Photographer & tipping

I’d do one big thank you in the end. That way you can see all of the finished products.

I tipped our photographer generously after our engagement session, and plan to do so again after our wedding. I worked in the bartending industry during college, and quickly learned that people in service industries are highly motivated by $$$.
If you want a bartender to pay attention to you and get your order in a sea of people, you tip them! I wanted my photographer to feel appreciated and motivated to do a great job on our photos. And it worked, because she got them back to us quicker than her typical turnaround time, and she gave us literally twice as many photos as she usually gives couples! Now I know she will be highly motivated to do a good job on our wedding photos as well, because she knows we will be tipping her well.

Everyone will probably hate on this, but according to professionals in the wedding industry, the photographer doesn't expect a tip at all. Maybe it's different if it's like a company and you get given a random photographer they have so they're only getting a percentage of what you actually pay, but if they own their business they won't expect anything extra from you. They set their price. If you don't believe me, Jamie Wolfer on YouTube dedicated a whole video to tipping vendors.

Definitely do not tip until you receive final product. I’ve seen some brides on here that are chasing pictures for months.

View Quoted Comment Thank you, yeah I’m definitely slightly worried cause she said engagements I’d get back in 3-4 weeks. It took 7 1/2 weeks 😓. I just took bridals EARLY because of this. My wedding is in October.

One big thank you at the end would be enough, because it's simply more convinient. Besides, you never know if the photographer is going to do additional services like a smartshow 3d slideshow with the best of photos as a gift, too, so tipping after the whole thing is the key imo.