I am taking a step back from our regularly scheduled blog to bring you a PSA.
Do you get your pictures taken at Walmart? Sears? Have you ever had to wait forever when you get there and thought, "Damn it! I made an appointment online why the hell am I waiting?" and then took it out on the photographer? I'm sure you thought it was their fault or maybe it just made you grumpy to have to wait. During the shoot, even though you told the photographer a million times you only wanted one pose and they kept going, did you lose your cool and get snippy? What about after when you had to sit through long sales pitch only to find the deal you thought you were going to get had changed?
Hi, I used to be that photographer.
I worked in all three studios in my town for over a year. I came into the job used to shooting on location and pretty much however I wanted. And yes, Sears and Walmart ARE owned by the SAME people. Everything is the same, the prices, the way they teach you to sell, all of it. Though we weren't allowed to mention that because of branding issues. They also own Bella Photography, Shooting Stars, and some studios in Target. Coming from a fully manual, no franken-tripod, fetter free camera to the set up at walmart was traumatizing.
Seriously. Ever tried to get a good shot of a baby that just learned to crawl, but you can't get down on their level? Yea, it blows.At least at the Walmart studios you can't. Of course, we had the table we used to pose babies on, but a crawling baby on a table is a stroke waiting to happen. Luckily, I never had anyone fall off the table, though there was one near miss with a friend's baby. It's ok, we caught her. I've had many a parent suggest I pull out the white "sheet". Often, I found myself embarrassed to pull out the white muslin, which is, basically, a giant white sheet. We used to be able to take it home and wash it, then the rule was changed to only the District Manager could.Well, when your DM lives in a different state, your muslin down't get a while lot of washin'. There were footprints all over it. Once I even had a guy drive his mobility scooter onto it (I told him to) and there were tire tracks on it.
Can you imagine, as an employee, having to pull that out and try to assure the people it won't look that bad on camera? I stopped saying it after a while and started laying white blankets and such over the spot I wanted to use.
Then, there's the prop situation. I had a ton of props at my house from my own business. At walmart we were required to shoot 6-9 sellable poses, when I left it was actually 12-14. When the only props in the studio are dirty white columns, scuffed up brown boxes, flowers, and pearls it gets tough. People want unique and beautiful pictures, I don't blame them. When your props haven't seen their prime in about twenty years it is hard to create that for people.
Now, Sears is a horse of a different color.
At Sears we often worked so understaffed that, by the end of the day, you had probably sweated off a small child's weight and most of your dignity. There was much more to work with there and the tripod went all the way to the floor, which was great.
When you go to these places you have to understand that, for the most part, the people working there are NOT photographers. They are people who were hired in off the street and had no experience. That's why the camera at walmart focuses it's self and you can't move it. They teach you the basics and then throw you to the wolves. So if an asscociate seems lost, they probably are, but please be patient. This very well good be the person's first day alone and they could be swimming in deep water full of sharks while bleeding from an artery. If you get rude with them, they probably won't be very nice to you.
Please remember that a Walmart Photog is NOT a miracle worker. If you bring in your baby at nap time, don't get mad at them if they don't smile. When every trick in their arsenal has been exhausted and you still don't have a smile consider coming back later in the day or another day. They want you to have an excellent picture just as badly as you do, but that rarely can be achieved with a tired, cranky child.
Another thing to keep in mind, people sometimes have to drive from hours away to get to work. It's what you would call a "floating" position. People call off, constantly, and others have to be brought in from elsewhere to cover. If they are a few minutes late take that into consideration. Who knows what the road conditions were or traffic. I know it's inconvenient for you, but imagine what it much be like for them to find out they have to drive two hours for work that day and only got an hour and a half notice.
If you bring in food, snacks for kids is always a helpful tool for sure, please try not to string it across creation. The person working has to clean that up and be ready for the shoot. I once had someone bring in cherrios and cheetos for their toddlers. It wouldn't have been an issue, if they hadn't let their kids run around the studio stomping the food into the floor while they looked at the pictures. It was already a mess in there as I had done something like 5 shoots in the span of two hours and had another right after. Then there was the time I watched a parent sit and watch as both their children pour pop, one of them orange, out on the floor because they were angry then did nothing.
And a tip for those of you who get mad when you show up after making an appointment online and your appointment has been double booked. The 1-800 number and the website neither one have anyway of knowing if, when multiple camera rooms are present, there is enough coverage that day or if both camera rooms are actually working. This was a huge issue at the Sears I worked at. I felt terrible when it happened, even worse when some of them were through with me, but there was nothing I could have done. The close time was 6, but someone could actually schedule a 6. Sometimes I didn't get home until 9 or 10.
So before you go off on the photographer because you had a bad experience, keep a few things in mind.
1. This could be there 7th day straight working.
2. They could be new and lost.
3. They have probably cleaned up more after your kids than they have their own that week.
4. Nap time appointments are a bad idea.
5. They get paid crap and are expected to do more than you can imagine.
6. They could have missed lunch due to a walk in because if they say no they can be fired.
7. If something gets overbooked they can't control that.
8. They HAVE to do the sales pitch.
9. Cleanliness of backgrounds can't always be controlled.
10. They just want to be treated like a person, not a piece of equipment.
So, to sum it up, being kind goes a long way.
Glad to be Free
Angry Girl
No comments:
Post a Comment