You say that you were carrying out aerial photography and therefore I assume that you were operating for hire and reward on a public transport licence, and therefore you have at least a CPL.
Under the circumstances, it would be reasonable for the atco concerned to assume that you fully understood what a SPECIAL VFR clearance means, if you weren't able to comply with the clearance, you should have said so immediately.
The same applies to any other pilot wishing to transit controlled airspace under special VFR - they should understand the implications before they even get airborne.