Right out of college, I worked at a portrait studio at the mall. I only worked there from September to January, and for basically all of that time, we were absolutely slammed with families doing their Christmas photos. We were understaffed and overworked, and it was a complete chaotic mess. I had stress dreams about working there for about a year and a half after I quit, but one family, unfortunately, is burned into my memory. 

It was the day before Thanksgiving, and my last appointment for the night was a photoshoot with seven children between the ages of about six months and six years old. They were brought in by three moms who were sisters, I think, so basically, three related families. They wanted group shots of all the cousins together.

The kids were wild. I did the absolute best I could to wrangle all of these children into the same pictures, but they would not stay still. The moms tried to help, but honestly, the more adults in the room giving directions and picking up runaway children, the more confusing it became. I lost complete control of the shoot, but honestly, I don’t think I had much of a chance. 

The moms were a constant chorus of thank-yous and “I’m sorry about our kids”, and I did the best I could given the circumstances. I miraculously managed to get a few good photos of individual children, some sibling shots, and I think maybe one decent group photo, but everyone was completely frazzled.

It came time to show them the best photos and place their order. They were actually really happy with the photos, reprised the thank-yous, and started thinking through which prints to get. One mom only had one kid and decided she only wanted to order one photo of that kid. She pulled out the dreaded $7.99 coupon. 

This coupon was the bane of our existence. Normally, there was a studio fee, and prints were anywhere from $10 to $20, or you could order packages that allowed you to pick a variety of prints for a special deal

Oh, but the $7.99 coupon…

It waived the studio fee, and then for $7.99, you could choose one — and only one — photo and get it in a variety of sizes. No exceptions. One photo. Honestly, I don’t think our prices were very fair, but the coupon basically made us do a ton of work for nothing, and it was incredibly limiting for the customer. 

So, this mom took out her $7.99 coupon and chose one photo she liked. I was crestfallen. I looked at all three moms.

Me: “If she uses this coupon, this is all you can get.”

They said they understood, and I was very surprised. We’d done all that work and they only wanted one photo of one kid? I asked again, and they insisted that, yes, they wanted to use the coupon.

I sighed internally. I was burned out. This company recorded sales numbers, and there were penalties for not making good numbers. I was exhausted. I wanted to go home. 

I placed her order and rang her up for eight dollars and change with the tax. My manager gave me the okay to go home for the night, and I started to put on my coat. 

The moms were livid.

Moms: “Why are you leaving?! We haven’t placed our orders yet!”

They did not understand what I had tried to tell them about the coupon. I didn’t understand that they wanted to pay separately, and they did not understand that the coupon specifically prevented any more than one photo from being sold from a session.

Again, everyone’s brains were completely fried, so I’m sure the communication breakdown was on all of us, but alas! To them, it was completely my fault that they couldn’t get photos of their kids. 

The thank-you chorus turned to outrage and, “You’ve ruined our Thanksgiving!”

Well, ladies, you ruined mine, too.

There was nothing to be done. The sales system would not let me change their order, which was genuinely ridiculous, and honestly, I think the one mom kinda still wanted to use the coupon. Everyone left upset.

At that company, Christmas bonuses were contingent on making a certain target in sales for the quarter, and my branch missed it by one dollar. 

I quit and never looked back. I was delighted when I read that they went out of business a few years later.

I own a photography studio with a lab for printing. We are in no way associated with anything in the medical field. All our online presence shows us being only photography. We do portraits, product photography, restorations, framing — nothing like MRI or radiology even remotely hinted at.

I answer the phone.

Me: “[Studio].”

Caller: “Do you take Blue Cross?”

Me: “…We’re a photo studio and lab. I think you called the wrong number.”

Caller: “I know who I called! Do you take my insurance?!”

Me: “We aren’t a medical facility; I do photography.”

Caller: “I know what you do; that’s why I called you. Do you take my insurance?!”

Me: “You want a doctor’s office. We’re not in the medical field. You called the wrong number; I can’t help you.”

Caller: “I know who I called and what you do! Now, answer my question. DO YOU TAKE BLUE CROSS?!”

