Pros
The good things about Camera Shy... minimal. It is a good job if you're looking for inconsistent work and are not concerned if you're frequently called off. They do offer one half off shoot per year for employees.
Cons
Poor Pay - $10, with little to no raises. For a photographer, ten dollars is nothing... especially with the amount of work we have to do. To even qualify for a raise, they require you to be certified, but then drag the process out to where it can take you a year, and the most they will give you is a $0.50 raise. Unless you are family or a friend. Then you get raises with no strings. On top of that, they are annoyed when they have to give you a raise. They don't take kindly to employees making suggestions for improvement, it's their way or the highway... even though their way isn't working. The infrequent and inconsistent hours the employees have to deal with is unacceptable. Full time was a promised 40 hours, and yet they call their employees off all the time, so that these full time people are LUCKY to get 25 hours. They often call off full time employees, and keep the part time employees in the studio, which is completely backwards. In regards to shooting sessions, they want less people working and just shooting more sessions. Truthfully, more than 3 sessions in a day is too much, and the customers end up getting lower quality in their pictures, because they cut edit time. Upper management and owners have been shady to work with from day one. They tell you one thing, and then do something completely different. They show close friends and family a lot of leniency, and then are very unappreciative and snotty towards their harder working employees. They don't offer any real incentives for improved performance - not even Christmas Bonuses, unless you're management. Management's bonuses are based on how low they keep their labor... so basically, the more they cut hours, the greater their bonuses. Studio supplies are poorly managed. We frequently would run out of basic supplies like paper towels, toilet paper and other cleaning supplies.. then would get in trouble if things weren't cleaned. Really? The studio equipment is falling apart. The large, HEAVY, octobanks frequently fall down, crushing and pinching fingers. The cameras don't focus because the shutter count is too high. They're 5 years old, and worn out. Shouldn't having properly functioning photography equipment be a top priority for a photography studio? Customer Service: there have been many times where I have left a message for management (as we are required to do) and they say they've taken care of it... yet these same people call back two weeks later, frustrated that no manager has called them. There have been many times when customers are not thrilled with their images, and they ignore the problem until they get a little bit aggressive, and then the management talks about how ridiculous these people are. There are some in management positions who when a customer arrives a little bit late, they get upset and say rudely "well, you are late, so you've lost five minutes of your shooting time." Even if that it the case, you HAVE to word it in a much more pleasant way! I have also witnessed managers making a couple of newborn mothers cry. There was one instance where the baby wasn't settling, because, oh... I don't know, she's a newborn baby and they cry... and the manager literally threw her hands up in the air and said "this isn't working." YOU CANNOT DO THAT. You are a manager, an adult: behave like one. Help your customers, because they really have no idea how it works in a photography studio. Seasonal issues: Christmas is busy, so we got way overworked, but other than that, it was okay. Easter time, they bring bunnies into the studios... we are required to clean the cages twice a day, feed and water, care for and handle bunnies daily... which would be fine, except for the part of the instructions for the bunnies where it says "these bunnies are YOUR responsibility." Except it's not... because I'm a photographer, not a bunny wrangler. And then a few lines down: "don't post or give out photos of bunnies being hurt by the kids." .... NOT OKAY. No animals should handled and harmed for the sake of an Easter picture. Sorry for the novel, but honestly, there is so much wrong with the way this business is run, and how they treat their employees. The people who make their business money are so unappreciated. I can't imagine them succeeding for much longer.