Lets start with the compensation. As a photographer at life touch you are paid minimum wage, and don't expect that to change even after you're told that it will. Me as well as many of my fellow employees have been promised pay raises for a very long time. We have never seen them Every time one of us asks management what is going on, we are given no real answer and another promise of, "You'll probably get it starting next week, don't worry." As an underclass photographer you are not just a photographer, but also a driver, a customer service representative, a money collector, a laborer (not just building the set, also building 30 foot by 20 foot risers among other things), and a money counter, all for minimum wage. Now lets take a look at the equipment. Don't expect to ever come across a 100% working set. Out of the 13 sets the territory I work at owns, not one works perfectly. Either the stands are broken, the DLC (power box) doesn't seem to work, the fans on the lights don't work and overheat then melt, or the power cords catch on fire (not kidding). Or how about the vans? Lifetouch will rent most of their vans from a vendor, which is nice, however they do own a few of their own. The two vans they do own aren't kept up at all. The tires are bald and have leaks, the alignment is way off, and the brake pads are completely worn, among other things. Even after numerous promises from the territory manager to fix the vans as soon as possible because, "safety is our number one priority here at Lifetouch," nothing has happened. Now my last gripe, the hours. Never ever was I told that most of my days would be 12 hours+. Not once. They will schedule a photographer to work an underclass job, a sports job, and a dance all in the same day, and expect you to get off work around 10 or 11 pm, and come back in at 4:30 am! Since we were short on photographers this season we were told that we were not allowed to get sick because we are needed. One person did get sick and was gullted into working through it.