Me: “No, we don’t.”

Caller: “WHY NOT?! 

Me: “Because we’re not a doctor’s office.”

Caller: “YOU’RE USELESS!” *Slams the phone down*

In 2013, I was a creative project manager working for a marketing agency on a massive account for one of the big supermarkets in the North. One particular client required an urgent photoshoot for staged food shots (cameos).

The shoot was on a Friday in a city an hour and a half away — and a s***ty drive — from the client’s HQ city.

Due to the client requiring around six shots (ideally you only want to be doing three or four at most for one day), I was there early to assist in setup and ensure that everything was running smoothly from a creative and flow perspective. This fell to me because the supermarket was “saving costs” and wouldn’t pay for an art director (from my agency).

I also found out the day before that the client wouldn’t be attending (but still needed to approve) because they were on a day’s holiday. Awesome!

We had multiple rigs running so that as one shot was on set, the next was prepped and ready to go.

With the client being on holiday, once the food stylist, photographer, and assistants had worked their magic, I would be required to have my art director (back at base), the consistency client (in a separate department), and then the actual client all prepped and ready for email approval/feedback straight away to make sure the day ran as smoothly as possible.

Between the sheer tenacity and willpower of the photographer, assistants, food stylist, my art director, and me, we managed to get four completed by about 5:00 pm, with the bigger, more technical shots done earlier. We’re talking big BBQ scenes with multiple products and accompaniments, etc. This is where things went pear-shaped — as if in reality, they weren’t already pear-shaped enough.

Upon requiring the final client approval of the fifth shot around 5:30 pm, the client went missing for two hours. I’d begun bypassing the consistency client as they’d gone home. (I knew the brand inside and out, anyway.)

The main client finally got back in touch, telling me they’d taken their kids someplace. Then, for the last shot, they went missing for another two or so hours. This time, I was told their phone battery had died.

So, we got that final approval at 9:00 pm. Plus an hour and a half drive back home on a Friday night. And, as you might have guessed, I wasn’t getting overtime.

Work-life balance anyone? Nope.

This was another nail in the coffin for me at that agency, as I’d had so many ridiculous photoshoots, requests, and situations on that account. I’d been told I should wear a stripey mask, called a thief for charging the clients standard rate for jobs (on a contractual rate card) — all sorts.

I even had burnout and three weeks off with stress for another scandalous job. I was a gibbering wreck. Only pride and an independent hypnotist got me back into that place.

I used to work for a well-known photography studio as a photographer. We were always swamped between October and May, so we called frequently to confirm and remind people of their appointments.

The day before Easter, I called one client to confirm. There was no answer, so I left a message. On the day of the appointment, I called in the morning about four hours before the appointment time. Again, there was no answer, so I left another message informing them that if they did not show, they would lose their appointment.

Six hours later as I was closing up, the client arrived with about ten people total, demanding that they have their appointment.

Me: “I’m sorry, but you’ve missed your appointment. I called to confirm, and you didn’t answer or return my messages to say you would be running late.”

Client: “We were waiting for family who had to fly in. They are on their way now. This is very unprofessional of you! You should have known we would be late because we didn’t answer.”

About ten years ago, I worked for a nationwide company. We would take photos of families for their church directories. They got one photo for free, but the others were extra. One day, I caught one family taking a photo of my computer screen.

Me: “Hey, I’m sorry, but you can’t do that.”

Customer: “Why not?”

Me: “Because you didn’t pay for it.”

Customer: “Well, I have it now. What are you going to do about it?”

Me: “I guess nothing. I’ll just make a note here next to your name that you didn’t pay for your photos, so when the church and all of the members ask why they haven’t received their photos, we can let them know who to talk to.”

Customer: “…”

I typed for a moment in silence.

Customer: “So, how much do I owe you?”

After she left, the other photographer walked over.

Photographer: “That was great! I wouldn’t have known what to do if something like that happened to me!”

Me: “To be honest, I just made all that up. They probably could have gotten away with it, until she pissed me off.”