photographer

retail sales associate

studio manager

account specialist

customer service representative

Lifetouch

I was a preschool photographer and these are my thoughts about the job and why I decided to quit after 3 seasons. 

1.) The job definitely does not pay enough. Even when you are not working you’re “working” you constantly have to check your email and phone for messages. Most likely everyday there will be an email with something you have to do while not being on the clock. Whether it’s sending a “missing” envelope or sending pictures that the lab deleted because they are clearly on the job that was uploaded so how they weren’t on the job is beyond me.

2.) having to upload jobs at the school HA! As if there’s enough time for that! And it never works. Every upload I’ve ever started always crashes the program, then when you open the program it will upload, but then it won’t show in the upload history, even though it uploaded. So you need to waste your time again reuploading. Get this and the supervisor says if you have a issue (like always) and can’t upload it at the school you can upload it at home and you don’t need to be clocked it for that while it’s just sitting there. Um, excuse me? Don’t even get me started on those modems that do not work in all areas. My house to be exact. So I have to use my own WiFi and deal with it crashing and what not, without being paid? How is it my fault that your computers and programs don’t work like you say they should?

3.) Being at the centers all by yourself and dealing with a director or staff member that just doesn’t like you, no matter how nice you are. Then it turns into their word against yours, when they call upper management. Then you get home and get a phone call from someone talking down to you, as if they were even there. You know you did nothing wrong and your manager doesn’t believe you, doesn’t support you, but tells you how to be better, as if you did something horrible. 

Sometimes people just don’t like you and I need a manager who believes me, listens to me, and supports me. How would you feel if you went to the bathroom, because it was 5 o’clock in the morning, because you had a coffee that upset your stomach, and you heard the staff members talking about how much the bathroom stinks. 

How would you feel? would you feel a little bullied? because I did. Then how would you feel if you had to take a family portrait with a mom, dad, two brothers, and a sister holding a portrait of a deceased baby? Would you cry because you were sad about the baby? because I did. Mind you we are preschool photographers I am not a family portrait photographer. Then got made fun of by my manager, who talks about me behind my back, saying I gave up half way through the season and was crying at centers!!!!!!! Are you kidding me!!!!! 

Then how would you feel if you had to take a class photo of exactly 29 two-year-olds? How would you do that? Then how would you feel if none of these kids in the school seemed happy or would smile and the teachers just didn’t care at all? Would you feel sad because I did. Do you wanna know why? Because I’m human and I have feelings. I am not a robot. I can not be fake. If that’s what they want from their photographers they don’t want me.

4.) Sibling photos. I mentioned above that sometimes you’ll have to take family portraits and you won’t be comfortable doing it because they don’t train you on how to do it. During the school days you’ll have to take lots of sibling photos. Toddlers and infants or twin infants or twin toddlers. You’ll have to do a lot of things that you’re not comfortable doing because your weren’t trained on how to. You would not think that you would have to do this with the title being preschool photographer. The title should really be daycare and preschool photographer. Taking sibling photos and family photos during a school day is not very efficient and if it wasn’t for this this job would be so much better. The company doesn’t care though because they only care about the money. They don’t care how hard it is and how the pay doesn’t make it worth it.

5.) Group photos. So you’ll be at a school and you’ll have to do 4 poses of 60 kids including siblings, toddlers, two-year-olds, three-year-olds, four-year-olds, school age, and staff photos. Then you’ll need to do sometimes 10 group photos and they don’t even bother to give you an assistant why? Oh because they’re on a budget. Your account specialist will tell you that you can’t have an assistant today because it’ll cut into everyone’s bonus at the end of the season. Yes we were actually told that on our conference call that we have to have every single Monday that used to be at four but then they decided to have them at three. When the Account specialist sends out the email and is in communication with the director they should send them a plan with a timeline that says individual portraits will be taken from this time to this time and then this time the group photos will be taken. It should not be up to us to tell them when the group photos will be taken and when these things are going to happen. Again we are not trained to do that. We are the photographers and we are dealing with enough, we should not be the ones to have to come up with a picture day plan, no I’m sorry but that is not right. This is why I quit this job. All of this right here is way too much to deal with for $13 an hour. It is way too stressful, if I made somewhere between $15-$17 an hour I would be able to do whatever they want and just deal with it. For $13 an hour it is not worth my time. How am I supposed to afford a place to live? How am I supposed to afford groceries for my children? How am I supposed to afford to buy clothes for my children or for myself or buy anything for that matter on $13 an hour? It is unrealistic and therefore these daycare’s and preschools will continue to have problems with photographers that don’t know what they’re doing. Because the photographer’s that actually know what they’re doing cannot live off of $13 an hour, while having no life.

