Overworked and underpaid - Photographer CADY Employee Review

1.0
Feb 24, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you are looking for a lot of hours I guess this job fits that bill, however you will not be paid enough to have to deal with everything the job requires. You will get some alright experience as a professional photographer, though most images you take will be on preset camera settings so it's mostly practicing posing skills with a wide variety of personality types.

Cons

Low pay, low mileage reimbursement for hours spent traveling to and from schools/events, management really does play favorites with assignments and shifts which I almost understand with how high the turnover rate is for photographers. The next step up from photographer is Lead Photographer and those poor souls are totally overworked. The hours WILL be crazy even when just starting out. You'll have a start time of 4 am and an end time of 6-7 pm. There is usually an hour scheduled into the day for a break but most times you won't get to take more than ten or fifteen minutes break the whole time as the event is overbooked with students and not enough photographers to take the workload down. Most of the job is customer service as you deal directly with students and parents who often have very strong opinions. Again, some of that is understandable but when parents come into the studio for a session and have no idea what they've paid for and are extremely underprepared for the 6-8 hour studio session they've booked it gets complicated and most of the responsibility is placed on the lowest paid photographer to make the session a good experience and not a stressful one. The studio is often overbooked during the busier seasons in summer, fall, and winter.

Explore other reviews about CADY

5.0
Apr 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I learned so much by working there

Cons

Sometimes the customers are a bit rude, but my manager was alwasy there to back me up.

2.0
Apr 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great stepping stone to something better.

Cons

CADY appears to be led by individuals who lack a clear understanding of how to effectively run a business. The company promotes a “welcoming” culture, but in practice, it often feels performative and rooted in outdated or uncomfortable approaches. The environment within the Innovation Center is consistently tense. Teams frequently experience internal friction, and HR maintains a highly visible presence that can feel more like surveillance than support. In October 2025, Josh Cady abruptly eliminated the work-from-home policy with no transition period. This decision left many employees scrambling to adjust, particularly those who relied on remote flexibility for childcare and other responsibilities. The PTO policy is notably limited for a company of this size, and the absence of dedicated sick days only adds to employee strain. Removing remote work mid-year, while offering minimal time off, reflects a lack of consideration for employee well-being. Daily interactions can also feel forced. For example, employees are greeted each morning by HR in a way that often comes across as insincere rather than welcoming. Overall, CADY feels disorganized, undercompensates its employees, and provides minimal benefits, contributing to a challenging and unsupportive work environment.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All