Photoshoot from hell: Photographer makes client cry, then posts image of her in tears online

A local woman paid $899 to a local photographer for a photoshoot session, only to be abused during the photoshoot and have the results turn out disastrous.

Stomper An Shi alleged that the photographer cut and damaged her hair during styling, verbally abused her throughout the shoot and left her in tears, turned in unusable photos that were not what she had requested, and, rather cruelly, posted an image of her crying on social media.

Ms An Shi said she booked a makeover photoshoot with Pingzi Photography Studio in July last year for outdoor and indoor portrait photography services.

According to the photographer's Instagram page, she specialised in personal portraits and weddings. 

She also had the following disclaimers highlighted on her page:

Ms An Shi told Stomp: "I was attracted by the photographer's portfolio... she also had articles depicting that her photography-taking style is relaxed and that she would patiently guide customers.

"She collected a $100 deposit and arranged my session for January this year.

"In December, she asked what style I wanted… I sent her a lot of sample photos. She told me she understood and agreed to my request for a softer and more quiet style. She requested the remaining amount of $799 the day before the photoshoot."

Unfortunately, the photoshoot on Jan 15 turned out to be a traumatising experience, said Ms An Shi. “I was verbally abused by her during the whole session. Whenever I couldn't achieve the pose that she demanded, she would shout at me in public, even in front of other passers-by.

"I was also instructed to keep smiling wide and would get scolded by her when I didn't do so. I told her a few times that I was not comfortable with it but she still continued.

"There was once when I tilted my head, and she scolded and shouted, 'I hate people who tilt their heads, don’t you dare to do it again!'

"I was really frightened by her words. However, all I could do was to obey during the photoshoot as she was intimidating and I was scared.

"During the indoor shoot, I was asked to give poses when I wasn't ready. I asked for pose suggestions and got shouted at: 'Don’t ask me what to pose! Do it yourself!'

"I was really frightened and started crying. She then kept taking photos of me crying and asked me to cry more.

"After I stopped crying, I requested to take photos of the scenes that I wanted. However, I got rejected by her and she said, 'If I take the photos you want, how can I earn your money next time?'

"She then treated the crying photos as the results of my photoshoot, even though it was not what I had requested at all."

The final results of the outdoor photoshoot were unsatisfactory as well. Ms An Shi shared pictures that show her in various awkward poses.

She can be seen smiling in front of rusty gas cylinders, leaning over a car with a plastic bag, and standing rigidly in a leaf-littered road next to a dirty building.

Ms An Shi also alleged that the photographer "ruined" her fringe.

"The photography package included make-up and styling. Before the shoot, the photographer sent me a sample photo of the hairstyle that she would curl for me.

"However, she didn’t curl my hair as promised, (citing) the reason: 'I don’t want to already.' She also cut and damaged my fringe."

Ms An Shi said: "I gave feedback to the photographer but she refused to communicate. When I asked for a solution, she simply told me to post (my feedback) online and blocked me on all communication platforms."

The Stomper then turned to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu to air her grievances. Not only did she find other customers who shared similar experiences, she also discovered the photographer had posted her crying picture online.

The photographer later responded to her posts and admitted to scolding Ms An Shi and making her cry, but explained it was her job to do so.

She wrote that the customer did not have emotions during the photoshoot but would display the "most natural" expressions and body language only after getting scolded.

She also said she "can go to any lengths in order to have good photos" and that "scolding is only one of my means".

Other customers with similar experiences:

Ms An Shi also shared pictures that her friends had taken of her overseas, which she felt looked much better even though none of them were professional photographers.

The Stomper said: "I hope that more people in Singapore are aware of this so they can avoid the bad experience that I had."