Pros
Learning business of a professional studio. Getting studio experience as a recent college grad. Sales experience and learning job responsibility. Flexible hours.
Cons
Minimal training, they throw you to the sharks too quickly. Cold-selling to random customers as "pull-ins" from the attached unaffiliated retail store (terrifying and mentally taxing for someone with anxiety). Studio training itself was difficult to feel confident about--little practice with the equipment and photograph style expectations, memorizing a sales schpiel that cannot deviate in words, and focused more on sales then on the portraiture. Hardly any real chance to get accustomed to different styles and layouts in the post-process software. Expected a certain number of clients to be pulled in from the surrounding store if appointments weren't scheduled for a span of time--trolling the toy department asking parents if we could photograph their kids for free fees and three free prints. It's creepy and NO ONE goes out shopping dressed like they're expecting to have an impromptu photo shoot. Photo style is cookie cutter with little creative license. Part-time really meant "scheduled once a week and on call for the rest of the week," if you can't have photographers solidly scheduled, why do you hire them? Also, I've never known a store to have an opening/closing shift without a manager present--too much responsibility/room for error for a two-week-old associate.
