10 years of part-time shooting and some wild client stories. Share yours!

Hey guys,

I need to vent a little bit and honestly just wanted to start a fun thread about “clients from hell”. I need to talk to real humans today, no AI stuff please lol.
I’ve been doing photography for 10+ years. It’s my side hustle, not my main job. I don't even do ads anymore, just take 1-3 shoots a month for fun and some extra money. But wow, over 10 years you see some things.
Each story actually taught me how to set good boundaries. So grab a coffee and enjoy my hall of shame. And please share your stories too!

1. The "Instagram Model" and the loop of doom
When I just started and didn't even have pro lenses, a girl with a clothing brand messaged me. She had like 100k followers and offered "free exposure" if I shoot her clothes for free. I was young, so I said yes.
The photos were great but then she started complaining. She wanted me to photoshop the models like crazy. Do plastic surgery on bodies, change hair volume, stuff like that. It’s not my style at all. When she finally posted the photos, she put them through faceapp or some heavy filters and it looked terrible. It was an anti-advertisement for me lol. And btw, her 100k followers were fake, I got 0 new clients from her.
But the funny part? A few months later she asks me to shoot her wedding! My prices were super low back then, like $50 for 2 hours, so she agreed. But two days before the wedding she calls me and says she wants me to stay for the restaurant too. So 2 hours became 7 hours. When I calculated the price for extra time, she started screaming on the phone. She said I cheated her, she would ruin my reputation and that photographers wait in line to shoot her for free. I just said "okay, please work with another photographer". Then she messaged me "okay let's do 2 hours like before". I shot the wedding but the vibe was so bad.
And I still didn't learn! A year later she asks for another free brand shoot. I thought okay, I am more experienced now, I can just set strict rules. I wrote exactly what I will do and what I won't do in photoshop. She said okay. But after the shoot, she started the exact same drama because I refused to change the models' bodies etc. That was the last straw and I blocked her forever.

2. The Bride who hated Black & White
I did a short 2-hour wedding shoot. My style and what client gets were very clear. I promised 120 photos but sent 300+.
Then the bride messages me saying the photos are awful, her eyes are beautiful blue, and on the photos they don’t look blue like she expected and she doesn't want black and white at all. I would need to add that all my photo shoots were edited with same style, colors, presets, so she saw what she ordered. And I make it clear that part of the photos are b&w. The groom had really bad skin acne. I spent half a day fixing his skin on every photo. She told me she didn't need B&W at all. So I just deleted all B&W (at least she could share them with relatives, but clients word is a law), made the color photos super bright and colorful like a cartoon, and she said okay.

3. The "Free Gift" nightmare
I decided to give a free couple photoshoot certificate to newlyweds who were relatives of a friend. The voucher was good for one year. They didn't message me, so right before it expired I texted them to remind them.
When we started talking, they said they want a photoshoot at a sports stadium wearing tracksuits. Completely not my style. During the shoot, the bride was super cold, the groom didn't want to do anything, it felt like they hate each other (most likely it was, because they did get divorced later). Then the groom said they are against posting photos online, so they want them only on a USB drive.
But it gets better. Later the bride starts texting me and demanding all unedited files. I politely said no because I never give raw files. So she told her husband to text me, and he started straight up harassing me. I was in shock. In the end, I just gave them the USB with everything just to get them out of my life. Never give free gifts to strangers.

4. The Rich Friend
A wealthy friend wanted to buy a photoshoot for her boyfriend. We started discussing details, but when I sent her studio options, she said the studio and my prices were too expensive. My prices were already lower than average.
It was so awkward because I realized she just wanted it for free. To save the friendship I said "don't worry, it's a gift from me, I'll do it for free." She said thanks and... ghosted me. 6 months later I texted her that she needs to book a date this month or it expires. She just said "oh thanks" and disappeared again. Total disrespect for my work. We don't talk anymore.

5. Moving to a new city
When I moved, a photo studio offered me 2 hours for free if they can post few photos from the shooting on social media. The studio was a 2-hour drive from me. I invited some new friends for a free couple shoot there for my portfolio. They also brought their sister to get free photos.
After the shoot, I wanted to start doing things professionally, so I sent them the photos and a standard contract saying I can post them. They ignored me, downloaded few photos, and then the girl said they won't sign it and they don't want the studio to post their photos. I felt so used. I told the studio I can't give them photos and paid for the studio time from my own pocket. I asked the girl to cover the cost, but she didn't reply for a long time, so I just payed and deleted the online gallery.
Then her boyfriend started sending me horrible messages, calling me names, saying I ruined their holiday, and that their sister takes much better photos anyway. But he still demanded the photos lol. He scared me, so I carefully proposed photos on usb, when he ignored this proposal, just blocked them later.

6. The home address threat
A girl booked a session, filled out the contract with the wrong date, promised to fill it again the same day, and then ghosted me for 19 days. Absolute silence.
Then, two days before the planned shoot, she randomly texts me. I didn't reply right away. The next day I saw her message, I was literally typing a reply to her. But while I was typing, she went completely crazy and sent me that she knows my home address... and I should send her non-refundable deposit back ASAP otherwise I will get in trouble.
Yes. She sent a real safety threat over a ridiculously small deposit before I even finished typing my reply.
I didn't even argue with her, I was happy this happened before the shoot, because it was not the first red flag form her. Would be worse if we’d have an issue after the shooting.

Writing this down actually feels like good therapy.
Alright, your turn. What is the most unhinged or crazy thing a client has ever done to you?
Let's talk!