Others who have directed and shot remotely, like photographer Cedrick Jones, agree that the collaboration over Zoom and FaceTime can be time-consuming. When taking FaceTime portraits of models, musicians and actors, Jones helps them find the right lighting in their home and tells them where to place their phone to get the perfect shot.

“The response has been cool,” he said. “I’m always shocked to see what I can get.”

For him, the shift toward remote work was not necessarily a career decision, but a creative one.

“You just feel like a painter,” he said. “You have to paint something.”

While artists and creatives are making do with remote work, some, like “Riverdale” star Cole Sprouse, have tried to avoid the Zoom and FaceTime workaround entirely.

“I think in the beginning when it was novel it looked really interesting, but I think it’s become oversaturated,” said Sprouse. “But I think whatever way people manage to do a shoot and stay safe is intriguing.”

It’s difficult to know what the lasting impact will be to these industries. Jones and Thomas predict smaller crews at photography and videography shoots moving forward. Guérin foresees occasional remote shoots even in a post-pandemic world.

But while creatives are making do with remote work, Thomas said she missed the comfort of a music video set, particularly for a second Quinn XCII music video she directed, a ballad called “Second Time Around” that focuses on self-forgiveness.

“When something’s a little bit more serious in content as a director, you definitely want to be there and, like, kind of safeguard things for the artist,” Thomas said. “There is something to be said for those tried and true set days where you have all of the necessary bells and whistles.”