An influencer bride has copped a deserved roasting, after her attempts to convince a photographer to work for “exposure” instead of actual payment backfired in fairly decisive fashion.
While it’s common practice for ‘Grammers to try and scam free meals and hotel stays in exchange for a few piccies, an entire day of wedding photography is a truly ambitious goal.
Photographers Frankie and Laura from a UK company called Betrothed And Co had just such an offer this week, when a publicist named Melissa approached them on behalf of an influencer client.
The photographers shared the resulting exchange online, and it’s truly a riveting read.
In the initial email, the unnamed bride requested a “documentary-style” video and a package of 1000 images in exchange for shout-outs to her 55,000 combined Instagram and Facebook followers.
The bride also said that in exchange for a free photo package, she would be willing to offer her followers a 25% discount if they chose to utilise the photographer’s services in the future.
In a truly spectacular bit of hubris, the email concluded:
“Just so you are aware, we have approached four other similar businesses in your area so a fast response will be beneficial to your business.”
Lovely. In their reply, Frankie and Laura laid into the unnamed influencer, saying that 55,000 followers is not very many, especially taking into account “bots, duplicate accounts and the types of followers who are not our target audience.”
They rebuffed the bride’s offer of a discount deal for her followers, saying:
“Thanks also for your thoughtful suggestion of a 25 per cent cut in our fee for any followers that book through your client’s promotional posts. Previously when we have received recommendations and promotions from high-value clients, we have been able to actually raise our prices in reflection of their strong reputations. So in that vein, it’s helpful to know in advance that being linked with your client will automatically knock 25% off the perceived value of the product we spent years honing.”
They added:
“We really appreciate how valued as artists and professionals you have made us feel by informing us that you have only sent this exact same email to four other companies, and that a fast response will secure us the wedding rather than any artistic considerations. Likewise, please get back to us as soon as possible if you have any further questions, and we can start to get something locked in the diary.”
This led to a vicious back-and-forth, in which the publicist for the unnamed influencer accused the photographers of bullying, and attempted to correct their grammar.
In the pièce de résistance, the publicist tried to guilt the photographers into working for free because the bride’s mother was recently diagnosed with cancer. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.
You can see the truly wild exchange below:
