Photographer Etiquette

finesse910

My question is whether or not you should be paying for another plate at your wedding for the photographer?

I feel that, because I am paying my photographer by the hour, and my reception is the same price a plate as it is for her price an hour that something has to give. What did you do? Did your photographer 'stop the clock' while they ate? Did they bring their own food? Did they request a seat? Where did you seat them?

I am willing to purchase another plate for the photographer, I'm just not sure about what the etiquette is here.

Avion22

Most caters will do a "vendor plate" for you -- more like a boxed lunch.  Still food, but not the filet mignon you're feeding your guests.  This is also a common rider on contracts for DJs, band members, etc.  

redheadfsu

You must feed vendors.

Usually there is a vendor meal your reception offers however I really think you should *feed* them the same meal as the guests. Plus, many of their contracts want a hot meal or clarify what you must provide.

ETA: Your photographer isn't the only one that needs a meal. Your DJ or any other vendor working needs to be provided a meal (or ask them what they prefer). Do you really want your photographer hungry & grouchy?

aragx6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:aa68a40a-948e-4b98-bdd1-a1615f44fa7e">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]Most caters will do a "vendor plate" for you -- more like a boxed lunch.  Still food, but not the filet mignon you're feeding your guests.  This is also a common rider on contracts for DJs, band members, etc.  
Posted by Avion22[/QUOTE]

This, but you shoudl talk to your photog/check your contract for details. Mine, surprisingly, says nothing about meals but my god the woman is going to be taking pictures for 8 hours; she's going to need to eat. It doesn't seem to be that big of a deal to feed her.

becka717

Like PPs said, your venue should have a vender meal that should be less expensive.  Seat her at a small table in the corner of the room perhaps.  My photog said he liked to sit in the reception room so he could just put down his fork, pick up his camera and take pictures if something photo worthy happened while he was eating.  I'm planning to sit him and the DJ at a small table toward the back of the room.

Edie, I think OP means that she is paying photog X an hour, and her per person plate cost is also about X.

bvanosten

I'm interested to see the posts on whether the clock stops too.  At my wedding, the photographer, videographer, and second photographer all took a 1/2 hour break and ate.  They didn't stay any longer and in my opinion, they rushed through the reception pictures and walked out without saying goodbye.  Had I thought more about it, I would have put it in the contract that while they can take a 1/2 hour break for dinner, they need to stay 1/2 hour more.  We all had several break times throughout the day because I didn't want to be rushed so they had at least 3 -1/2 hour or more breaks throughout the day (7 hours = total contracted time).  I didn't mind them taking the breaks when no one was doing anything but was annoyed when they stopped everything during dinner and then didn't make up their time.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

My photographer took 10 minutes to eat. I paid for a vendor meal which was 1/5 the cost of the full hors d'oeuvres/3 course dinner/bar package that our guests got.

achiduck

Do you really want that many pictures of you and your guests eating? Feed your photographer. They work hard and are on their feet all day - just feed your vendors please. A fed vendor = happy vendor = better service.

MyNameIsNot

You need to feed the photographer.

FYI, most of the time that they spend is spent on processing your photos after the event.  The hours spent at the actual wedding are usually only a small portion of that.

finesse910

I guess the reason I felt it was relevent was because that means, for the hour (I'm being overly generous it probably wouldn't take her an hour to eat (but just for the sake of example)) that she is eating, she is being paid double by me. I do not feel comfortable paying $200 for the hour that she is eating, if she does not make it up.

I certainly believe that my photographer should be fed! My fiance is hypoglycemic, so I know what a lack of food can do! I don't want a grouchy or fainting photographer! haha


I never even heard of a vendor meal- that's wonderful! I'll definitely have to talk to my venue about that! Great advice, thank you very much!

ILoveToRobot

We're providing a plate for our photographers. It's actually in our contract. I would prefer that our photographer be full and happy so that we get the best work possible out of him. How well do you work when you're  hungry? Do you want pictures of you eating? Probably not, so this is the time the photographer would eat.

jemmini6

Yes, please feed your photographer.  In fact, most photographers & DJs have it in their contract that they require a meal.

Check with your caterer for their vendor meal pricing.  Ours offered the same meal as our guests for 1/2 price, or a boxed sandwich meal for about $17 each.  I asked both our photographers and my DJ which they preferred and they both selected the sandwich meal because it was quicker/easier to eat.

finesse910

The Knot ate my reply.

Of course I want to feed my photographer/have my photographer fed. That is why I posted this question. So we can keep the "feed your photographer" posts to a minimum. It's a no brainer. I had heard about vendors bringing their own meals, and my dad (who is paying for the venue, but not for the photographer) said that they should just bring a sandwich. I didn't think that was right, so I came to inquire about what to do. (EDIT: since I am paying for the photographer, I would simply supplement whatever it would cost for an additional seat or vendor meal to my father, since we agreed that I would pay for the photographer)

I had no idea that there were vendor meals- and that's why I posted this question: to get legitimate answers. My fiance is hypoglycemic so I know what happens without food. Of course I do not want a grouchy/fainting/unhappy photographer.

As for the price of the meal being same same as what she is charging an hour, I do not feel entirely comfortable paying double for the period of time that she is doing the least; however, that is not thinking very far in advance because she would be able to do better work for the remaining hours if she ate. But simply, the reason I brought that up is because it would be costing me twice her hourly rate for not doing anything.

