 Hey all, what's up? My name is Nal and welcome to my channel. If you are new, it is Vlogmas Day 7 and I am not in like the best mood right now just because, I don't know, it's just like, I feel yucky today. It's like gray outside. I feel like every day I've been here in Georgia, it's been gray, but that's like a little bit of an exaggeration because there was some sunny, pretty days, but there's not that many. And I will give you guys an update on the Tesla situation. So if you saw my last vlog, you would know that I got two flat tires on my dad's Tesla that I was borrowing and that was very stressful because I didn't know what the frick to do. I've never gotten like a flat tire that I could not drive on. I think I've just like had like air pressure errors, but this was like pretty bad and I had to get a tow to the Decatur Tesla place and since my mom lives closer to Decatur, I thought I would just stay an extra night with her. I called them earlier today and they said that the car would only be done on the eighth. I was like planning on going back to my dad's because all my stuff is there because I was only planning on staying one night at my mom's. So I'm just like, I think that's why I'm in such a funky mood because I just like hate not being with my stuff. Like even this whole month being home, that's why I brought so much stuff home because like if my stuff is with me like I'll be fine, but I just don't have my things with me right now. So like even my work computer, I left it at my dad's because I was like I'll be back on Monday. So then I had to like download like Microsoft Teams and Outlook and everything to my personal computer, which I didn't really want to do, but you know, you got to do what you got to do. But aside from that, I'm still gonna stay strong with Vlogmas. I'm gonna make it through. I'm telling myself that putting it out there. It's gonna happen. And so today I wanted to just kind of do like a story time. A while ago I asked you guys if you wanted to hear my crazy photography stories because I am a freelance photographer and videographer, aside from my like part-time job, and aside from like the YouTube stuff and Instagram stuff. And I make like pretty much half my income from doing that. And so I've been doing it for how many years have I been doing it for? I like started my senior year of high school, which was 2015. It's 2020. So like five-ish years. I started learning in like 2013. But getting really, really into just like portraits and stuff started my senior year. So I've been doing it for a really long time. But one thing I do a lot about photography is just meeting so many different people and like learning about them. And like even if it's like one hour shoot, you learn so much about them. But since I have met so many people, you know, they're not all gonna be super nice and like, like easy to work with. So I thought I would share like a couple of my stories. This has all happened in the past one year since I've been in Austin. So we'll start off with the first one and then I'll get into like the crazier stuff towards the end. I wouldn't say I specialize in any specific photography category. I really just like to do it all because I never want to get bored, you know, but I do love doing graduation photos and senior photos. So like high school seniors and then obviously graduating seniors from colleges. So there was this one girl that hired me to do her grad photos. As a photographer over the years, you kind of know when you are dealing with someone not easy to work with. Like there's kind of just like red flags that pops up. And so it just kind of like started to happen. I can't really remember why I thought she just like wasn't going to be like the easiest to work with. But I just know I remember feeling that way. Like I just didn't have a good gut feeling. Also, I wanted to say all these experiences really helped me to learn what to do in the future for my photography business, whether it's like adding something to my contract or just like doing something a different way. So for example, this girl was 30 minutes later shoot and I was like so annoyed just because like I was sitting there like waiting for her on a bench for 30 minutes. And so after that, I put in my contract. Like if you don't show up 15 minutes from your start time, I'm allowed to go home and I can't remember the rest, but it just basically says I can go home after 15 minutes because I'm not gonna just like wait there for you. I'm sorry, but time is valuable. So she was 30 minutes late. And she brought her whole family and her dog, which is not a problem at all. Because like I personally like people the grad knows to be there because then they just feel more comfortable. And also they like help carry stuff and it's just like better that way. So the shoot ends. She literally takes forever to pick her photos that she wants edited because I personally let my clients choose their photos. And that was another thing I added to my contract. If you don't choose the photos three days after receiving the gallery, then I'm going to be choosing them. And then I'll send them to you. And obviously I'm going to