Photographer’s Practical Solution to an Overbearing, Rude Wedding Client Inspires

Many of us have taken on work in the past that we wished we hadn’t and, in the world of photography, this is more common than not.

Wedding photography, as usual, provides another shining example of how things can go wrong when you attempt to do someone a “favor” in today’s story ripped straight from the pages of Reddit’s /r/AmITheA**hole and which subsequently made its way to Newsweek, among others.

So, what’s the tale?

Basically, our photographer, u/Icey-Reserve6955, wants to know if she is the a**hole for deleting a groom’s wedding pictures in front of him before peace-ing out from the event entirely.

Mind you, the photographer agreed to work the wedding as a favor to the couple and for only $250 compensation after previously being invited to the event as a guest. This detail is important. Another detail that is key to understanding this story is that Icey-Reserve6955 tells us her known portfolio was for dog grooming, not wedding photography. So, again, this gig was a favor for a friend above all.

What ensues is a tale of a friend’s generosity being abused when the groom demoted our photographer hero from friend to “hired help” which apparently removed her from consideration for basic niceties like a meal.

From the Reddit post:

“I told the groom I need to take off for 20min to get something to eat and drink. There's no open bar or anything, I can't even get water and my two water bottles are long empty. He tells me I need to either be photographer, or leave without pay. With the heat, being hungry, being generally annoyed at the circumstances, I asked if he was sure, and he said yes, so I deleted all the photos I took in front of him and took off saying I'm not his photographer anymore. If I was to be paid $250, honestly at that point I would have paid $250 just for a glass of cold water and somewhere to sit for 5min.”

As Icey-Reserve6955 points out, if she had remained a guest, she would have received a meal.

Deleting the photos was a pretty drastic move but one that seemingly has widespread acclaim in Internet media and on the original Reddit post itself.

What do you think of the photographer’s solution to the groom’s ultimatum? Have you ever dealt with a difficult client in the past? What tactics did you use to handle the situation? Let us know in the comments below.

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[Reddit]