Activity / Process / Operation

~ Taking photographs of people in various locations (indoors and outdoors) during COVID-19 pandemic.

Identify the hazards (anything that can cause harm)

~ Transmission of the virus by:
1. Person to person contact;
2. Person to object / material contact.

Who might be harmed and how?

1. Location staff, wedding guests and the couple could be at risk of contracting COVID-19, putting them at serious risk of illness;

2. The photographer could be at risk of contracting COVID-19, being exposed in an environment out of their control.

~ Estimated risk level - Medium.

What measures are in place to reduce the risk?

1. Photographer has referred closely to government guidance including but not exhaustively:

~ Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19);
~ Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) - Shops and Branches, Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work.

2. Photographer to maintain a high level of personal hygiene:

~ Photographer to wash hands frequently for 20 seconds or more following government guidelines;
~ Hand sanitiser will be used where washing hands is not possible;
~ No physical contact;

~ Being alert to possible hygiene issues;
~ Wearing a mask indoors. Wearing a mask outdoors if unable to maintain a 2m distance.

3. Photographer to daily clean areas and equipment that are receiving high traffic usage or are frequent contact surfaces:

~ Personal belongings (such as mobile phone, car keys, etc);

~ Assets (such as a car and its interior);
~ Business equipment (such as a camera body, light stands, etc).

4. Photographer to avoid:
~ Handling cash if possible (use contactless payment where possible).

5. Photographer and Client to maintain social distancing according to government guidance.

6. Client to maintain personal responsibility for their own hygiene practices inline with government "'hands, face, space, fresh air'" guidance:

~ Washing hands when arriving on location and when leaving;
~ Washing hands as frequently as needed and using hand sanitiser if needed;

~ Avoiding touching their faces;
~ Avoiding cross contamination with the photographer (by touching the photographer's equipment, such as cameras, light stands, bags, etc).

7. Photographer to take tests and have vaccine when offered.

8. Photographer to self-isolate immediately if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste) or if you’ve tested positive for COVID-19.

By following all of the above procedures the estimated risk is of anyone contracting COVID-19 is: Low

What further action is needed to reduce the risk?

Please note that although the photographer has put safeguards in place to minimize the risk of a client contracting COVID-19, it is not possible to eradicate the risk completely. Therefore the client takes responsibility for their own personal health and safety and must make a personal risk assessment in order to identify whether they deem the residual risk too high.

In this risk assessment the client should take into account their own individual vulnerabilities, including whether they're within one of the "at risk" categories as identified in government guidance.

Date of Assessment: 28.06.21