This is a job I had over a decade ago, and was only trying to read through reviews. 

My time with company was a mixed bag. It was during a recession and at a time alot of higher quality jobs were not readily available, like they are now.  It's not an essential job, but it is one that people strangely enough depend, even with modern devices. Alot of parents and students still look forward to school pictures in the traditional manner. So, it is for memories, essentially.

Work days often start before the standard 7am/8am, because you have to travel to the schools, which could be anywhere from a 5 minute ride, up to a 2 hr. travel. You could easily be traveling anywhere from 25 miles to 120+ miles, quite often. I mean you could have weeks where you are out of town nearly everyday for a period of time, depends on the schedule.  You get paid based on a percentage of your mileage to travel to the school from home and back home. 

Leaving home at 4am or 5am is pretty common. Your school for the day may expect you to arrive as early as 5:30/5:45am to as late as mid-day. It depends on the size of the school, availability of students, and what types of jobs (photography) needs to be done. Also, certain schools may require more experienced photographers, previous photographers who worked at the school (before), or require large number of photographers in general. 

So, for the most part, a day could last as little as 2 hrs/3 hrs, up to 10 hrs. 10 hours is typically the case for a very large high school or academy. Sometimes, it can be required for you to move fairly quickly, or you might be on the schedule of the school, which the school sets to last for the extent of the day.  It varies.

Even though, it's 2021, I'd wage that you may not be working in ideal conditions. You might be situated in a very poor school, underfunded districts, or aging facilities, which means you may not be in a weather control environment in some locations. While, you may not be given any breaks, according to the school. Most of schools with decent people will plan breaks and lunch for photographers, while others have no utter concern for that. Which I noticed alot more away for urban and suburban schools. Some schools may work the photographers, like literal slaves with no breaks (lunch ...what lunch break?). 

Geographical location to where you live is taken into consideration, but considering the issues with having a great number of photographers being employed, along with equipment malfunctions, transportation issues, or simply not enough employees to fill for photographer positions. 

Also, you have to load your car with the camera equipment and take care of it for the duration. It's very cumbersome with the stands and light equipment, but it becomes easy to manage with your car (if you have a SUV, truck, or sedan). A smaller coupe, probably not going to be able to load the equipment unless you are on seniors (school) photography.  
This is part of the reason for your early arrival times, because you are given anywhere from 45 mins. to hour and half to setup. You can setup in 15 mins to 30 mins, but that extra time is for potential delays, equipment failure, large number of photographers, or an unusual area to setup in. Overall, if you have mediocre vehicle or one that is often in the shop, probably won't be good position for you. High mileage vehicles are ok, only if they are well-maintained without history of serious repairs. Even with newer vehicles and better models, you have to keep your car up to maintenance with the upkeep and major parts. Again, you could be easily over 75-120+ miles from home.

Work is pretty steady from early August til about October, then the company will start to lay people off for a "lack of work," even the more experienced workers.  They, too will only work until about November, which may not be everyday. 

Other employees did complain about favorites and preferences, while others were relieved or had other jobs that they had during those months or in the evenings. Possibly, near retirement.  You'd be able to collect unemployment and other benefits (like SNAP, WIC) for about 3 months until January/February, when the spring pictures begin. Which flows into Prom/Senior season pictures, so if you were to get into the Prom or Senior pictures, you'd be working a little longer and if you are good, through the summer.  Going to the senior pictures, was like a promotion of sorts. I heard different stories, some said that they got raises, while others said the raise was only a few cents. 

