I Charged My Sister for Being Her Wedding Photographer, Because She Had Let Me Down Before

When it comes to a relationship between sisters in a family, there may be a lot of love and mutual support. And in some families, it’s a lot of drama, too. Our today’s heroine had not a very pleasant experience in her relationship with her sister. She took to Reddit to tell her story and ask about people’s opinions about her small revenge to her own sister.

The relationship between the sisters has never been very cordial.

A woman, 23, turned to Reddit to tell her family story and to get some advice from people of Reddit. She started her story, saying, «I am a photographer. I have been doing photography for 3 years now (I did not go to school for it, but I have paid for some courses professional photographers offer) so far my photography journey has been successful, and I enjoy being my own boss.»

Her hobby was taken well by her family, but her sister didn’t show much respect for it. The woman revealed, «When I first told my parents and siblings I was going to take photography serious they were supportive. However, I didn’t know if my older sister was.»

Then, the woman decided to ask her sister about a small favor. She said, «When I started I was looking for models to practice, I remember asking my older sister (which is 1 year older than me) if I could photograph her and her boyfriend at the time, as I needed more practice on couple photoshoots.»

The woman’s sister had let her down and broke their arrangement.

The woman goes on with her story, saying, «I told her I wanted to take the photos at a specific place, in which she replied, „Eh, IDK, that place is too far“. I understood and started to look for other places closer to. The next day she gave a date in which she was free, and I could take some photos and changing her mind of actually going to the place I recommended.»

The OP shared that she just couldn’t wait for that particular photoshoot to happen. But all her hopes were betrayed.

The woman wrote, «I was super excited to shoot and practice my editing skills! Well it came to that day, and she did not mention anything about the photoshoot, but I was ready and excited, so I asked her what time we were leaving as she replied that her and her boyfriend were gonna go to that place together to hang out.
I mentioned if I was going to take her photos and she gave me a nasty look and said no. I kinda got angry that they were both leaving to the place I recommended to her to take pictures, but I didn’t make a big deal about it. Since then, I have not asked her to help me with anything.»

When her sister’s big day came, the woman decided to pay her back.

The woman goes on with her story, saying, «Anyway, now 3 years later, my sister is getting married (to the same guy he was dating 3 years ago). I looked at my schedule and I had a spot open for the day of her wedding. My mom asked me if I could be my sister’s wedding photographer and I could give her a discount. I actually thought about it, since I was still gonna get paid for my services. However, when my sister talked to me, she asked if I could take her wedding pictures completely FREE because she’s family.»

And then the conflict happened, and the older sister’s hopes were broken, just like she once did with her younger sister.

The woman wrote, «I nicely denied, and I told her that my photography is a business and I would like to get paid for my services and time. She looked shocked she and told me that all I was gonna do are edit pictures and that only took a few hours. I again denied and told her to talk to me when she decides to respect my business and time because photography (specifically wedding photography) is not easy. She told me I was a bad person for charging her and was going to tell my parents.»

The conflict in the family is growing bigger.

The woman explained that the whole family supported her in her request to be paid for her job, but the issue between her and her sister has never been solved.

The OP said, «My parents are supportive and understanding that photography is a business for me and I should be paid no matter if it’s family or friends. They mentioned how I agreed to give her a discount, but she rudely denied as she said that she’s in a tight budget and was not going to pay me for just some pictures. I could not hear her disrespect me or my business that I worked so hard for it to be successful, so I left the room and told her give me a call when she changes her mind.»

The conflict now has grown to even a bigger scale. The woman said, «A few weeks already passed and have not heard anything from her and I have not gotten an invitation for her wedding. My parents are trying to make her understand the situation, but she already decided that she does not want me in her wedding (for what she has told my parents). I don’t know what to do, and I do feel bad for charging my sister, but I also value my work and I would like for her to at least respect that.»

People of Reddit supported the woman.

Users in the comments were quite supportive about the woman’s decision.

One person wrote, «When we were shopping the low end was $5000 and that was 15 years ago. We were lucky because my best man’s wife was a photographer, and she took pictures for free as our wedding present.
We actually hired her and her rate was $8000 with a discount but when we went to pay her she wrote $0 on the invoice and wished us a happy marriage. That was a nice surprise to have $8000 extra money to start married life.
Edit: My wife has informed me that I am an idiot (my words not hers 😂) and the cost was actually $5000 for all day, and she discounted it to $3000 and then gave it at no charge for our gift when we went to pay her after our honeymoon. The point still stands that it’s unreasonable for the sister to expect that much work for free.»

Another person added, «It’s really expensive to get and maintain the equipment. Then editing is forever. Also, the STRESS. No other photography I ever did came close. You can’t miss some of those moments. It will never be recreated.
One time a small child was allowed to run around, and they got under foot. I literally fell over them and I got a very strange angle for the first kiss, awful.»

And here’s yet another family story about a bridezilla, who ruined her own wedding and did something awful that made her groom say goodbye to her right at the ceremony.