Photographer Social Media Etiquette

My photographer has specifically asked if we were okay with our pictures being posted on social media. I think they don't have to do that, like you said, bc they own the pictures but it would be a nice courtesy to ask you first. I don't think it's too much to ask your photographer to take them down but I would prepare myself to be told no just in case they decline your request.

It's actually not the posting on Social Media that bothers me to be honest. It's that I haven't been shown any of these pictures that are of me and my husband. Heck I haven't even been made aware of their existence until now by happenstance. I'd like to share them with my family and friends (by reposting the photographer's posts) and not just have people stumble across them like I just did. My planner was always great about tagging me in stuff, but this photographer hasn't done it once.

Unless it’s in your contract that either of them has to get sneak peeks to you or tag you, I don’t think you can really say anything about it.

It seems weird not to tag you at least, so you know. My photographer shared a few from our engagement session before she sent us the digitals, but she tagged both of us.

Our contract allows him to post pictures for his portfolio if he wants to. I would review your contract and if it says nothing about posting pictures, then just mention to them that you wish you had wished they would have at least shown you your pictures before posting them on social media.

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Is it that you didn't receive these specific photos or that you haven't received your photos yet? If it is these specific ones then I would probably let it go. If you haven't received any of your photos yet then I would reach out and say something like - Hey I saw some of our photos on social media and was a little shocked since I haven't received my photos. Can you let me know when these will be shared with me?

It would have been nice for the photographer to contact you when posting to make sure you saw them right away, but they may post without tagging you as a measure to protect your privacy. Some people would prefer to keep their personally identifying information private, so it makes sense to not be automatically tagged. Facebook usually allows you to tag yourself, so maybe you can do that on your own and let the photographer know that you prefer to be notified and tagged if they post any more.

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This makes a lot of sense! My photographers did the same thing (not tagging me and the hubby) so maybe this is the reason!

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Yeah my wedding was literally 9 days ago, so I haven’t gotten anything. Thanks for the advice.

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Yea, in that case I would be SUPER pissed but still try to word my email / phone call / text a little more surprised and curious. I would just try and hide my pissed-ness in hopes that she responds well and maybe go the route of trying to make her feel a little guilty. People just usually respond better to that than anger. But... no joke... I would have to take some time to calm down because I would be livid.

I don’t know, I think that it is kind of par for the course, and often even explicitly mentioned/allowed in contracts. Not always though. But unless you or they signed something against it, it’s fair game— it’s their work.

That said, I really do think this is very standard practice with weddings. Both our DJ and our caterer have posted TONS of pics from our wedding. I wouldn’t have known except I looked them up on instagram just because I was vendor-stalking. I shared a pic of our tent with the tent company when they sent me my final receipt and THAT went straight up in their Instagram. My officiant took and posted pics on her Facebook as well. It’s pretty standard wedding fare, it’s how these people get and promote business. I started looking actively after I saw the first posts, and found all sorts of stuff from our wedding. I was excited to find it. I honestly don’t see it as any different as our guests taking pictures and posting them, which is very commonplace. I had guests that I’m not Facebook friends with put up albums, and I only found out about when someone else shared some of the pics with me or referenced them in conversation (and I went looking).

I’d rather them not tag me so that random people don’t start snooping on my page. I do think they should have given you a heads up because they are pics of YOU that you haven’t seen yet...but it all depends on what your contract says.

All my vendors asked prior to the wedding about sharing on social media. Most of them were just posting detail shots. My wedding planner did include a picture of me but it wasn't a close up.

My photographer did not post any pictures without showing us first. He wanted to make sure he removed any pictures I did not like. There were a few I personally did not find flattering so I did not want them shared. I just consider that a basic courtesy.

I think it's worth just mentioning it would have been nice to be given a heads up esp since you haven't seen them at all.

Our contract allows the photographer to do the same. Yours probably didn't tag you to protect your privacy.