Which takes us back to long-tenured employees. For the most part, a good bit at the time did quit, because they were unhappy with the change of management in the company with the reduced benefits and pay.  In some regions, they used to get gas cards and made well-above minimum wage, which meant more people would stay. I don't believe that's the case for most. Allegedly, the company (for this region) had more benefits in the past for this position, from what I heard. While, they stopped getting the automatic raises after each season.  

I'd say apply for office or maintenance positions, if you can. Since, they are permanent and you don't have necessarily travel unless you are a sales representative or photographer manager.  Most of all, you should have a decent wage, not be on the road, nor working too far from home. 



I was hired on as a seasonal employee doing Preschool portraits. It took them almost 2 1/2 months to get me my first paycheck. At that time we were turning in mileage and getting reimbursed gas, so during that period I was not getting paid for my hours and was using up all of my gas.

You are supposed to have a 2 week training period with someone and then go out on your own. It took me a realllly long time to get in the swing of things because when you start, you are doing on the job training, meaning you're with a photographer as they're rushing around trying to get their work done and get set up and talk to teachers and all that AND trying to educate you about the process. There is a TON of paperwork to be done each day for each school you photograph, most of it I had to do at home because the school wanted you out once you were done.

You're basically on your own once you start shooting. If something came up I could txt my supervisor real quick, but any of the photographers in my division would tell you not to expect to hear anything back anytime soon, if ever. You had to consistently bug your higher ups to get answers, find out what you were supposed to be doing, etc. I barely ever had to work with another photographer, but whenever I did we would discuss the lack of shared information within our division, how lost we were, the frustration at being poorly trained.

I did like the job for awhile. I have a photography degree so I knew the equipment side of things already, but they provide a pose book and camera settings so anyone could come in and know what they're doing. Easy peasy.

Here's how my week would go:

Late Th/Fri - get schedule for the following week. Quickly call the center for Monday (and the other days if I have time) and confirm all the details that I was given in my paperwork.

Monday: Head to school, check in with whoever is helping you and have them show you where to set up. Lug in all your equipment, set up, and get your paperwork ready (takes an hour). Photograph. Finish and start burning images to CD while you tear down equipment and then leave. Make time to do confirmation calls on the rest of the week's centers.

Tuesday: Repeat Monday. Stop at UPS to drop of Monday & Tuesdays shoots. Prepare for conference call in the middle of the afternoon.

Wednesday: Repeat photo day. Go home and type out your estimated hours for the rest of the week (they want you to stay under 40)

Thursday: Photograph. Start confirmation calls for following week if you're lucky enough to have been sent a schedule.

Friday: Photograph. Drop off W/Th/Fr jobs to UPS and go home and fill out timesheet, email it in.

What I didn't like, other than never getting a hold of my supervisors, were the long hours and the attitudes you got from teachers and parents. The teachers hated having to fill out camera cards (their name and what class they're in) for each and every student and HATED having their staff IDs done, always acting like it was your fault. Near the end of my time there, I was sent to several school where I had to set up in tiny closet like rooms. THAT sucked. You'll also get the parents who want to come in and interfere and take up an insane amount of time making you do their kids photos.

You were never assured of hours. Sometimes a school would cancel and your boss would either find you another one or just let you have the day off. On your schedule, you may have confirmed that you would be photographing 30 kids that day and in your head estimate 3 hours shooting, but then you get there and there might be 8 kids or something. Or worse, double the number! They always say that you should be done photographing before the kids have to go to lunch, but often you'd have to hold the kids back from lunch or do them after when they're dirty and it's naptime. One time I was at a school an hour away photographing the 35 or so kids I had been told I'd have when the director came in and asked if I would stay til like, 5 oclock and photograph the second shift of kids too. And you know what? My supervisor said you're there to photograph kids and you got to do what they want you to. Othertimes you're sent almost 3 hours away (leaving at like, 330am) to a center just to photograph for an hour and a half and then make that drive back. Stupid.

Sometimes after you make all your confirmation calls and get everything ready for the week, they'd completely change your schedule and send you to all new schools. You also don't get sick days because they don't have anyone to fill in for you. Granted, I was sick one day, but it was when I was supposed to work with another photographer and she was able to handle it alone.

