CADY reviews

12+ Hour shifts with no breaks. I almost passed out on a shoot one time because we were out in the heat all day in all black, had no breaks, and of course had to keep the energy high for whomever we were photographing. Management is terrible. Empty promises. I have a degree and was promised a raise after a few months of working there. After 90 days I talked to the manager and he said "you have been doing great so yes you can have a raise just email me about this conversation." I do so. Nothing happened. Never got a raise. I loved working there at first until I realized they cared very little about their employers. It was also a downer when you realize that the "Lead Photographers" are incredibly immature and unqualified. I was invited to go to some park with them while they smoke hookah (not my thing). I passed while this newer girl decided she would go. The next week she's sucked into their clique and all of a sudden becomes a lead photographer. I actually trained her when she first started. Basically, don't expect a "promotion" if you aren't into the same things as the others.

This workplace operates like a closed system built on control, image, and fear. At the surface, everything is carefully curated to appear successful, visionary, and admirable. Internally, however, the culture is deeply toxic. Perception matters FAR more than truth, and maintaining the illusion is prioritized above the well-being of employees! At the center is a CEO whose leadership style is authoritarian, reactive, and manipulative. Any opinion, feedback, or perspective that does not align with his own is met with anger, retaliation, and intimidation. Rather than encouraging healthy debate or independent thinking, dissent is always treated as disloyalty. This creates an environment where people learn to stay silent, comply, and protect themselves. Gaslighting is constant! Employees are made to question their own experiences, instincts, and concerns. Problems are denied, rewritten, or blamed on those who raise them. Real immoral issues are swept under the rug, and those that raised them are asked to sign NDA's, and quietly leave. Promises of growth, opportunity, and something extraordinary are regularly dangled in front of people, offering just enough hope to keep them engaged. But the reality beneath the surface is exhaustion, instability, and emotional erosion. The people who tend to survive in this environment are not the most talented or principled, but those who learn how to perform loyalty, flatter leadership, and “play the game.” Advancement depends less on merit and more on demonstrating allegiance to the inner circle, often including family influence and personal favoritism. For many who enter with genuine hope, it becomes a place that leaves lasting scars.