In this episode of Oh Shoot, Cassidy reads through your photography embarrassing stories, including accidentally texting your clients INSTEAD of your mom…
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Hello everybody! Welcome back to another episode of Oh Shoot, I’m your host Cassidy Lynn, and today we’re diving into something hilarious, slightly humbling, and definitely relatable: embarrassing photography stories. I’ve already read through some of these submissions, and they’re so good. I truly believe that embarrassing moments humble us, unite us, and remind us that we’re all human. If you’ve ever made a mistake on a shoot, trust me, you are not the only one. This episode is basically a warm hug for your photographer soul. But before we dive into all the juicy submissions, I have a little embarrassing moment of my own to share…
My Own Embarrassing Moment: When You Buy the Wrong $500 Light
Okay, so this one’s more of a gear mistake. I saw Nathan Chanski post this cool light that mimics window blinds, like golden hour light casting through blinds. Super cute, perfect for studio content and podcast vibes, right? I bought it. It was $500. It came in a huge trunk. I was so excited to use it… and then I realized there was no light. No plug. No power. Turns out it was just a filter that goes over a spotlight, you have to buy the actual spotlight separately. I spent $500 on something that doesn’t even light up. Love that for me. Moving on!
My Cabo Wedding Party Rock Slip
We were on the beach doing wedding party photos after the ceremony. I spotted the rocks behind me and checked to make sure someone had moved them but they hadn’t, I raised my camera and walked backwards to capture the perfect shot then I slammed right into something. I hit a boulder. But instead of falling? It literally went right between my legs and I sat down on it. Mid-photo. Everyone saw. One of the bridesmaids was like, “You can’t get hurt, we don’t need you getting hurt!” Bless that rock, I guess. Could have been worse!!!
Now, let’s get right to you guys stories!
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #1
Submission: One time a shot too much on a 32gb SD card and DURING the shoot in between poses I would have to delete some photos, and I never told the client.
Cassidy: Honestly, I feel like that’s more embarrassing for you than for them. They probably didn’t even notice. But… do you not have another SD card?! This feels more like a mistake than an embarrassing moment. Still, you’ve got to prepare yourself, people!
Submission: I’ve never been more embarrassed as a photographer: I had my first OBGYN appt and I was so nervous about it. I woke up in the middle of the night having a nightmare and in a cold sweat. I texted my mom about it saying “i woke up probably around 6 this morning sweating i was having a nightmare that she forced something up my vagina and i almost passed out”. 30 minutes passed and my mom didn’t answer, which is weird for her. That’s when I realized I sent that text to my client from the night before and it was too late to unsend. i used the word vagina in a text to a client. i was MORTIFIED. thankfully the client was really nice (58-year-old lady) who told me she’s “probably had the same dream” haha. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life!😂
Cassidy: Oh my gosh. That is so juicy. Like… can you imagine the client thinking they’re getting a sneak peek or a gallery update, and instead it’s that?! Mortifying. You really lucked out with an understanding client. I’d have a heart attack the second I realized. This is one of those texts that makes your soul leave your body.
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #2
Submission: shooting an in-home family session and tripping over the bed and COMPLETELY wiping out ☺️
Cassidy: Yeah… I get it. Been there. It’s one of those things that’s more embarrassing for you than anyone else. But still, your camera?! Risky.
Submission: I was shooting a wedding and the bride and groom wanted to do the shot with the wedding party creating a tunnel with their arms that the bride and groom could run through. everyone put their arms up but most of the groomsmen’s blazer jackets wouldn’t allow both arms to go up so i had the bright idea of telling them do just use one arm instead of taking off their jackets.
They did it and then someone said “WAIT this looks wrong!” and then i realised what i made them do!!!!! I DIED DEAD. I was MORTIFIED. the kicker?? the bride was JEWISHHHH!!!!! I wanted to dive off the cliff that we were standing near. everyone thought it was HILARIOUS and laughed it off but i felt so bad. anyways that’s the story of how i got a group of 10 men to do a nazi salute at a jewish wedding by accident.
Cassidy: No no no no no. My stomach dropped reading this. It’s the kind of thing that makes you wish you could vanish. Thank goodness everyone laughed it off, but I know you will never recover. That’s a canon event.
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #3
Submission: My most embarrassing moment as a photographer: This happened early on in my wedding photography career, at the beginning of the wedding day. I arrived to the grooms hotel room and started unpacking my gear to get set up. I put my cameras on my harnesses and grabbed my lenses. Well, I didn’t realize my most precious 35mm wasn’t all the way clicked in so when I stood up, it fell off my camera hitting the tile floor. All the groomsmen and groom gasped while I played it off as no big deal.
I put it on my camera and it wasn’t focusing – manual and autofocus weren’t working! Was so embarrassed, I thought that made me look so unprofessional. I didn’t have a big group of lenses on hand at the time so I was stuck with my 50mm and 85mm for the day 😅 it all turned out okay and I was able to get the lens fixed but in the moment I wanted to die lol.
Cassidy: First of all, ouch. The 35mm is precious. But second, being in the groomsmen’s room as a woman is already awkward enough. I feel your pain. If this hasn’t happened to you, take note: double check that lens lock.
Submission: One of my associates stepped on the brides veil as she was walking down the aisle and her veil came off!