The hours alternate in length, but all the kneeling, squatting, rolling, tumbling etc on a yoga mat will make you sore for weeks. I did lose a lot of weight though because of all that exercise and the fact that you don't have time to stop to eat while you're working.

It really is a transition job, not something that you would stay at forever, and def something you would need a 2nd job with. The months I worked were Sept-begin. of December, Feb-begin. of May. The rest of the time you're off.

Oh yeah. You get $11/hr photo time and $8/hr drive time. Overtime is like...$5 an hour.

This was by far the worst job I have EVER had. I don't write reviews. But this is so bad, that someone needs to look deeply into this. First, within 2 days of training our TRAINER was telling us things 'hints' on how to keep our 'times' down. For example. "It's not your problem". THIS WAS SAID AT LEAST EVERYDAY at least 10 times a day for 2 weeks. Anytime you had a question or wanted to know what you needed to do for a specific situation, "Don't worry about it, it's not your problem. That's someone else's problem to fix." WHY would ANYONE in customer service ever train people this way?! The worst part, the trainer had to have been getting it from someone. They were, from the SUPERVISORS (Actual department supervisors). I have had mine say this to me twice now in a 7 month period. As a temp you are singled out, you don't receive any kind of respect. The temps are treated as an outsider the entire time they're there unless you're sucking up or brown nosing. There were other ACTUAL FULLTIME LIFETOUCH representatives that have gotten disgustingly nasty with customers on the phone and are NOT reprimanded for it. How do I know this?? Because the Supervisors instead of trying to 'talk' in a respectful manner to you about anything you need to fix will just talk loud and clear so that the ongoing 3 rows can hear what's being said. I have heard things about fellow employees that should not have been said to them in the open. It's demeaning and shows the MASSIVE LACK of respect they have for their employees. This is where it gets even uglier. You have supervisors who intentionally ignore your emails, chats, your questions or anything that you address. When it is brought to their attention, they will lie straight to your face about it. They with-hold information and continue to lie to you, to ensure they are going to have a bottom to fill their seats. You have employees who by one specific supervisor are intentionally targeted when this person is not even the supervisor in charge of the same department. You're penalized for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Times are all that is cared about. If your call time is in the right area if your email and chats are in the right time frame. But it doesn't matter how many calls or emails or chats you have, just as long as your times are within un-realistic goals (unless you're not doing your job, then they are realistic). However, they don't take into account the actual work you are doing. Customers are constantly irritated with having repeated questions because people just grab a response to make their times look smaller, but don't actually fix the problem. Family life and work balance is a JOKE!!!! They don't care if you have an emergency. If you have children and work here good luck with that one. Oh, they love taking money from you to take your child's pictures but not when your child is having an emergency. You'll still be reprimanded and pointed for anything that can get you out of there. They will lay you off unexpectedly, which that's any company... but they won't call it a layoff, just so they don't have to pay you for it. It's just a 'break'. I have over a decade in Customer Service experience. In my opinion, the only thing great about this job is some of the people you meet there. The people on help-desk are so under-appreciated it's sickening. They are the ones that are taking the heartbreaking, verbally abusive, and belittling phone calls that we all dread to have. They are the ones making sure things ARE ACTUALLY being corrected, in a manner and time frame they should be in. They are the ones ALWAYS willing to help, and TEACH, and explain to other employees what can and cannot happen, how to do things, where to find things, what to do for certain situations. They take all of this straining work, and make people truly happy and DO AN AMAZING JOB!!!! I think 90% of the department supervisors need to be let go, and the people on helpdesk needs to be their replacements. They are making sure things run smoothly while the supervisors sit there lying through their teeth or are ignoring you. That's if the supervisors are even there. Lifetouch should be ashamed they would let things get this bad. I don't see how they're not bankrupt, or how they even get jobs like they do with people like this behind the scenes. If you're looking for an easy job you can bullturd your way through and not have a soul. This is the place to be. Lesson learned. If a company is not going to take pride in the service it's SUPPOSE to provide for its customers, it's not going to do the same for the people picking up the pieces of the companies slack.

