not cool

not everything works out like we want it to. it’s one of the most enduring, frustrating, and true lessons we’ve learned as a small business.

today’s lesson comes after a long-simmering suspicion that’s turned into (for me) outright “not cool, guys.” last year, we were so excited/elated/over-the-moon to be asked to photograph around UM for their admissions department. it was essentially a dream job: doing what we love for a place we love. the initial response was fantastic, with the promise we’d be back to do more, including off-campus work to showcase things to do in the area.

so we waited. and waited. and emailed. and waited some more. and emailed again. and nothing. at all. no word, no response, no idea what was going on. as of today, still no word.

we aren’t owed anything. we were paid for our work (at a highly discounted rate because of the subject matter and client), so this isn’t about us not being compensated properly or in a timely manner. this is, for me, a matter of respect for two very proud alums who happened to be in business with a service they needed.

we were so excited about this, to add this little tag to our names, to show off to our friends who are fellow UM alums, “hey look! look at this awesome thing we’re doing for a place we love!” now it just feels hollow, borderline like we were duped. we were made to feel as if this new relationship would be a long-standing one, where we’d come back when needed and continue to produce great work. now? part of me wants to remove the blog post we did about it because i feel like the sad girl who got a prank date from the popular kid and thought maybe it would go somewhere.

i have no idea what happened. maybe they found another studio to do the work, maybe they just don’t need someone to do photography for them anymore. maybe they’ve started using undergrads in the art department for photos. all of those situations are completely fine. if they came back today, or six months ago, or two days after the shoot and said, “hey, thanks for the work; great starting point, now we’re going another direction…” ok, fine. it would’ve stung a little bit, but at least there’d be an answer instead of complete silence.

i realize that this is a dicey thing to write about, but because of who it is and our previous relationship and ties to them, it burns that much more. and you should know why we haven’t shown off any more work from them.