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Columbus photographer jumps on board with 'blind date photoshoot' trend

Haley McGuire has been doing photography for about three years.

Haley McGuire has been doing photography for about three years.

She said it was her family who suggested to her that she participate in a new popular trend.

“My sister actually saw something online and said, 'Haley you need to do this and put it on TikTok afterwards', so I was like alright I guess,” McGuire said.

The trend, as Mcguire described it, is like a blind date. Two complete strangers pose as if they were taking engagement photos.

She asked two of her own mutual friends to do her first photoshoot like this.

“They never met, they didn’t know each other’s names, what they looked like,” McGuire said. “It was a little awkward. I think it was more awkward for me than them because I felt so nervous. I’m like are they going to like each other, does he her does she like him, so I was nervous the entire time."

However, she said they had a blast.

She first introduced them by having them turn their backs to each other, then was the big reveal.

“I let them turn around and meet each other, so they talked for a couple of minutes, introduced themselves and I just began posing them,” McGuire said.

The trend that has been circulating on social media is known as the "blind photoshoot.”

“They got more and more comfortable as the shoot went on,” McGuire said.

With the pandemic, she said this trend is fun and it seems like it helps relieve some of the stress everyone is feeling with everything going on.

“They were able to, I don’t know, just connect with another person you know. Just in these lonely times so I think they had a great time just connecting with somebody,” McGuire said

Of course, with that being said, she explained that she had to keep COVID safety protocols in mind.

She said she asked them beforehand several medical questions.

“I don’t want anyone getting sick and as a rule of thumb. I would never put two people together who could get each other sick,” McGuire said.

She said with these shoots, she plans on taking temperature checks and making sure they are done outside.

“I did ask them the entire time how comfortable are you guys getting close to each other,” McGuire said.

She posted the pictures in a video collage on TikTok.

“I believe the last time I checked there were 1.3 million views on TikTok for this and it blew up pretty quickly, and I ended up getting 12,000 followers within three days and I had no followers beforehand,” McGuire said.

She said she’s been getting people from all over central Ohio sending in applications to do a photoshoot like this. She said so far, she has around 3,000 applications.

All people have to do is send a bio of themselves, a few recent photos of themselves and what they are looking for in a potential match.

“People are kind of isolated right now and it’s hard to go out on dates and meet people in general in the times that we're in, so I think this was just a fun way to facilitate two people meeting each, even if it was just as friends,” McGuire said.

McGuire said she can be contacted through her Instagram at @haleymcguirephotography. She plans to do more photoshoots, while keeping safety a top priority.

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