Wedding Etiquette Forum

Tipping Photographer

avpenguinrnavpenguinrn member
First Anniversary Name Dropper 5 Love Its First Comment
edited July 2015 in Wedding Etiquette Forum
My fiance and I are getting engagement photos done in the next month or two and I am just wondering what the proper thing to do is as far as tipping the photographer when we get these photos done. We will be using the same photographer for both our engagement and wedding photos and will obviously be giving him a tip at our wedding but I'm not sure if it is expected to do the same after the engagement photos. Thanks for your help!

Re: Tipping Photographer

  • Personally I would. If you don't they might think you don't plan on tipping after the wedding.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • I did not tip after my engagement shoot.  I did send a nice email thanking her for the beautiful photos and telling her we were glad she would be shooting our wedding.  (I did wait until after I received all of my images though because the "sneak peek" she sent me with a few photos was a bit worrying- a lot of them were profile shots where my hair was in front of my face and all you could see was my forehead, nose, and chin.)

    If we really love the wedding photos we will be tipping.  If not, then we won't. 

    Same goes for our officiant.  We're paying his fee.  If he does a wonderful job, we'll tip.  I hate the idea of tipping or having to have it pre-planned before I even know what someone's service was like.  So I'm only doing tip envelopes for those that I simply can't get away with postponing.



  • Would you tip for an engagement session even if it was "thrown in" and you're just doing it for that reason alone?  I don't really need the session, it's part of the package though.  I guess I could decline it, but I wanted to see how they work.

  • SP29SP29 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    If it is part of a package, I would tip at the completion of package services.


  • I don't expect to be tipped for a portrait session, that's all an engagement photo session is. You are always welcome to tip, but it's not typically expected for portrait sessions.
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • Ours was included in the package.. But now our photographer is nickle and diming us, to the point that we're paying an extra 20% over the package price just to get what we thought was included. (Travel fee for the engagement shoot - when we'd initially spoken, I asked clearly whether she would come to our home for the shoot, and what that would require - she said no problem, just advanced notice. It's an hour drive for her. Now it's a set fee plus mileage. Also, although the engagement shoot was included in the package, digital rights to the photos aren't. The cost of digital rights is equal to the cost of an engagement shoot with her, if purchased a la carte.)

    Based on PPs, sounds like we don't need to tip until after the wedding, as we purchased in a package. At that point, do we tip based on the package price, or on the total cost?
  • I will plan to tip after the wedding then. Thanks, everyone, for answering!
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards