Like everyone in Italy right now, Laura and Tommy of Lato Photography (who were chosen as Rf 30 Rising Stars of Wedding Photography in 2016) are in quarantine to protect themselves from COVID-19. The coronavirus has upended the wedding industry in the last month, and photographers are grappling with ways to sustain their livelihood and sanity.

“We absolutely consider ourselves lucky as our families and us have health,” the duo says, “but economically, this will be a heavy stone to digest. Right now, we are not sure what will happen next.” In the meantime, they say, the couples they were set to photograph in the coming months (as well as clients from their past) have reached out with well wishes and understanding for postponements to come.

“We are currently trying to get the best from this lockdown to create something new and reinvent our business, which doesn’t mean start from zero but simply review priorities and yet learn new things to implement,” they say. As a way of cataloguing and processing the present state of quarantine, Laura and Tommy began shooting portraits of each other in their new daily life—of course, with creative twists.

[See our COVID-19 resource page for business information and creative inspiration that will help you rise to the occasion.]

“We want the people seeing these frames to understand the criticism of this situation, highlighting the contrast between the cozy home environment and the crazy, never-felt sensation of emergency we are living during this lockdown,” the duo explains. “We wanted to use a mask—one of the strongest symbols of the moment—and the red light,” to symbolize “red zones” in Italy, where the coronavirus has struck the hardest. (Currently, the entire country is considered a red zone.)

They stare straight into the camera, frozen in place, to reflect the sudden halt that quarantine has destined for them. “Our lives have been stopped from our everyday routine due to the total lockdown,” they explain. “We have been asked to stay inside, reduce our social life from families and friends to stop the spreading of the virus and not make this worse than already is.”

Scroll through the gallery above to see the portraits, with explanations on how they were shot and lit. All photos were shot using a Canon EOS R and Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens.

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email submissions to rangefinder@emeraldexpo.com.