Cassidy: Noooooo. That’s ceremony sabotage. Veils are so chaotic. I’ve had brides with veils flying, catching bugs, even a praying mantis climbing up one. They’re drama magnets. I’d honestly just ditch them.
Submission: This is the embarrassing story of how I lost my phone while shooting a wedding… This was during a Lebanese wedding I shot last year during the fall. If you know anything about Lebanese receptions, the you know how crazy they can get with all the dances and performances. I was photographing a performance with huge loud drums and people running and dancing around the entire reception space. So of course I was running around trying to capture it all. When I thought to myself wow this would make a great TikTok, so I went to grab my phone and that’s when I noticed it was gone… I decided to look for it when things calmed down but it was no where to be found! I got desperate, asked guests to check under tables, and even got my second shooter to try calling me and no luck.
Then I went to reception and asked there and the find my phone app on my watch wasn’t working. Then a guest showed me I could ping my phone a different way with my Apple watch. So I pinged it and we could all hear it faintly in the background but it was so loud it was hard to pinpoint. So the MC shouts over the mic for the room to quiet down and the ENTIRE reception turned to look at me as I pinged my phone only for it to be tangled up in the decor by the head table.
Every guest watched as the groom found it and the whole room cheered, laughed and clapped for me… So luckily I found my phone but I had to disrupt the entire reception and every guest knew that the photographer (me) lost her phone 😅 I have never been so embarrassed
Cassidy: I would have DIED. The attention. The silence. The entire room watching you. Props for being brave. I would’ve waited until the end of the night to look for it. No way could I have done that mid-party.
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #4
Submission: Accidentally deleting a wedding shot for a good friend from the SD card. Thank god they’re divorced now.
Cassidy: That’s… horrible but also kind of wild. It’s like the universe was like “don’t worry about it.”
Submission: I was shooting an outdoor wedding with my husband. And the ceremony wasn’t too far from where all the cars were parked. There were a lot of guests, and everything was going smoothly—until, right in the middle of the vows, a car alarm started blaring. Everyone looked around, but no one had any idea whose car it was. After a few seconds, it stopped, and the ceremony continued. Later, my husband told me it was *our* car. We had left the windows cracked because of the heat, and apparently, our car’s motion sensor picked up movement inside. We can only assume a bird must have flown through, setting off the alarm. To this day, no one else knows it was us!
Cassidy: Honestly, this is the kind of secret you take to the grave. The visual of your husband trying to discreetly silence it in his pocket? Comedy gold. Ignorance was bliss.
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #5
Submission: I’ll never make this photography mistake again: I always send a questionnaire before the wedding to ask about any family drama, divorces, etc. this day I unfortunately forgot to look at it and when I got to the venue I wanted to look over it but I didn’t have service. I was like oh well. It’ll be okay. So it comes time for family photos and I’m reading through the list and it looks like the grooms parents are in the same picture together so I assume they’re married. My mistake. They all got ready to take this picture and I notice his parents are no where near each other and I say “dad, do you want to come stand by mom?” And everyone is silent for a second.
He then says “I’m not standing by her she’s my ex” in front of the whole family. He wasn’t joking either. I thought he was a first but unfortunately no. Then the grooms mom says “are you serious??” And then she starts crying. In the middle of family photos… I went back and looked at the questionnaire and the bride wrote in there two times that they would need to take photos separately. I’m now scarred and can’t go to a wedding without reading over the questionnaire 10 times before the days over. I felt so bad and so embarrassed
Cassidy: You can never assume. Never. It takes one time for you to learn. First names only, double check that questionnaire, and treat every family situation with extra care. Canon event for sure.
Submission: I was shooting a proposal staged as a normal photoshoot and I had them walking down stairs to where it was set up and I tripped. Luckily I didn’t fall down completely but still definitely took away from the moment a bit It still haunts me.
Cassidy: Listen, every proposal needs comic relief, and you were the chosen one. Iconic.
Photography Embarrassing Stories Part #6
Submission: this my was my second wedding as the main shooter. i had second shot plenty of times so i was pretty comfortable with a wedding day and specifically ceremonies. my boyfriend at the time was second shooting for me and it was his first wedding to ever be to. I had explained to him how wedding ceremonies work and said at the end of the ceremony, the officiant will say “now that you’ve exchanged rings” or “by the power vested in me” or something along those lines it means the first kiss is happening soon and he needs to hustle to the aisle so we can both get shots of that.
This specific couple did a unity cross thing after their rings but it had only been about 10 minutes of the ceremony. So i decided to walk to the back to get a few wide shots. As im almost to the back of the outdoor ceremony spot, the officiant out of nowhere goes “you may now kiss the bride”.
HE DIDNT EVEN SAY I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HUSBAND AND WIFE. I turned around immediately and SPRINTED DOWN THE AISLE, turned that 24-70 to full zoom, locked my elbows, and prayed for the best. Luckily my shutter speed was fast enough and my arms locked in so i got the shot. But my boyfriend did not get a single shot of the first kiss because he so caught off guard. so the entire ceremony saw me sprinting down the aisle with everything i had. Even more embarrassing, the maid of honor was my friend from a previous job and also did photography so i was worried she would’ve noticed but luckily she did not say anything and the shots ended up fine. needless to say a crazy story from one of my first weddings
Cassidy: The trauma. You’ll never move from the front of the aisle again. And now, I too will always check exactly how the officiant plans to wrap things up. Canon event? Yes. Also, lock those elbows, baby.
Show Notes:
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