PAY: $12/hr + $0.20 mileage reimbursement ($8/hr driving time). Paycheck is bi-weekly. 
HOURS: During the peak season: 40 hours (August-Beginning of October), but after that, 20 hours for retake days. The hours can be long days starting from leaving at 5:30AM to coming home at 5:30PM. It all depends on how far away the school is and when they want you to be there and if it is the whole day or not. The furthest school for me was 1.5hrs away and the closest was 20 minutes. I's only worked overtime two weeks during peak season. They schedule you for 40 hours, but it can vary due to the school either wrapping early or go over due to going behind schedule. You HAVE TO drive back to your regional office to drop off job bags that day if you're the lead photographer which can be a hassle if you're at a school in Douglasville, GA and the office is in Marietta, GA (during rush hour). They will ask for off the clock work (which I don't appreciate or like). For example, handing off the server around during the weekend, driving to the office for job bags, and re-burning CDs.
TRAINING: The training is a week before you begin fro 5 days. Though it may seem overwhelming at first, they will not throw you into it without any help. You will be an assistant the first couple days after and management is there the first 2 weeks to help. The training isn't a true representation of what the work is really like, but gave a good direction as to what it will be like. Many of the elements learned in training can be helpful and some will no be used or implemented. Some will be forgotten.
WORK: You will be required to carry 11 individually packaged pieces of equipment in your car to and from the locations each day. Unloading and loading the equipment can be a lot of work each day. You will arrive an hour to an hour and a half early to set up before the school day starts. You will be Photographing students from Pre-K to 11th depending on the school. If you're good with kids, then this job is satisfying. High energy and patience is needed for this job. Trying to get them to smile and positioned right is key, and is difficult. The equipment will give out on you when most important weather it's right in the middle of a picture or you get a phenomenal picture and it then gives an error and you retake it for a second best photo because it doesn't save the first one it took. The workplace is a fast paced environment with a goal of 30 seconds per child (with some exceptions). 
MANAGEMENT: The management is lacking here both on a corporate and local level. The ideals that they teach is quantity over quality. They schedule schools for ridiculous times and cram a school with 1,000 minutes in a few hours with a couple photographers. The training taught us to properly pose a child and with the equipment they give us doesn't help with the speedy process either. There are two different views of this, and the lack of communication lead to several aspects of the job that were less than favorable. The sales reps also don't really set up the photographers for success. They don't communicate things well from the schools to the management either. 
CULTURE: This is a very diverse environment. If you have an issue with this: get over it, you live in a world of people from all walks of life. No getting around from this. Students, teachers, and co-workers are all diverse which is a plus. Co-workers are very friendly, funny, and helpful. This is the best part of the job is working with other co-workers and they make the job go quicker and better. There will be days later on in the year for retakes where you will be the only one going to schools for weeks without seeing a co-worker. During peak season, you can be with 3-8 co-workers on a given day.
JOB SECURITY: Seems secure, until management says that if you're too slow then they will find someone else who can do it faster. This is discouraging since you're trying your hardest. This is a seasonal job, so only lasts a few months. 
LEADERSHIP/ADVANCEMENT: NO advancement. Lack of employee appreciation. Some jobs you will be the lead photographer, though this is a different job title than it seems. It's just more work and more paperwork than you get paid though you get paid $12/hr driving back to the office rather than $8. 
OVERALL: Too much work for the pay, sometimes off the clock work. Great culture and work environment. Long hours, sometimes not many hours, and poor management.

I've worked in two different districts and have really enjoyed the job.  I love working with kids and being in a school environment.  It can get crazy and stressful but the upside is that the next day can go off without a hitch.  It's different every day, which I like.  The worst part of the job is all the driving, setting up in the morning and then having to tear it all back down at the end of what is usually a pretty exhausting day.  Another downside is that you usually have to go a long time without eating.  Most schools don't schedule breaks so it's crucial to carry snacks.  
Management is amazing.  They are very accommodating when you need a day off.  I've never had a supervisor be at all mean to me.  They're there for you if you have a bad day, don't get mad if you break a piece of equipment, etc.  But mostly you manage yourself.  You're in charge of the picture day event so you can't be late or out sick, period.  Sometimes you work with other photographers and all my co-workers are really great.  They're very team oriented and helpful.  Sometimes you totally alone at a school, which can be a little scary at first, but you get used to it.  
It's seasonal but my district stays busy for the vast majority of the year.  With each change of season comes a new program(s).  So if you hate doing one thing you tough it out for a few months and then you're doing something totally different.  You do anything from standard portraiture to photographing groups, sports, proms, and so on.  You learn a lot about photography and the more you learn how to do, the more work you get.  
It helps to have some flexibility with pay.  Some weeks you work as many as 50 hours.  Some weeks you work just 20 hours.  You pretty much have to be in a two income house to get by.  The upside to it is that about the time you're totally exhausted and burnt out is about the time when things slow down.  
You get a gas card and paid for drive time.  You have to keep up with your hours and your mileage.  There's no clocking in or out, no set schedule.  Some days are really short, some are long.  You're always going to be totally done with your day by no later than 4 or so.  
The photography part is a lot of fun.  You work with kids pre-k to high school.  It's also really easy.  You learn your own tricks to getting kids to smile and the camera set up itself is really easy to grasp. You will always be trained before you start a new season.  
Another downside is that there is little opportunity for advancement.  There are only but a few positions you can move up to and you have to be with the company for a long time before you stand a chance at moving up.  
Personally, I like that every day is different and that you're always changing programs so everything is fluid.  I like early mornings and getting off work early.  I like working independently and being trusted to do my job well.  Problem solving skills, customer service skills, patience and adaptability are crucial to the job.  You're at the mercy of the school and just hope they're going to their part to make the day run smoothly.  But ultimately it's on you to make the day go well.  
It's a love it or hate it job.  The pay isn't great and you can be under a lot of pressure.  If you get into the swing of things it all gets so much easier but if you hate it from the start you're probably not going to stick around.  
By in large it's a fun job.  I have some of the best supervisors and co-workers I've ever had.  You get to run the show but you have a lot of support even if your boss isn't right there to hold your hand.  
People that are best as this job are the ones with really positive attitudes, people who are just really nice, good with kids, and willing to work hard.  
I've been with the company for over a year and intend to stay for awhile.  I get to hang out with kids all day and take pictures.  Not so bad at all.

This job wasn’t by any means a “bad” job but it was definitely not what I was expecting and not for me. During my interview I got to meet with my future manager and she was super nice, friendly and helpful throughout my entire employment. Problem was, when I expressed my concerns about the fact that in the job ad it said I may be driving two hours one way for my commute and that I needed to be places at 6-7am typically she told me that that was very rare and for my location the most I would only have to drive would be about an hour and 15 minutes once or twice a year. She told me that when she did the job I was applying for that that was the farthest she ever had to go and the earliest she ever had to wake up was 5:30am. Well fast forward to the training, which was very long and “lecturey” there ends up being a LOT more to this job than I had expected. No big deal at first but then more information and responsibilities are added on and more and more. It was pretty overwhelming in the beginning. First off, this is NOT a job where you can have a small car, which I did. So that was a struggle as you’re required to carry multiple large boxes of equipment and props with you at all times. Work from home was not in the job discription or interview but it definitely happened. You have to lug in a large home printer every few days and set it up along with the extremely old and slow computers they supply you with to prepare for the centers of the next week. Confirmation calls and confrence calls, filling out millage logs and time sheets. All from home because they don’t want you doing this stuff in the field. So now that I’ve got the hang of everything in this job and I’m done with training I have my own schedule and boy was I shocked when I saw it. Driving over an hour almost everyday after I had been told driving an hour and 15 minutes would be my cap and that would only be once or twice. I would have to drive through rush hour, constantly making me late because I could never leave early enough. Driving to centers over an hour away who expect me to be there at 6:30 making me have to get up at 4:30-5. Again, not what I had been told. I had a talk with my manager about how this is not what I was expecting and I didn’t appreciate having to drive so far and get up so early. She told me she would try to adjust my schedule to not have that happen as much. But when I got my next weeks schedule my hours had been cut. Instead of scheduling me somewhere closer they just didn’t schedule me at all. And even then my schedule was still three days in a row, driving an hour plus, into rush hour, needing to be there at 6:30-7am. That was my last straw. The job had been stressing me out with how much stuff I needed to remember, how early I had to get up and how much it was just taking over my life. My days were about 9 hours long, home around 3 but then I’d have to come home and do more stuff and I’d be dead tired by 8pm. Actually working in the field wasn’t too bad as long as you have patients for children and adults alike. A parent or teacher is usually there to help but not always that helpful. I’ve had centers make me wait an hour to take one person’s picture, teachers have talked rudely about me and my coworkers while we were in the same room, you get rushed, controlling parents or teachers. It’s a lot but the people that I worked with loved it. It just wasn’t for me. I think I would’ve stuck it out longer if it hadn’t been for the drives. My coworkers all had told me their commutes were much shorter and that really upset me. If you’re okay waking up at 5am daily, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, driving in traffic, dealing with kids and tech savvy then this is for you. But I wasn’t.

