The act of capturing important moments or creating art is a fulfilling one, scattered with variety and fascinating niches. However, on occasion, people dream up a scenario where they require a photographer to do something… unusual. Here are some of the strangest occurrences of my career.
My career as a photographer and writer has been reasonably smooth for the most part. I don’t have any horror stories, disasters, or keep-you-up-at-night failures. However, I have attracted some oddities too. Perhaps it’s that I enjoy a challenge and new things that put me in positions I’d rather not be, but whatever the case, it happens and some of those times are nothing short of bizarre. So, below are three times I found myself in weird situations.
The title of this article is a question for good reason: I want you to share your stories in the comment section below.
The Never-Ending Workshop
When I had committed to full-time photography as my career, I was in an initially difficult position. I had debts from university degrees and overdrafts, and I needed a good income to steady the ship. Unfortunately, a photographer with no contacts or much professional experience isn’t often blessed with riches. I had to scrap for every penny and continuously be innovative with new revenue streams. After a few years, I’d had some interest from beginners who wanted to learn to take portraits, and so I began doing one-on-one workshops. I would typically pay a model and then help the beginner take pictures of said model, explaining the steps we took and decisions we made along the way.
Not long after I had started doing workshops, I received an inquiry. It was a little unusual, but although I was doing better financially, I had my eyes set on my first house and certainly needed a few more Benjamins, so I went with it. The potential client was a middle-aged man from Amsterdam who wanted to pay me to come to him to do a workshop. So far, so good. However, he approached me on Facebook and his profile picture was him in a dark room, straight-faced, partially illuminated by a computer screen. It was sinister in a way I couldn’t imagine someone not realizing, but I wasn’t ready to rule it out. The next problem was accommodation: he wouldn’t pay for it, because he already had it sorted — his basement. To complete the set of red flags, the portraits he wanted to be taken were going to be by me (though I was to explain what I was doing) and they were to be of him, not a model.
The fact I am typing this tells you all you need to know about whether I took the job. If you are reading this, sir, I hope I got the wrong end of the stick. If I didn’t, I hope after this article you’ll spare me anyway.
Getting Off on the Wrong Foot
I oscillate from thinking this situation was sweet and the result of a self-consciousness we’re all born with and thinking the person was being awkward for no good reason. Whatever the case, I am being intentionally vague with some of the details so it cannot be traced, just to protect the person’s anonymity.
I was hired to photograph an event, and everything about it was ordinary — easy, even. However, when I arrived, I was informed we had a problem. One of the primary guests — one of the most important and who would need to be in many of the photographs — was outright refusing to be in pictures. Not only that, she did not want to be anywhere near me and if I were to take a picture where she happened to be in the background, I was to delete it. The job could have gone on, but not particularly easily, and some of the other key guests were visibly stressed.
So, I asked to speak to her. She informed me that she had injured her leg. I looked down, and sure enough, she had a large white bandage over half of her leg, and her skirt did not cover it. Why she chose not to wear a longer skirt or trousers, I’m not sure. As a result, she would not be appearing in any images. I assured her she looked lovely and it really wasn’t an issue, but it was to her, and that was that. So, I offered what we modern photographers often do: I’ll just Photoshop it. To my surprise, that was the key to the whole situation, and safe in that knowledge, she was happy to be in shots. I made sure I got some clear full-length portraits of the lady so I could borrow some of her unbandaged leg where cloning wouldn’t cut the mustard and went on with the event.
This, of course, meant, however, that the editing phase of this shoot was largely taken up by me swapping out a woman’s leg. I was told she was very happy with the results though and the job was a success, so all’s well that ends well!
An Abandoned Military Base at Night — What Could Go Wrong?
Some of you may remember that I have had a few jobs photographing abandoned military bases before they were demolished for historical purposes. I couldn’t love these jobs more if I tried, as I have a great appreciation for history and an enjoyment of exploring the abandoned.
One afternoon, I was told that before the job starts, I could visit the military base with my friend to get a lay of the land. It usually has guard dogs, an armed security company, cameras, and so on, but it wouldn’t be a problem today. So, my friend and I headed out and looked around. It was fascinating and there were even decommissioned tanks. As the sun was setting, we climbed to the top of a building so that I could photograph the whole base at golden hour, and we had a bit of a problem getting back down (a story for another day). By the time we were on the ground, it was pitch black.
As we were walking back towards the exit, we could hear people in the distance that didn’t sound particularly like security. With my phone torch doing very little to guide us, we walked into a large street of dorm buildings facing one another. Most of these buildings had been locked, but now it seemed one of them had its door ajar. Curiosity got the better of us and we walked over and pushed it open. Inside was a long corridor leading to a staircase. Along the corridor was carefully spaced out, bright green glowsticks that led all the way to the stairs and then up to them. We could hear people somewhere in the building and decided to make a hasty exit.
What Is the Weirdest Situation You Have Found Yourself in?
Now, it’s over to you. Photographers, what unusual situations have you found yourself in? Have you had any bizarre requests? Share them in the comment section below.