try to choose the best ones. But personally, I would like to choose my own photos if it was me. So that's why I give them the option to do that. But this girl took so long and I didn't have it in my contract by then. And obviously when I'm doing shoots, especially back to back ones like holiday minis and grad shoots, I want to get them out ASAP for y'all to have like, because you know, it's kind of like a time sensitive thing. But then also for me to cross off my to do this and just like, have it done and not have to like worry about it and like, you know, have it weighing me down. She finally chose her photos. And then months later, she said something about like, I don't know, something about the quality or something. And it was totally fine on my end. So I told her to do something different, like download it a different way because maybe she was like downloading it from her phone. That's like, not the best way because the phone might just kind of like, ruins it a little bit. So I told her to download it on a desktop and then I didn't really hear from her after that. Then a couple months later, I received an email from PayPal saying that the mom disputed a charge. And I think it was the charge for like her extra photos. So it wasn't the whole session. It was a good chunk of change, though, it's like almost $100. And so I had all the receipts because I don't really like delete my messages. It's kind of annoying because I don't even save anyone's number two. So it's like, all these random numbers in my phone or like on Instagram DMs, I like never really delete those because it's just really good to have like receipts and like paper trails in case something like this happens to you. So I was frantically trying to reply to the dispute on PayPal because it was literally giving me like a time that I had to send it in by and I did not have much time and it didn't give me a warning or anything. It was so weird. And so I sent it in literally like had all the receipts of like, you know, her saying like, okay, yeah, that's fine. Like here, I just sent the PayPal, whatever. And then I think it was like a month later, I can't really remember how long it took to like get the final results back. But they took her side. And I'm like, what the heck, apparently, service isn't covered on like my side, I don't even know. So I don't think I'll really ever take PayPal again, because that was just so annoying to me to have to deal with. And I didn't want to really reach out to her or her mom. Also, I didn't have her mom's phone number, but like I didn't want to do that. You just kind of have to pick and choose your battles. And I did not want to just even talk to them. Like I was like, here, take your money if you want to be difficult, like, whatever. And I don't know if she like did it on purpose or did it like on accident because you didn't remember like paying someone that much. But it was so weird. And I was just like, very annoyed. And obviously, you can tell I'm still annoyed to this day. So that was story number one. Let's get into story number two gets a little bit crazier. Okay, so I was hired under like a media team or a media company. And they usually give me just like random gigs. So they take a portion and I get majority of the portion. I don't really know how it works. But so it was this book signing thing for this older lady, she had just come out with a book. So she wanted a couple of headshots and like pictures literally throughout her like speech and everything. Obviously, a bookstore is quiet as shit. So it was so awkward because I was a photographer and she also had a videographer. And it was so dark in there. So I couldn't even not do flash. So I obviously had to use my flash to get good quality pictures because she's paying for these pictures. And I wanted to do the best job I could like they're literally hiring me to do this. And also I wasn't really representing myself. I was representing this media company. So that made the situation even like weirder. So basically, when I was photographing the event like when she was speaking, this old guy will also there was like, maybe six, seven older people in the audience. And this guy turns around at me and he like kind of like yells like he just says like, stop like that kind of just like yelling at me but not like using his voice. You guys get it. And I was really thrown off by that. But also like I understood because like, you know, you're trying to pay attention to what she's saying. But then like also I'm being paid to get this girl her pictures like I don't want to disappoint her or the media company. So I took off my flash and just kept taking pictures like in kind of bad lighting. But I was like, I mean, I'm just gonna keep shooting because this thing literally lasted I I want to say like two ish hours, maybe like an hour and a half or something. And the speech had to be lasting like at least 30 minutes. So I kept taking it with my camera and the guy was giving me the meanest stairs I've ever seen. And I was just trying not to look at him. And then after she was done with the speech, she kind of had like a book signing situation. And I went to