Do you tip a wedding photographer?

I have been told that if they own their own business, you don’t need to tip them. Of course, you can always give them extra, but it’s not needed. I plan on waiting until the big day to see if they go above and beyond, and then sending them a check in the mail if they exceed my expectation.

I know the bridal mags will tell you, "they own their own business, so you don't need to tip them."

Well, let's look at what the word "gratuity" means.

"A gratuity is a sum of money customarily given by a client or customer to certain service sector workers for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service."

That last part is important. In addition to the basic price of the service.

America has twisted the meaning of gratuity to be "making up for the difference in pay because the government made it legal to pay some people below minimum wage." That's where the whole need to tip term comes from.

You don't need to tip anyone, including servers, hairdressers, makeup artists, etc. (Funny enough, most makeup artists own their own business, too, but bridal mags and people always suggest tipping them, and it is definitely expected.) Gratuities are supposed to be optional.

An individual providing exemplary service - regardless of whether they are being paid below minimum wage, or if they own the business, or whatever - should be tipped in addition to the basic price of the service.

So: if your photographer does a great job, yes, you should tip them.

We tipped ours because she went way above and beyond what our contract staged. Our first engagement shoot ended abruptly due to rain so she rescheduled but we had used 45 minutes of the hour long session and she allowed us a full hour on a different day. Two weeks before the wedding, she allowed us to re-work our getting ready photos to be in two locations (second shooter went to the guys) instead of being at the venue as initially planned. She also stayed later than what our contract had called for so she could get some extra photos of just H, my daughter, and I.

I am not tipping my photographer at the reception. I need to see the final project before I do that.

For us, tipping our photographer (and the second shooter too) was an absolute must! The photographer was one of our most important vendors, so we tipped generously. Our DOC distributed the various envelopes with tips to our vendors at the end of the reception. Between 10-20% is standard for tipping

YES! Tip them. If they are going above and beyond to make your day perfect, they deserve it.

You only tip those who go above and beyond the call of duty, and you wait until after the honeymoon so you have a clear objective mind to assess the services. Do not tip for no shows, bad service or simply showing up to do a job. Whether someone owns a business is moot. A server or other employee is paid an hourly wage. A catering company automatically includes the tip (gratuity) whether it was earned or not. For the photographer, you wait till you get your pictures back. There are many horror stories online about photographers who are great during the planning process and then provide bad service on the day of and bad or no photos to show for it after.

A tip is never expected, but if you think they did an amazing job you could always give them a tip of $100-$200!! Make sure to also leave a detailed and glowing review of their service here on WeddingWire for other couples! 🌟

Here's a helpful tipping guide you can check out that breaks everything down. It also includes how much to tip a wedding photographer:

Exactly How Much To Tip Wedding Vendors: A Complete List

My wedding photographer really went above and beyond for us (we got married in the middle of Hurricane Matthew) - so even though she owned her own business we still thought she deserved a tip!! 💰

Yes, you should tip them.

Yes, you should definitely tip your photographer!

I'm giving $100 tip to each of our photographers, but based on everything I've read, of they own their own business, they don't expect a tip.

Tip all vendors, the photographer is a critical part to the wedding; your wedding memory creator. Always tip 20%

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Tipping is based on your own personal thoughts. There is no rule on this and hopefully all vendors charge based on their rate and do not rely on tips. It is always welcomed but not needed. Yes the vendors will love it as they put in so much time for this amazing day. Remember you are tipping on service and personality if you do so and it doesn't have to be a percentage. It can be a flat dollar amount in an envelope with a kind word.

To those who need to see the final product first? That is just silly... You are tipping on service. You hired someone to be amazing because you vetted them first. Why risk hiring someone you know would be bad?