07/11/2026
Really disappointing way to start my morning… 😔
Last evening, I received a message from what I presumed was a prospective client claiming that her daughter would be turning 4 and requesting to have photos taken for her daughter’s birthday…
I did do my first initial look at their profile as I typically do to make sure that I am not getting scammed, especially if they are a client that I do not know personally. The profile looked a little sketchy, not a lot of details, but with FB privacy settings lately, like my own personal profile if they have everything set to private - you aren’t able to see hardly any details on their profile, until you become friends with the person… when they stated they were in Saranac Lake, I was less concerned.
The conversation was completely normal if what I would expect from a potential client…We talked some potential dates, this person even stayed involved in the conversation when I had to offer alternative dates due to some things already on my calendar.
They even had an inspiration picture, and of course, me being the person that I am - didn’t want to say “Yes, I can do that,” without testing my skills first… I never want to promise someone I can deliver their vision without full confidence in myself and my skills…
When I tell you at 8:00pm I leapt out of my chair - stopped eating my late dinner, grabbed my keys and my cash, and ran to Kinneys to grab some bubbles because I knew we were losing sunlight and Kinneys would be closed soon, I’m not exaggerating… I flew out of my chair and dropped everything to do this for this potential client…
I don’t intentionally try to go above and beyond, it just comes naturally, I want my clients to also have 100% confidence in me and my abilities… that mutual trust and connection is SO important to me, especially given this is very much a small word out mouth business that I invest so much of my time and effort into - with my only intent being able to provide beautiful, affordable photos for everyone.. it’s never been about the money and it never will be, but another $75.00 session right before my family vacation would have been some excellent change in my pocket towards an otherwise, very expensive road trip…
I considered buying a bubble blower at Kinneys… they aren’t cheap, especially at Kinneys, but I talked myself out of it, saying on Tuesday before our shoot, I’d grab the bubble blower to use at the shoot and opted for some cheap bubbles to test my skills..
I ran into the house, asked Matt to leave the comfort of his chair after he had quite the day and was in quite a bit of pain, but he does what he can to support me and my passion, and we went to town on the bubbles and the photos… I ran inside uploaded them, started my editing process and had these photos to this client within the hour, give or take a few minutes…
To my disappointment at 5:30 this morning when after all that work was for NOTHING… this potential client turned out to be a scammer, trying to get more information from my so that they could send an email to me in which I would open it and then who knows what they would do with whatever they got from the email…
They had just about everything they needed to complete this scam, but my instincts on shady people is getting a bit better, and my understanding that not everyone is a nice or a good person like I would love to think is stronger, and I google searched the Venmo photo and it showed that this was in fact a phishing scam… the following up Cash App response left me immediately confirming my suspicions and the lack of response to my email where I was trying to catch them in the act made me feel both positive and negative about the whole situation…
Now you might be thinking, why are you complaining, they didn’t get anything from you and it was only $75.00…
Every single photoshoot that I book is for YOU. I put my time, my heart and soul, my physical effort and energy, and sometimes my own personal money into each and every photoshoot.
$75.00 may be just a measly $75.00 to some but for me and my small business here, that could have been gas money, Maisie’s medications - which I purchase monthly, groceries, a souvenir on an upcoming vacation, an oil change in my car - which is due…
Every penny that I put in my pocket, especially out of a client’s wallet is cherished, used wisely, and respected. It’s not just $$, I understand that your money is incredibly valuable to you and you have chosen to invest in me, by allowing me to turn your story into a forever art piece. I don’t take that lightly…
So this morning started off disappointing and sad.. I was looking forward to both the ability to do something new in a photoshoot as well as the $$ I was going to make right before my trip…
There are two lessons to be learned here, I suppose.
1. Not everyone is a good person and not everyone has good intentions.
2. It is feels sketchy, trust your instincts, and do your research.