Thank you for those who brought up the vendor meal! I had no idea such a thing existed! I will definitely talk to my venue about that.

aragx6

I think it's totally unreasonable to expect them to bring their own food. Where would they keep it? How would it stay at a safe temperature all day?

maribeth721

Most photographers work 10 hours - minimum. I wouldn't expect them to work 10 hours without a break. Part of the contract with my photographer is I have to provide a meal. I really see no issue with this. I'd rather have her eating near me at a table then off somewhere else trying to get food. And bringing her own food? What would she even do with it when she has how many other things to bring with her?? Where would she keep it? The venue probably really doesn't want someone there eating out of a bagged lunch either.

finesse910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:5f05f566-d7e3-47a1-ab79-685ed21416ed">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]I think it's totally unreasonable to expect them to bring their own food. Where would they keep it? How would it stay at a safe temperature all day?
Posted by aragx6[/QUOTE]


That's what I thought!! I didn't know if this was common practice or something. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. Haha

redheadfsu

Making vendors bring their own food is silly.

You are paying your photographer for more than just taking the pictures. They send tons of hours editing your pictures. So you are not double paying her, promise.

jemmini6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:7d27f8c1-a121-457c-893c-a4c202f6c407">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]Making vendors bring their own food is silly. You are paying your photographer for more than just taking the pictures. They send tons of hours editing your pictures. So you are not double paying her, promise.
Posted by redheadfsu[/QUOTE]

This!  In fact, if she shoots 8 hours at a wedding, she will probably spend at least 40 hours afterwards doing post-processing.  So complaining about the 10 - 15 minutes she'll be eating and not taking pictures is quite extreme. 

krizzo17

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:c9bb6c2f-ca4d-4058-b955-9dca7864ce09">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]Do you really want that many pictures of you and your guests eating? Feed your photographer. They work hard and are on their feet all day - just feed your vendors please. A fed vendor = happy vendor = better service.
Posted by achiduck[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly. I figure our photographer will eat when all the guests are eating. I hate pictures of people (and myself) with their mouths full.

amymaysa

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:23356666-e1f4-4167-9ac8-8f7eb266ba9e">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>I guess the reason I felt it was relevent was because that means, for the hour (I'm being overly generous it probably wouldn't take her an hour to eat (but just for the sake of example)) that she is eating, she is being paid double by me.</strong> I do not feel comfortable paying $200 for the hour that she is eating, if she does not make it up. I certainly believe that my photographer should be fed! My fiance is hypoglycemic, so I know what a lack of food can do! I don't want a grouchy or fainting photographer! haha I never even heard of a vendor meal- that's wonderful! I'll definitely have to talk to my venue about that! Great advice, thank you very much!
Posted by finesse910[/QUOTE]

How are you paying her double by paying for her to eat for 15-20 minutes while everyone else is eating?

J&K10910

I fed my two photogs breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.  But they were with us from 7am until 11pm, and one of them was a friend.  I seated them at a table with some other guests my friend knew.  We did cake cutting and toasts before the meal, so that everyone could relax and eat without taking pictures/having a camera in their face.  There was really not much to photograph during dinner, but my photogs still managed to eat quickly and snap some guest shots when people weren't eating.  It was NBD.

J&K10910

If you're concerned about paying her hourly rate while she's eating, perhaps you can talk to her, ask her how she wants to handle it, and suggest an unpaid (but with food provided by you) 30 minute break for her to eat, with either a pro-rated rest of that half hour, or the 30 minutes added on elsewhere.

ETA:  If you do this, it should TRULY be a 30 minute break. She should get to sit, enjoy her meal, have a beverage (non alcoholic, of course), not have to take any photos or anything like that. 

rebarobert2012

I think that it would be pretty rude not to feed the photographer.  I doubt that they are going to take a long time to eat.  I'm sure that they get right back to work.

Grits8812

Vendors need to eat too. Being a photographer might sound like a walk in the park, but in all reality they are on their feet all day, following you around, making sure you have the pictures you want, etc.  

They probably won't even take the whole time to eat their food.  They know they are there to work, and that is what they are going to be doing.  

You wouldn't want to go to work all day knowing you won't get a lunch break

hbatchel2

TK is being crazy, so I probably missed half the responses and this has already been said, but...

In my photography contract, it said I had to provide my photographer a meal and if I didn't, he was going to leave for up to one hour of the reception. Your photographer is not going to take an hour to eat, so I don't think its a big deal. I couldn't even tell you how long my photographer took to eat. I wasn't really paying attention to him at that point in the day anyways.

Starfish0116

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_photographer-etiquette?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:6a068e95-a3d3-40af-a7b6-c7e3c966102ePost:075dfec2-245d-4603-b54b-a6d8d70c21af">Re: Photographer Etiquette</a>:
[QUOTE]Good lord, our photogs.& videographer were with us for like 8 hours.  If we hadn't fed them, they would have been starving.  They ate at the same time as everybody else did.  No need to take photos of people stuffing their faces.
Posted by jcbsjr[/QUOTE]

<div>Thank you!</div><div>
</div><div>You'd be surprised how many people feel like they shouldn't have to pay for their photographer to eat. The one vendor you spend the majority of the day with...it's a no brainer to me. </div><div>
</div><div>The best wedding I ever photographed was a sit down dinner where I was seated as a table in the middle of the room. It was a prime spot for me to be able to eat and still grab key moments (like when random guests would stand up and toast). I always tell my couples that dinner is when I take my break, because no one wants unflattering images of themselves eating - and most people feel uncomfortable being photographed while eating.</div>

bmoruzzi

We had two photographers (he brought an assistant) and I paid for both meals.  Our meals were about $70/person, but our venue did 1/2 price for the vendor meals.  They got to eat filet mignon or swordfish.  I did not notice them eating.  I didn't set up a specific spot for them.  Obviously the person in charge of the venue gave them a seat.  I have no idea if they sat for 20minutes or an hour.  I didn't care.  You're spending way too much time thinking about this.  Just pay for the meal and let it go.