It's May 2024. Finally feeling better about who I see when I look in the mirror and ready to use my…read moreremaining sessions, I emailed Camryn - no response. I texted her the following week - still no reply. The same person who was all "Hey girlfriend" in my texts in 2021 now sent a cold, canned email from her CRM: "Per our agreement, your sessions are good for one year." And she needs to stay "true to her business policies."
She offered a 45-minute mini-session in her studio as a consolation for the two remaining three-hour sessions at my location (a $3k value), or she wished me well. It felt patronizing and dismissive, a stark contrast to the supportive figure I believed her to be.
Let's go back to February 2021.
When I first met Camryn, I was impressed. I liked her energy, and she seemed genuinely dedicated to supporting female entrepreneurs, so I was all about supporting her business.
Our Zoom call was promising. Camryn outlined the package: four three-hour sessions for a $6k investment. We discussed my website launch, the shots I would need, my wardrobe, and more. However, there was no mention of session expiration--neither on the call, on her sales page, nor in any of our subsequent emails or texts. Trust me, I went back and checked to be sure I wasn't crazy.
Instead, it was tucked away in the fine print of her HoneyBook contract, sent when she collected payment--a detail I missed entirely. Had I known the sessions had to be used every 90 days over the next year, I never would have purchased such a big package. As a busy business owner, new mom, and wife, I can't commit to photoshoots every quarter. Seriously, who can?
I had my first session in March 2021 and another in April 2021 with my team. The pictures were great, and the website launched. For the time being, I was set. Later that year, I had a baby, gained weight, and dealt with some major postpartum blues. The last thing I wanted was to look at a camera for a while.
Camryn sends marketing emails almost weekly. Yet she never sent a single reminder about the expiring sessions, which would have been a decent thing to do, knowing I had two unused sessions. Not one, "Hey girl, it's getting close to a year. Let's get you scheduled." Nope, nothing. Nada.
Instead, she acted like Groupon, waiting for the deal to expire so she could take my money without delivering the service. I understand having policies, but when you offer a service with such a high investment, you should remind your clients of expiring sessions. If you have to bury it in your fine print and never speak of it directly, that's a problem.
I'd never treat a client the way Camryn treated me. If she had said, "You know, I'm swamped for the next three months, but if you want to pick a Tuesday in the fall, I can help you," it would have been a different story.
Be careful when choosing Camryn. It's not about finding a photographer who will tell you if you have camel toe or food in your teeth. I want to work with a decent human who treats their clients with empathy and respect.
Unfortunately, that's not Camryn. If life happens, she will stick to her business fine print and hope you go away.
