After four months of lockdown in Johor, Malaysia, wedding photographer Remy Samsee of Remy & Co found himself back in the saddle with a wedding portrait session, photographing a couple whose union was pared down to accommodate regulations amid the spread of COVID-19.

[Read this guide to elopement photography as couples downsize their wedding plans.]

There was no official ceremony, Samsee says; instead, they wed at the religious office with only their parents present. As such, Samsee wasn’t able to capture the moment they were married and needed to wait until it was over in order to commemorate this occasion for them in photos. The couple had also skipped the rewang, a gathering of neighbors and relatives to help them prepare for their ceremony.

[Check out the email you should be sending couples before they hire another photographer in 2020.]

During the portrait shoot, Samsee wore a mask, abided by social distancing protocols and made sure to avoid crowded areas for the shoot. “Because of that, I needed to be creative to choose the right place, and this old factory came across as a photo shoot location,” he explains. It was a relatively quick shoot, which Samsee found somewhat strange. “It’s challenging to get my photography momentum back after four months,” he says, “but it’s a good experience and I’m thankful to be back even with this new norm phase.”

Check out more Photos of the Day, and email submissions to RF’s senior editor at [email protected].