While shooting life's most treasured moments, photographers get to see it all! The good, the bad, and the sometimes scary. From wedding scares, camera nightmares, and even some pet mishaps our NPL community is sharing their scariest moments as photographers.
"I was once on a shoot with a super handsome and sweet Samoyed (you know the really adorable white fluffy and smiley dogs). We were at his family's home for the shoot, and having a great time. As I normally do, some time into the shoot, I got down on the ground to get eye-level with the doggie and get some shots from the ground. Well, all of a sudden, the Sammy came over to me and started humping me while I was lying on the ground. I laughed, the pawrents started laughing and I got up, ready to go on with the shoot.
For some reason, the Sammy was triggered and continued to hump me from then on. The only time he wasn't trying to hump me was if we distracted it with a game of catch or something. It was hilarious, but then also became super awkward!! As you can imagine, both me and the pup's owners were super embarrassed. I didn't know what to do, but we made the best of it. I guess the good news was the pup apparently really enjoyed my company & we did get some gorgeous photos of him!
The other "scary" stories I have are all about technical difficulties... for instance, a few months back I changed my camera settings to shoot using the back focus button. I had set everything according to the recommendations, but on the second shoot I was on and using the back focus button, my camera all of a sudden stopped focusing completely. I freaked out, because focus is kind of an important aspect of photography.
I ended up checking various settings and changing the lens to see if that might help, which ultimately, after 5 minutes (which seemed like an hour), it did and it started focusing again. Those moments are always heart-stopping, but a good lesson for future shoots. Now I always bring 2 cameras along and make sure I check my equipment before going on a shoot." - Christina Cookson, Wag Your Tail Photography
"One time I was photographing a bride who had just finished getting ready and wanted to get her bridesmaids' reactions coming down to see them from upstairs and she fell down the stairs. On her butt. the whole way down.
She was OK, but boy was it a fast fall!!" - Joy, Joy Michelle Photography
"The scariest moment I've had as a photographer was, by far, being bitten by my client's dog at the beginning of a couple's anniversary session. I bent down to say hi to him and he lunged at me and sunk his teeth into my left arm. Shock set in immediately, and my only thought was, I need to do this session real quick because I don't want to have a do-over and see this dang dog again!! It was just my gut instinct to go on with the show. So with blood dripping down from my arm, I managed to grab all the shots I needed in about 15 minutes with my "good arm." Thank goodness I'm right-handed! And honestly, the photos came out really great, despite me being afraid of getting too close to the dog again.
That was the one and only time I was truly grateful for how far I have to be from the client to use the 135mm lens! LOL! After the session, I headed straight to urgent care, where they flushed the wounds for about 20 minutes and gave me all treatment needed. The middle of my forearm was swollen to the size of a softball by then and the throbbing pain was blinding! I made a full recovery and only have the scars to show from it, but I'll never forget that event or that dog!" - Helen, Helen Don Photography
What has been your scariest moment as a photographer?