Look, it's certainly not the worst job in the world. If you're currently flipping burgers or working in a cramped store at the mall, I definitely think you should drop that job and head on over. If that's not the case, though, I have a hard time recommending it.

Let's start with the good. If you're a freelance photographer who's looking for a way to build your resume and get some practice repetitions in, this position will be great for you. The hours are decent and they truly don't ask too much of you. If you like working with kids, you're in luck - you'll be seeing anywhere from a dozen to over 100 of them every day. 

One thing that you need to know about this job is that you travel. A lot. There are pros and cons to it. If you're a foodie, you can relish in the fact that you're in at least two different towns a week. Maybe you love thrifting - check out the local thrift stores after work. Honestly, it can be fun to explore the states you're working in. 

The downside, of course, is that you're doing all the driving. Even if you're like me and love driving, your car isn't going to enjoy it nearly as much. You can expect to rack up 20,000 miles in a year - easily. You'll be saying goodbye to your warranty much sooner than its expected expiration date. 

Again, there are pros and cons to that aspect. You get paid per mile driven and are on the clock while driving. If you're driving a beater or something super reliable, it's definitely a net-positive. If you're not, it's not.

Speaking of pay - sorry, but it's awful. If you're looking to make more than $2,000 a month, you'd better find a way to rack up some serious overtime. You can expect to start by making $11 an hour while driving and $13 while at a job site. And continue making that. That's right, pay increases are virtually nonexistent. I have coworkers who make the same amount as me despite having been there for multiple years. 

Moving on - while I can't necessarily speak on the company overall, I have complaints with my specific management team. I won't mention personal stories, but I'll bring up an experience shared with me: 

While working a job at a high school, two of my coworkers were informed that there multiple students who had been pictured that day were supposed to be in quarantine. The students had potentially been exposed to coronavirus. Long story short, the company did not appropriately respond to the situation. The employees were told to simply go to work the next day - no paid time off to quarantine, no reimbursement for Covid-19 testing. When one of the employees requested more time to decide if they'd be willing to work the next day, they were taken off the schedule without notice. They no longer work here.

Maybe it's different for other positions, but that story tells me a great deal about the culture and management style of my section. And it's not desirable. 

With all that said, I wouldn't discourage everyone from working here. Photographers, recent high school graduates, college students, and retirees looking for something to do - this could be a decent fit for you. Good luck!

From what I witnessed in just a small amount of time, this company does little to care for the worker bees (photographers).

From the start, during the interview process I (co-workers included) was fed lies. More akin to poo covered in glitter. They dress up the job and then send you out to assembly lines to fend for yourself.
This wouldn't seem like an issue if you are one freelance working for yourself. You are truly alone in that situation, it's your equipment, your problem. But when you're supposed to be part of this BIG company, you should have the support and back-up from upper management. (They don't even return phone calls). They hop,skip, and jump around questions about raises. Tell you you can advance. Dangle "employee owned company" in your face and sweep turn over rates under the rug.

What's worse is my bad experience couldn't even be soothed over by my fellow co-workers tales of better times to come. Every team member I worked with was on the cusp of quitting, if not already out the door. So, I couldn't even feel like maybe I was personally thinking too negatively about the job.

