and will never do anything to put them our our clients in harm’s way.
And that’s the story so far. Know someone we can help? Please share this or send them our way. We’re committed to continuing to utilize this pandemic as a catalyst for positive change.
