Photographer Cancels Lucrative Contract After Finding Out It Required the Pen Tool

Tampa, Florida: A local photographer canceled a sizable contract from a prominent car magazine after finding out the job would require using the Pen Tool in Photoshop, noting: "I'd rather nail Jell-O to a tree."

The contract, rumored to be valued somewhere north of $100,000, initially seemed like a dream come true for Thomas Adams, a lifelong car enthusiast and automotive photographer, who noted that his years of hard work seemed to finally be paying off:

I was going to settle my student loans, remodel our kitchen, and get our daughter, Mary, her first pony. They were going to fly me to their headquarters to photograph 30 different models: a full week of nothing but shooting some of my favorite cars and getting paid six figures to do so.

The trouble started, however, when the magazine requested that Chris create composites of the cars in different environments to show off their versatility:

I knew what that meant right away. I asked if I could print them, cut them out with scissors, then scan them back in, but they said 'no,' even though I told them I have a really nice scanner.

Adams tells Fstoppers he did his best to learn the Pen Tool:

I mean, I tried. I really did. But what's up with that thing? Have you ever tried to draw two curves connected by a corner? I did. You know what happened? I drew a heptagon and somehow subscribed to a steak of the month club. I don't even eat meat!

Adams persevered, eventually gaining a modicum of proficiency, but notes the tipping point came when the company got back to him with more specifics: 

I had just learned the trick for making 90-degree angles, then they came back to me and told me one of the cars would be the Pontiac Aztek. I'm the biggest 'Breaking Bad' fan out there, but that car has more wonky angles than a bunch of drunk mathematicians with protractors. 

Unfortunately, that was the last straw for Adams, who withdrew from the project, noting that he has encouraged his daughter to pursue table tennis instead.