photographer

customer service representative

sales representative

photography studio manager

territory representative

Nationwide Studios

Terrible company, terrible management, no organization whatsoever. 

Busy months are only from March-May and September-Mid November. The rest of the year you won't have work. No way to make a living out of this job. 

The website that customers would buy photos off of would constantly crash but you can't do anything about it you would just lose your sale. People in the company were not very responsive in giving me solutions. I had issues with the website for MONTHS before anything even started to change.

I wasn't even getting minimum wage for some of these 10-12 hour days. Some days if the location is far, you're stuck at the school in the middle of nowhere before you had to be back for the sale. A lot of time wasted. 

Gas compensation depends on how much you make, sometimes it doesn't pay off.

I was commuting up to 68 miles to the schools. Ridiculous. A lot of times I had to go outside my territory just because they were understaffed and it seemed like other photographers would quit all the time.

You have to haul all the heavy and expensive equipment in your car every day. It can be dangerous to have this expensive equipment in your car if you don't live in good areas.

A lot of miscommunication between the directors of the school, the bookers, and the parents and the photographers/portrait consultants would be the only one affected by it. (wrongly booked photoshoot times, wrong sale times when no parents show up, parents not knowing about the sale so you don't make money, etc)

This company is a joke. You run into a lot of people unsatisfied with the company and a lot of them take it out on the photographer/portrait consultant even if some of the things are out of their hands (delivery of photos, etc). 

A lot of unanswered phone calls and emails, almost impossible to contact anyone higher up.

Overall a negative and stressful experience working for this company.

I would have liked to continue working if the company had had a fairer payment and a more inclusive and respectful environment with the photographer. In the centers and schools the teachers, students and directors were friendly and  professional. Since I started working I had a  bussiest schedule with a lot of time on the road. I like to travel so this was not a problem. I didn't continue working here because of: low salary, after the first season they eliminate your daily fixed payment, sales commissions are very low, in the company they make you believe that it is the fault of the photographer, but no, it is that to win a decent commission you must do more than 50 portraits in a school and be sure that you will sell everything. In addition to working as a photographer you have to work as a marketing, driver, upload images, answer emails and phone calls at any time. In my case, I had to work 4 or 5 times a week, each school was a long day of work, it is not half a day, because it is impossible to do everything from school. Schools have schedules and you have to stick to them. Schools sometimes do not have 50 children to reach a basic benefit in commissions. As a photographer was a good experience and horrible payments. This is a fun work with a lot of responsibility, work with kids is amazing but you should be aware and resposible at anytime. 

Contrary to what is listed on the job sites and what they will tell you during an interview, there is no full-time photographer position for Teddy Bear Portraits. The true designation is "Full-time Seasonal", which means you will need to be available 5 days a week during the school season but does not guarantee that you will work all 5 days. Your work schedule is dependent on the number of schools in your territory under a TBP account, how well your booking agent and corporate can obtain and maintain those accounts, and the time of year. Schools are only interested in taking photos during the school year, which means there is little to no work during the summer months. Their solution for this is to tell you that there's "plenty of time for freelance work". They don't recommend a second job unless it starts after your last school of the season, ends before your first school of the next season, and doesn't interfere with any random summer shoots they may acquire along the way. I took the job myself out of financial desperation and not having any other offers on the table at the time. However if you can stand it, look just a little further.

The time employed with the company was a great experience as learning about school photography & how it works. One side was a great experience. Management was available & willing to help. Had time for questions & was readily available as the department worked together.

The last month employed with this company was stressful. Felt like mgmt had it in for me as soon as i began the position when i changed departments. Sad when you are told that you are not fit for the position but should go back & do data entry. Not once but twice including the moment you are getting let go. Made you not want to get up for work because you felt undervalued by mgmt.  Looking at parent reviews of the company for the daycare side of the photo business they will do good to stay afloat. Mgmt never had time & when it was time it was rushed, she did not feel very helpful or made you feel small. When watching the employee back their belongs don't go into the tote bag thinking that the employee is taking a manual. Have manners & ask instead of reaching into things that don't belong to you.

I appreciate most of my time with the company & hopefully God will lead me to something better & greater.

I started back in October of 2016, my job title being a full-time photographer. I had gone through several other photography jobs that were non-full time or that didn't offer benefits. This company did offer benefits but they took a huge cute out of your paycheck to do so. I usually worked around 60-70 hours a week. The pay was $75 to photograph the kids in the morning, and commission in the evening. Sounds good right? Well when you put in 12-14 hours in a day, that 75 doesn't go very far. The commission was very hit or miss, mostly miss as the company encouraged us to give the customers free stuff. The mileage compensation was less than ideal, they compensate their photographers around $1 per sale for mileage. But when you are driving 160-180 miles in a day it's impossible to cover all of your costs. I was told to write off the mileage on your taxes, but even that is not possible. Not to mention you have to fill your entire car up with their studio equipment. Overall, the environment of nationwide studios was stressful, toxic, and chaotic. Up and coming photographers, be wary of companies like this, there are better options out there.

