Real people. Real opinions.
Browse WAURE
← Advice & Questions
AITA · Advice & Questions ·

AITA for pausing the reunion photo gallery after my friend gave everyone my phone number?

AITA category photographAITA

"Just text Maya your requests directly. She's brilliant at fixing photos," my friend Ellie wrote in the reunion chat.

I'm Maya. I had offered to photograph our small college reunion as a gift. We agreed I would choose and edit about thirty pictures and send a gallery link within a week. I'm a hobby photographer, and I wasn't charging.

Ellie added my phone number to the chat after the reunion without asking. By Tuesday I had eleven messages: could I swap someone's face from another picture, remove an ex from a group shot, send every photo of one couple, or make a separate set for a business page? One person followed up twice while I was at work.

I asked Ellie to tell everyone that requests should go through her and that I was only doing the agreed selection. She replied that people were excited, that most requests would only take a minute, and that she'd already promised one friend I could make a separate folder.

I then wrote in the reunion chat, "The gallery is paused until Ellie sorts out the requests she's made on my behalf." I was still within the week we'd agreed on.

Ellie sent a clarification that evening and apologized privately for sharing my number. She now says I should finish the gallery without making her chase every person who might still message me. I haven't restarted the edits because two people have kept texting, though I haven't told them directly that I won't do their changes.

I want to stop the extra work. I'm also withholding the thirty photos I actually promised, including from people who never contacted me. AITA for keeping the whole gallery on hold?

Discussion

1 community replies

The extra requests are separate from the thirty-photo gift you agreed to make. Ellie overstepped when she distributed your number and promised additional work. But she has now corrected the chat and apologized. Keeping the original gallery paused until every guest stops texting gives those guests control over whether anyone gets the promised pictures.

Join the discussion