the back to like talk to the videographer. And I was just like, Oh, like, did you see that? That was like, kind of weird, whatever. Like, I get it. But like, just doing my job here. So the guy came back into the bookcases, and he straight up yelled at me so much. And he was like, you are so disrespectful. I was trying to pay attention. I couldn't even pay attention with your like camera clicks going off. Like, don't you have like silent shutter or something like blah, blah, blah, blah. And first of all, I have tried using silent shutter and it it messes with like something with the shutter, I'm guessing, and it makes like, what is this called? Like just weird black lines through your pictures. And so I was not trying to like, try anything new tonight, because I was getting paid for this gig. And luckily the first time I figured that out, I was not getting paid for that gig. So thank God. But and he was just going off and off about how disrespectful I was. And I like, was so speechless, I could not stand up for myself because I was just literally holding back tears. If you know me, you know that I'm emotional as shit. And so I was just like, nodding, like trying to be like respectful towards him. Because you know, like, that's, that's what I do. And again, I was not even representing myself. I was representing media team. So I did not want to make it look bad for them. The whole time the guy was yelling at me, the videographer was standing right by me and he was trying to defend me, like talk for me. Because I think you could see I was like, about to freaking lose it. He was just saying like, Oh, the author wanted these photos, you know, we're here to like do our job, whatever, like we understand. And I just like, could not believe what had just happened. Like, it was, I, again, I get it, he's older. And like, it, like even for me, it probably would have been hard to pay attention. After he talked to me, I like literally just went more back into the bookcases and started hyperventilating. I honestly don't really have anxiety and I don't know what that was, but it was definitely like some kind of like a panic attack. So maybe that's why I was like so frustrated because I was just so caught off guard. And like, if he was like, a little bit nicer about it, I would have been like, Oh my God, I'm so sorry. But the way he said it was like, Are you okay? Um, okay, so last story of the day, this is the big one. And I honestly like forgot a lot of the details. So bear with me. But I'll tell you guys like the gist of the story. So I used to shoot on a Canon 70D and I had my whole lens collection. I freaking loved my lenses, but my body of the Canon was just not it. And I think the summer I moved to Austin, which was 2019, which was last summer, I decided that I was going to upgrade my camera body. And so I ordered the Canon 60 Mark two, I think, and it did not come like, I don't know what happened, but just like never arrived. Luckily, I did actually pay through PayPal. So I was able to get my money back, which that worked out there, you know, being the consumer, I was actually between getting the Sony a 73 and the 60, whatever I just said. And I was like, Okay, this is fate. Like, God is telling me to get the Sony, which honestly, no freaking regrets, like I love my Sony a 73. It's so much crisper and clearer and just like the photos I take on this camera compared to my Canon 70D, which again, it was like an older body. Like they don't even compare. So that's my take on that. But I did really miss my Canon lenses. And obviously I had to sell all my Canon lenses to get Sony lenses because you could get like an adapter and I tried it and it sucked. So I was not going to go that route because especially if I'm doing videography too, like you need the autofocus to be amazing. And it like the adapter just like the autofocus was not it. So I decided to get all native lenses. And so obviously I first had to sell all my Canon lenses, which was heartbreaking. And especially my Canon 50 millimeter 1.2. And this is where the story starts. So I think I posted it in like an Austin buying group for Canon lenses or something like that. And someone wanted to buy it from me. And this is where I can't really remember clear enough. But I'm pretty sure he just like didn't have the money right then and there. We got to talking and he was actually a wedding photographer and portrait photographer, but I wanted to get into weddings at that point. So basically he kind of like made me a deal where he could let me second shoe and I can make the money that he was supposed to pay me for the lens like every wedding. It sounds so weird when I say it because it literally doesn't make sense. Like I'm working for you for free, but you're giving me my money for the lens. Like it just didn't didn't sound right. And I didn't realize that at the time because I was so desperate to get into this wedding industry because that was like my first skin. And I didn't know how hard it would be down the road. You know, I was just like, Oh my God, he's like letting me second shoot. This is so cool. Like I have no experience. Like this is so nice of