Handling the equipment is fine. Unloading and loading, setting up and breaking down are just parts of the job. I get that. Barely getting paid for it, I don't get. Kiss your car goodbye. Because its life is about to be cut short driving everywhere they intend to send you. What's that?! You say you have a personal life? Ha! Flush that down the toilet. You'll be asleep before your kids, every night, to be on the road by 2-3am. Good luck finding a baby sitter that'll take your kid at those hours. Tell your friends you'll catch up with them at the end of the season (when your job will be potentially lost anyway if they decide not to rehire you). The extra hours seem nice until you're stuck in two+ hours of traffic to and from the school you're assigned to.

FROM THE INTERVIEW:
"You get to stay near your district" = LIE
"You get over night accommodation for trips that take two hours or more to get to" = LIE
"There's plenty of chances for advancement!" = LIE
"They will bring you back for following season" = depends on which manager is playing favorites. But mostly, LIE

FROM POST-HIRE TRAINING:
"You go as far as we send you; people that complain usually aren't rehired."
"You can advance, to what's available, if anythings open after a year"
"We're phasing out overnight stays completely, so you'll just have to wake up earlier."

Message to Lifetouch: Just be honest with your new hires from the start. I've noticed that the employees who did manage to get the FULL truth about the job from the jump are still willing to stay. Nobody likes being lied to.
Bad work environment + unhappy employees + the managers not even wanting to make a change= Employees dropping like flies

To potential LT photographers:
It's just so hard to deny the appeal of getting paid to take pictures all day if its something you love to do. Don't try to do it here unless you really don't mind the conditions. Some people can make it work for them admittedly. I wouldn't mind the job I I had been given all the facts from the start. Get as much info from them as you can, then you decide.

I was really excited to work as a photographer for Lifetouch. However, that quickly went downhill after a couple of months. The first manager I had interviewed me at a hotel over an hour away from where I lived, then after I got the job, we trained at one of the employee's apartment complexes. The training only lasted three days before I did onsight training for a couple of weeks. I was nowhere near ready for the sales aspect of the job. They throw you to the wolves quickly and then get upset when your sales averages aren't at least $100. After a couple of months, we got a new manager, and he assured us that he would make sure that regardless of sales we would make at least $100 per day. That was a lie. While they do reimburse your mileage (after 30 miles each way unless you are a studio carrier), they don't tell you what you are earning until you see your paycheck, or how they calculated your pay. I was not paid for travel or setup, which they want you to arrive two hours early for. You don't receive benefits unless you work for the company for at least a year or more, but by the time that comes around, it is the slow season and you are left hanging. The hours are incredibly unstable and the management only cares about your sales average. The employee turnover rate is incredibly high because they do not pay you fairly or transparently, and if you have to miss work for any reason, they try to guilt-trip you because there is never enough people to cover. A typical day at this job is arriving at noon to set up the studio equipment and your sales station. You have to have this done by 2. After that, it is usually you and one other photographer rotating off a schedule. Sometimes, the church members who organize their photo days are incredibly rude and treat you like dirt even though they aren't obligated to buy and receive a free 8x10 and church directory. If you happen to work with a lazy photographer who doesn't adhere to the ten-minute studio time limit, and twenty-minute sales table time limit, you end up doing all the work. At the end of the day after you do paperwork, you leave your equipment at the church if you are scheduled to return, or pack it up if you're not. Again, you don't receive any compensation for that. Depending on your manager, if you need a hotel room due to being a far distance from home, they will put you through the wringer to claim it on your expense report. When you're done at a church you are responsible for shipping your reports and money/checks to the lab. Depending on your sales average, you make 12-16% commission of your total sales. That's it. You don't get compensated for travel or set up time. If you have a family, this is definitely not a job for you, because you may be hours from home for days at a time. They are currently in the process of overhauling their sales system and compensation scheme, and from the sounds of it, the photographer will have to work harder to make even less than they do now. Corporate is completely out of touch with the photographers and only care about sales. They hire anyone off the street because it is cheaper to train a new person than to pay a loyal employee fairly.

BOTTOM LINE: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE.

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