Feeding Your Wedding Photographer

Ok, we as photographers are not being fed at the moment due to Covid-19. So this may be a good time as a venue to look at your practices going forward when it comes to feeding your wedding photographer. This is also useful information for couples when planning their wedding.

Right from the start, I am not saying that I am more special than your clients/guests. So what is the purpose of this post? Simply, I’m hoping that some of this will make everyone’s day go smoother, and their experience better.

Should You Feed Your Photographer?

So you are already paying us a lot of money, and now we are asking for a meal too? Personally, I leave this up to the couple. What I do ask is that you let us know if a meal is being provided so that we can make arrangements if one is not. A lot of caterers will include meals for the photographer in their package, these are the good ones! This is often just the main course, sometimes 2 courses, and that’s fine.

If you are a couple that wants to provide a meal and you are paying the caterers for the full meal, then make sure you get what you have paid for. I have heard of couples paying for starter, main and dessert and only providing a sandwich and crisps. Happily, this type of underhanded practice is rare.

When Should the Photographer be Fed?

This is perhaps the contentious bit, but it is my recommendation that the photographer is served after the main table, before the rest of the guests. A lot of venues and caterers feed the photographer only after all the other guests have been fed. This can create a problem for the photographer or videographer as it means we sometimes have to leave a plate of food on the table and run off to cover the speeches. If we are lucky, it’ll still be there when we get back but often it’s been cleared away and we end up snaffling sweets to keep going 😂 .

It’s important for us that we can do the best job possible for our couple and food is a basic need to keep going. When I’m shooting a wedding I’m constantly on the move, looking for great shots, and this burns a lot of energy. So, I need refuelling. Feeding us when I suggest means that we have the time to eat our meal, and be ready for the speeches or whatever happens next.

Would the Photographer Like to Sit With the Guests?

Generally, no. Where possible, most wedding photographers I know would prefer to sit in a side room to eat. It is lovely that our couples get to know us and want to include us, some even add us to their seating plan. But a separate room is still preferable. There are a couple of reasons for this:

This mealtime is our break in what can be a very long day and the last thing we want to do is have to make conversation rather than have some downtime.

This is also the point in the day when many of us back up the first half of the day, check over our equipment and make sure everything is ready for the rest of the day. Personally, I back up to my laptop and an external drive, check over the images and send a few to the couple. Swap my batteries out in the cameras and put the others on to charge, and maybe share a few bits to Instagram.

Dietary Requirements

I have none. I prefer not to have fish, but that’s just a personal preference and I’ll eat most things. It’s always fine to check though and if you are providing a meal for your photographer then let them know and it’s down to them to let you know about allergies or specific dietary requirements.