him. Whatever. I thought he was like really like nice and like helpful, whatever. And actually we met up at a Starbucks. And so we like talked through all this. He honestly gave me so many like helpful tips. And so that's why I thought he was like, you know, cool, like, like we could do this, whatever. And so there was no really contracts. Like obviously there was just like text between us. And so he didn't really have a lot of weddings coming up. So we would have to wait. I think this was like, was it last October or something? I don't know. I can't really remember. Or no, 2019 October ish. So this was in summer when I was selling it. So I would have to wait like a couple of months to get my first payment of like what $200 and the lens was like, probably over like 1000 or something or maybe like 1000. And so I would have to wait to get my payments. So a couple of months passed by and I have been like replacing my Sony lenses one by one. And I've realized that like it wasn't a good deal because I need my Sony lenses now for my business. And so he had my 50 millimeter this whole time he was using it this whole time. He was posting about it all over his like Instagram and stuff. Basically, I realized that it just like wasn't a good deal. So I was like, okay, like, do you mind giving me the lens back? Because I'm not sure if I like really want to do the whole wedding thing and stuff like that. And then this is where he started to like ghost me a little bit. And he was still posting all over his social media. He wasn't like blocking me or anything. And I saw him posting like all these selling Facebook groups to like sell other stuff. And I was like, what the heck, like, I just want my freaking lens back so I can literally buy a lens for my business. Like, great that you're using my lens to, you know, accelerate yours. But hello, like I need my lens back. Unfortunately, I did not know his address. And that's definitely a big lesson that I've learned is to get their personal information, especially if they have something so valuable of yours. Like, I cannot believe I did that. Also, I did see that I asked this guy for 800 for the lens. So he wanted to do second shooting for like 250. But also I'm pretty sure that would be like a full day. And 250 divided by like eight hours is $31 per hour, which is like not really the going rate. Like I would usually get paid like 50 per hour. So it was still not a good deal. He was essentially just getting a free second shooter. And like I get it, like he was trying to help me. But like, I could have gotten like, second shooter jobs anywhere else that could pay me. And I could also get the lens money. Does that make sense? So anyways, he goes to me and I finally had to tell him that I was gonna call the police. And he of course, like texted me right away. And he was like, okay, sorry, I was just like, busy or whatever, like, you know, like we can meet up. We met up at a Starbucks. And it was just like kind of awkward. He literally just gave me the lens and kind of like left. And that is that story. All these stories don't really sound that crazy when I'm telling you guys. But honestly, in the moment, all these stories felt like so life ending. I just felt like the biggest pit in my gut. And it was just like, not fun to deal with any of these stories. And so yeah, those are my crazy photography stories crossing my fingers. I don't go through anymore. And I'm so lucky to have like, really great clients majority of the time, honestly, like 99% of the time. Once you start growing your business and are more established, you can kind of start saying no to some gigs. If you do see red flags and some clients, or honestly, just make up an excuse that you're like busy your books that day. Because it might be worth it just not to deal with them. That's the way I see it personally. So I hope you guys enjoyed the story time. Feel free to follow me on my photography account. I'm going to start posting again. I've been so bad about it. I've just like had this imposter syndrome thing happen to me recently, just because I'm not back in Austin right now. And that is my home base for my photography business. So I just feel like I don't want to post right now. But then like, I should be posting this grad season coming up. And it's just like a whole thing. I'm just like, just feeling so like icky about it. But like, I saw like some grad photos the other day, I was like, I just really want to like, take grad photos right now because it makes me so happy. Anyways, feel free to follow me over there because I'm going to be posting a lot and I already have like so much content on that page. And then I also do post a couple of my videos every now and again. But I do mostly photography now. Let me know if you guys want a photography Q&A. I feel like I haven't done anything about like my photography on this channel in a while. And I would love to make more videos. So if you guys have any questions, leave them in the comments down below. Also, if you have a question that can't wait for the Q&A, you can literally just DM me on Instagram. I'm always happy to help. So I will see y'all in my next video. Bye!