I know the photographer who covered Corey Booker's campaign who later when on to cover Stacey Abrams. He has some incredible stuff from that time period and I've always wondered just what was in his archive.
As I recall, Flickr used to host White House images. Was this something you were wanting to profit from, or just put out to the world? No judgment, just curious.
They are a business, trying to make a profit. You want something for free. How is this a money grab?
It's just outdoor photography in urban environments. I personally focus more on architecture and taking photos that one day might be a historical record of an area. The older I get, the less I care about people being in my urban photos - and I even go out of my way sometimes to make sure no one is in them. I feel like people should be able to exist in public unbothered, which is why I find the aggressive sorts of "street photography" to be something I'd rather not personally be about.
While it's not impossible, it's very odd to me that someone would be reaching out to a wedding photographer for a sports job. Outdoor volleyball in Minnesota in December sounds dangerous to me, unless it's sponsored by Northface. And why on the planet Earth would he be asking you to help with hair and makeup? Is there anything on your website or social media that says you're licensed for hair and makeup? Is this for high school? College? It definitely doesn't sound right to me.
Possible, yes. I would not get my hopes too high though. Is there no second card slot?
Are you expecting this "RAW dump" to be free of charge or at an additional rate?
You're implying that if the photographer doesn't capitulate and give the OP what they want (free product), they are being a grinch. Is that accurate?
Something tells me after reading your responses OP, that this photographer likely delivered work that completely falls in line with their portfolio.
What is the goal with the lighting? What do you want to photograph?
Even if they were allowed in this community as they are in MULTITUDES OF OTHERS THAT YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO POST IN TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT, I personally wouldn't want to view photos from someone with any attitude like this. This rule is basically for people like yourself.
At what level were you expecting to be a year in? It takes years to get good at photography for most.
No two photographers work exactly the same. So all we can do is speculate.
I shoot volume headshots, and I rarely have more than 5 minutes to work with someone. You are correct, headshots should be mid-chest up. I personally give a lot of direction, and I also let the subjects choose which image they want to be edited (they get one for volume jobs). The only thing I expect from my subjects is to read my pre-shoot guide (grooming tips mostly) and to listen to my instructions. I wasn't there, so I don't know that you could have done anything differently.
I've found with headshot work that people are often their own worst enemies. A very common scenario is for someone who actually is photogenic (or who at least photographed better than average) to tell me they hate every single photo, and all of their coworkers tell them "THESE ARE THE BEST PHOTOS EVER!!" Or I get folks who immediately proclaim to me that they are not photogenic, ugly, require an immense level of retouching, etc. before the first photo is even taken. It's very hard to achieve something positive in a short time frame when someone immediately dumps a ton of negativity into the situation from the very start. So if you began your interaction with the photographer on the "I'm not photographable" train, then that may have contributed. Otherwise, it's hard to say.