Writing these brings back fond memories to when I was working full time as an advertising, corporate, and editorial photographer. After fifty years, I’m now semi-retired teaching classes with the BPSOP, and conducting my workshops all over the planet.
Some of the stories were funny then and still funny, and some were not so funny then but funny now. This is one that was more of a pain in the butt, than not so funny; but really funny now!
I was shooting a series of ads for the Renaissance Hotel chain, and the one pictured above we shot in Houston. The client was from England, and I had worked for here a couple of years back; I knew she could be a major pain.
Before she came over she instructed my studio manager to order her a case of some special mineral water that was only available where she lived in London; and it was all she would drink. She was adamant that it be there before she arrived, and couldn’t care less on how much it would cost. She said to bill it to the job!!
Well, as was our custom to make all our cliens happy, we ordered it and had Federal Express send it to the studio. It was expensive water to begin with, but figuring in all the costs each (small) bottle was about five dollars…back in the eighties!!!
This woman was in Houston for several days, and in that time she drank only one bottle (out of the case) of her precious water; leaving it for us. She was such a pain in the butt that we weren’t interested in drinking the water so what did we do?
I gave it to my dog to drink!!!
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
