On your wedding day, you don’t want to be worrying about taking photos. Hiring a professional photographer is the perfect way to capture the special moments throughout your wedding, leaving you to enjoy the special day.
However, if you’ve never hired a photographer before, you might be curious to know how much to tip the photographer.
In this article, I will cover some key information about photographers at your wedding, including how much to tip your photographer.
Keep reading to find out more.
How Much To Tip Photographer
As a general rule, it’s not necessary to tip the owner of the company. This is important to note in the context of wedding photographers, as they often own their companies.
As business owners, then, photographers don’t often expect a tip and it isn’t always necessary or required. However, if you loved the photos that they took of your wedding or felt they went out of their way to make your day perfect, you could place cash or a cheque in the mail after the wedding if you wish along with a thank you card.
If you’re unsure on how much to tip your photographer, generally speaking, a 10% tip on your photographer’s rate is a good rule of thumb to follow. That being said, you could always tip a minimum of $100 if you’d prefer to give them a nice round number.
It’s also worth mentioning that wedding photographers don’t always work alone. After all, it’s a big day to get right and they often need support to get all of the best wedding shots! As a result, it’s very common for them to work with a second shooter or photography assistant.
If your photographer does have a second shooter or a photography assistant, you should also tip them $50 to $75 as a nice gesture. Tipping each of these additional team members is appropriate when the service has been excellent, as they are also an important part of the team and deserve to be valued for their hard work.
When Should You Tip Your Wedding Photographer?
If the tip wasn’t included as part of your photographer’s fees, you should generally wait until after your wedding day and all services have been completed. After all, you will first want to verify that your wedding photos turned out exactly the way you wanted them.
As you will need to remain in contact with your photographer after the wedding day to receive the photos of your special day, it is appropriate to wait until you’ve received the photos before you tip your photographer.
Simply slip your cheque or cash into a thank you card and mail it to your photographer once you have received your lovely photos. They’re sure to appreciate it!
Other Methods To Thank Your Wedding Photographer
While tipping your photographer is a very common way to show your appreciation, it isn’t the only way. You can show how grateful you are in a variety of ways!
Send Them A Special Gift
If you want to get your wedding photographer something more personal than a cash tip, then why not send them a special gift as a thank you?
If you know your photographer personally, you can get your photographer their favorite treat as a thoughtful gesture to show them your appreciation. If you don’t know them very well, you can instead opt for something more generalized, such as sending flowers, chocolates, or another treat that you think that they will enjoy.
Instead of just tipping them with cash, going to the effort of buying them a thoughtful, personal gift they can use or enjoy is something that they are sure to appreciate and remember for a long time following your big day.
Write A Thank You Card
Writing a thank you card is a great way to show your appreciation for your photographer’s hard work at your wedding.
Not only is it traditional to send thank you cards when services have been performed, it’s also a lovely way to add a personal touch and make your photographer feel valued. You can detail the special role they played in your wedding,
Give Them Positive Verbal Feedback
There’s nothing like a happy couple to make your photographer feel special after the big day. Photographers spend hours and hours choosing and editing their best shots of your wedding day, and giving them positive feedback really does mean a lot to them.
You can also make a fuss of them when it comes to posting your photos. When you share your photos with family and friends on your social media pages, make sure that you tag your photographer in the photos. Not only will they appreciate you crediting them, but when people see how beautiful their work is, your photographer might even gain more clients in the future due to this exposure.
Write A Positive Review
This method goes hand in hand with the last method, as you can put your positive verbal feedback into writing a positive review for their photography business!
You’d be surprised how much reviews can influence your photographer’s business, as the more positive reviews they have, the more reputable they become for potential clients.
Reviews and references hugely impact how a business is perceived, and can help your photographer book future weddings. Writing a glowing review on a wedding website of your photographer’s choosing is another great way to show your appreciation.
In Summary
As business owners, photographers don’t often expect a tip and it isn’t required.
However, if you loved the photos that they took of your wedding or felt your day wouldn’t have been the same without them, then feel free to tip them. 10% of their fees is a good place to start, or you could opt for a tip of a minimum of $100.
If your photographer is working with a second shooter or an assistant that contributed to making your day special, be sure to tip them as well to make them feel appreciated!
