Hi All :o)

I am just about to book my photgrapher/videographer (done by the same company) and I odnt know if I am to include them in our dinner or not? We are charged $140 per person at the venue we have booked which covers all food and alc for the night. Do I need to include the photographers (there will be 2 or 3 of them)??

I would be really interested to know what happens here. As far as I see it, they are employees on the evening, plus you are paying them to do what they do, not eat and drink alcohol! I have not included the photographers in the numbers.

Hi Jacinta,
My fiance runs a video production company(Sunshine Video Productions) and I know that he never expects to be included in the dinner. They're there to do a job and while might appreciate the offer of a glass of wine, would prefer to keep professional at all times. I'm sure the company you've hired would think the same way.

Thanks for that Melissa :)

I have asked SO many of my married friends about this! There reply was NO you do not have to include them in the dinner - you are paying them to provide you a service! Are you going to ask the Waiters etc to the dinner too! LOL - good point! Up to you at the end of the day! After all it is YOUR day!

I have booked our photographers (2 of them) and they are going to be there with us for the full day, which is probably close to 12 hours for them, so they have asked for dinner. They said they always request this when they shoot the full day. This is not dinner as in, paying the per head price and sitting down at a table with guests, they would eat out the back somewhere and just want a normal plate of food, doesnt have to be fancy. I havent spoken to the venue about this yet, but assume it wont be a problem and will be at a lesser price than the per head price for guests. We are having a buffet meal. Hope this helps. :) I assume that if your photographers are all day and dont request food, then maybe they sneak away somewhere and get fed during the reception dinner?? Not sure. Just ask them. :)

That's a great question and I thought I'd post an answer from a photographer's viewpoint. Having owned my own photography business both here in NZ, Australia and other overseas locations I have to say that it often depends on culture and location.

Here in NZ, imo, a meal is not expected by the photographer although if it is an all day shoot the offer of some nibblies at least is usually gratefully received. Personally I wouldn't think of drinking alcohol on the job but as you are on a job with lots going on it's not uncommon for there to be no offers of even a glass of water. So to ensure I work at top performance level I always make sure i come prepared with atleast a bottle of water or I'm not too shy to ask for a glass of water during the day :)

In Australia it seemed atleast in my experience to be common practice to included the photographer in the meal, which did surprise me to begin with being a kiwi myself.

At the end of the day, here in NZ, the photographer would be very unlikely to expect a meal and certainly won't think any the less of you if you don't offer. But if there's a plate of nibblies going around - offering the photographer a bite to eat during the day might be a nice gesture and pay dividends in having your photographer stay at the top of their game :)

Hope that might help.

Kind regards
Marie-Claire
MOMENTS IN TIME PHOTOGRAPHY

Although I am not a photographer, I would guess its a similar thing for djs. Often I provide a background music system and mics for ceremony and dinner, then come back to begin with the first dance after meal and speeches, in which case there would be no food expected. I never drink alcohol at weddings and doubt there are any professional djs or photographers that do.

However if I am there for the full days service from setup before ceremony right thru until packdown after closing at midnight, that could be up to 15 hours onsite and I would be looking for some food at some stage. Not the full four course meal, but a plate of dinner to keep me going would be a must. Most venues will put together something for the workers to eat out the back for a reduced rate if you ask them.

Really depends on the photographer I guess - best to ask what their expectations are.

Hi all,

Another photographer's point of view!

If we are due to leave once everyone sits down to dinner then we don't expect to be fed. We do bring water with us but it's great when there's non-alcoholic drinks on site that we are able to have (as it's not always possible to lug round water bottles around with us).

If we are doing 8+ hours on the day and are staying on into the evening (after everyone's eaten) then we do ask that we be fed something to keep us going! It wouldn't be very professional to leave to get food while we're working and many of the venues we visit can be a long way from shops so it wouldn't be physically possible anyway. We definitely don't expect to be seating with guests and are completely content with a sandwich out the back so I don't see it as being too big an expectation!

Hope that helps.

Eleanor Gannon
Jel Photography
www.jelphoto.co.nz

Hi,

As photographers we don't mind if you have dinner for us or not but we always like to know so we can organize to bring something with us.

Most venues will offer you food even if you are not included in the numbers as they like to keep everyone happy.

Short answer talk to the photographer as see what they expect. Also remember if they are well fed they will be in less of a hurry to leave when you speeches run long.

Michael Wilson
www.kathrynwilsonphotography.com