Was told by manager that the job was full time but, was immediately told to shorten my hours every week. Their goal was to milk a very talented photographer and pay them as little as possible and rush the editing process. 

Typical day at work was fun once you got trained. The schools were nice enough and the kids were a joy. Most of the shoots were understaffed daycares so those were the hardest since on top of being a photographer you had to watch 30 children at once as well as protect expensive equipment. Those daycares were usually the norm. 

Most shoots were hours away and only paid you for mileage not for hours spent driving. Spent 4 hours driving for a shoot only to finish photographing in 2 hours and then edit for 1 hour and then told to make that long drive again 2 days later. So total 7 hours worked but, paid for 3 hours. 

Learned a lot but, the coworkers were unprofessional and daycares treated you less than. 

If looking for part time, it is great but, be wary of references. The managers are unprofessional and won’t even answer to confirm dates of employment. 

TLDR: Don’t apply unless you’re desperate for any income. 

I worked for nationwide INC for less then six months, I have over 10 years of management experience and 12 years of sales and customer service. When I tell you that this company is one of the most un organized, unprofessional companies. They hire you and throw you into a four days brief online direct training were you have to grasp the concept quickly. the fifth your out in the field, you don’t realize until you get out there that you been set up. Your cleaning up the last representatives mess. All you will experience is 80% bad complaints from directors, principals about broken promises, disappointments, angry clients complaints about Company and management, photographers and last representative. All falls down on you, the company will throw all of it your way. The company doesn’t provide you with the proper support and tools to be successful but expect you to turn an entire damaged territory around in a quick time period or your gone. They don’t care about there employees just the numbers, and I was never given any photographer? Just thrown into the lion cage, I was patient until I couldn’t take any more, I don’t foreseeing this company lasting much longer. No real job security

I took the position of Account Manager with the guarantee that I would make a significant amount of money working an established territory my first year.  As a single mom I stressed how important this was as the position comission only.   They will tell you anything to get you to work for them.  I barely made enough to survive.  They don't provide any marketing materials, don't give you any reimbursement for any out of pocket expenses, Tax your gas reimbursement so it's counted as  ciincome, their insurance is outrageously expensive as well just for an individual, you might as well fork over your whole paycheck if you have a family.  This is also seasonal so you will only make money for  months out of the year.  They do not support you and you become a glorified babysitter dealing with inexperienced photographers who they don't train properly and destroy your account base.    Their customer service is horrible as well so any new accounts you might get, you can be pretty sure the company will mess it up for you.  Managers only care about the bottom line and how many bookings you have.  Don't do it! 

I worked for Teddy Bear portraits for nearly 10 years and was very happy for the majority of that time. I enjoyed photographing the children, booking appointments with the directors, and selling portraits to the parents. The staff at the home office in Tennessee were like family and I knew many by face and name due to the annual company conferences. The management team and CEO were honest and fair.

The last few months of my employment were very unhappy. A new company bought out Teddy Bear Portraits and made what seemed to be necessary technological and management upgrades. Unfortunately the technology was untested and implemented too quickly. The new management and CEOs let go of the majority of the office staff and outsourced many of the duties. Between the technological "glitches" and lack of knowledgeable staff, products were delayed or wrong. Customers were charged multiple times and received no product until much later than promised. Customer service became impossible. 

Teddy Bear went from the best company in the Child Portrait industry to the worst.

My time with Nationwide Studios, a school picture company, was a study in contrasts. On one hand, the people I worked alongside in the field were some of the most dedicated, hardworking, and supportive colleagues I’ve ever had. These individuals consistently went above and beyond to ensure schools, students, and families received the best service possible. Their teamwork, professionalism, and genuine care for the job made even the longest days rewarding.

Unfortunately, that dedication and professionalism did not extend to the C-suite. My experience with upper management was marked by vindictiveness, unprofessional behavior, and a lack of respect for the people who keep the business running. Decisions often felt personal rather than strategic, with little regard for the well-being or contributions of employees in the field. While I value the relationships and experiences I gained on the ground, the corporate leadership’s toxic culture ultimately overshadowed the positives.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Photographer 2 salaries reported	$45.00 per hour
Customer service representative 10 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Sales representative 1 salary reported	$40,000 per year
Photography studio manager 2 salaries reported	$46,500 per year
Territory representative 1 salary reported	$55,000 per year

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