The importance of dressing up and increased communication during social distancing became more apparent than ever. As photographer Luke Dickey and stylist Lauren Bensley captured Elsa Hosk, he states, “This was one of the last shoots we did before the lockdown.” However, shot before COVID-19, he continues, “The original idea for the shoot was Elsa at home talking to her many admirers on the phone while in beautiful clothing and looking gorgeous. The irony is not lost on me that we used a telephone in every shot and how 2020 has panned out since…”

Dickey and Hosk aren’t the only photographer and model to shoot a series of photos in a virtual manner, as the past couple of months have proved with the pandemic forcing creatives to go about their work without the physical aspect. In order to make this work though, communication between the artist and their subject has to be stellar.

In that sense, Dickey had practice from talking with his family members. “[My wife, two children, and I] soon found our friends and family via apps like Zoom, FaceTime, and House Party,” the photographer told V. “In a way, we were more in touch with their lives than before, perhaps because we are all doing the same thing.”

He also elaborated on how his work hasn’t changed much at all, aside from the lack of travel, but how his definition of creativity is now undergoing some rethinking. “Much of what I do creatively is dependent on making unintended ‘mistakes’ and deciding then and there whether or not to stick to them. So therefore in this new normal we live in, I am confident that we will all figure out how it works best for us and continue to create,” he said.

Thus, Dickey set forth into the world a series of photos most could only dream to embody whilst chatting with our lovers… or friends on any given day of social distancing.