I met her when everything else in my life was falling apart
The bookings had stopped coming in. My rent was long overdue. A major wedding client ghosted me after I spent hours in the blazing sun capturing every moment of their big day. I climbed chairs, squatted in tight spaces, shot like my life depended on it. They posted my photos online with tacky filters and never even mentioned my name. I texted. I called. I emailed. Silence
Then she walked into my studio. Sewa. Skin like sunrise, voice like something smooth playing on a rainy day. She said she was an upcoming model. She said she was looking for someone who saw beyond beauty, someone who could shoot the soul
She didn’t have the full fee. She smiled, said she would pay in parts. My account balance begged me to say no, but my pride and passion whispered yes. I let her pay half. I trusted her
The shoot was fire. Every shot felt like a verse in a song only we understood. I stayed up that night editing. I had no food. I drank garri with no sugar. My body begged me to sleep, but I wanted the edits to be perfect. I delivered them the next morning
She posted the pictures by noon
No tag. No mention. Just emojis and new followers. I asked for the balance. She sent a voice note
“Chill na, I’m still sorting things out. You too dey rush”
She never paid
Weeks later, I saw her again. This time at a shoot I was assisting. She wasn’t alone. Kachi stood beside her. A young photographer I had mentored briefly. He once messaged me late at night asking for editing tips and presets. I helped him. I thought he was hungry to learn. Turns out he was hungry to take
He was her new photographer now. He shot her with poses I had created. My angles. My light. My style. He even used my presets. I stood there and watched them laugh like they had stolen something they knew I couldn’t take back
That same week, two of my returning clients cancelled their shoots. They had suddenly gone in a “different direction.” A few days later, I saw their new photos online. Shot by Kachi. Styled like me. Even their captions echoed my past work
I packed up my gear that night. Told myself maybe I wasn’t built for this. That maybe the world wasn’t for people like me who led with heart. I stopped shooting for a while. I stayed off social media. I looked for other jobs. My camera gathered dust
But karma is patient. She does not shout. She waits
Six months later, I got a call. A major brand needed a photographer urgently. Their original one had flopped last minute. I was the next option. I showed up early, camera in hand, a little anxious but ready
She was there. Sewa. In a white shirt, oversized glasses, and a new attitude. She tried to smile when she saw me
“Oh… you?” she said
“Yeah. Me,” I replied
She couldn’t hold her poses. The director grew frustrated. Her energy was off. She tripped. She stuttered. By the third outfit, her nose started bleeding. She fainted before the shoot wrapped
The campaign was scrapped. She was replaced. No one called her back
Karma was editing
A few weeks passed and I started hearing whispers. Sewa had been dropped by her agency. She had a reputation now. Always late. Always complaining. Unreliable. The brands moved on without her
Kachi’s name started dying out too. A popular client exposed him for stealing edits from another photographer. He had applied my presets to random shots and called it his signature. When clients began to complain about quality and tone, he panicked. He tried to shift the blame on me
But I had receipts. Screenshots. DMs. Time stamps. Everything
He lost his reputation in a week
Then came the message
From her
“I’m sorry for everything. I was going through stuff. Please can you help me rebuild”
I sat with her words for a while. I thought about that night I drank plain garri and stayed up till 3 am editing her photos with love. I thought about the betrayal, the silence, the stolen clients. I thought about the look on her face when she saw me again
I replied
“This isn’t a comeback studio. Karma already handled your edit”
Blocked
Today I still shoot. But I do it with stronger boundaries. I charge more. I ask for deposits. I protect my peace like it’s gold
And when people ask me why I never dragged them online or exposed the betrayal
I just smile
Because karma shoots in RAW. She does not miss the details. She takes her time to export. And when she delivers, the clarity is always perfect
