6 easy ways to show appreciation for your wedding photographer (that will make them swoon!)

Being a wedding photographer is AMAZING. I mean, we get to capture one of the most important, meaningful days in your lives, creating timeless photographs for you. But with that comes a lot of work and responsibility. We work so hard to run our businesses successfully, continuously learning, and staying on top of everything.

We put so much time, energy, and love into our work — it really means so much to us when a client returns the love. Of course, we love it when you pay your invoices on time, and tips are never expected, but always appreciated. But there are some really easy, totally free things you can do that really make our hearts happy.

Here are some simple things you can do to show some wedding photographer appreciation…

Tell us if you like your photos

I know: it sounds like a no-brainer, but it happens all the time! We photographers spend so much time carefully editing your photos until we think they're perfect. When we deliver them to you, we're SO gosh darn excited for you to see them! And then… crickets. I know it's probably because you're also so excited to get them, and you love them so much you're speechless, and you can't wait to show them to all your friends and family, and well, you just might forget to send a note to your photographer. If you take a second to send a quick note that just says, “we love them!” that's enough to totally make our day.

Of course, if you don't like them, let us know! We can probably do something about it, and we're happy to.

Tag us online

Word of mouth is a huge thing, and a lot of us photographers prefer not to spend a fortune on advertising (also helps us keep our prices lower). When you tag our business on social media, it helps spread the word.

Don't re-edit your photos

It takes years of hard work, frustration, learning, and a ton of money to become an experienced photographer with a consistent portfolio. We constantly grow as artists and are so proud of our work. Please don't take the photos we create and slap filters on them, change the colors, or crop them. It hurts our feelings when we put so much love into creating our work for you. By leaving them as they're intended to be, our work is represented accurately.

Leave us a review

When a great review gets posted about my business, the clouds part in the sky, the rays of sun come streaming down, and birds start singing. It literally makes me so happy, my eyes tear up! This is why we do what we do. So take the time to leave a review if you're happy with your photographer — it will mean so much to them.

Have an unplugged wedding

Nowadays, everyone and their mom is a photographer. At weddings, everyone has their phone out, taking photos and videos of pretty much every single moment. It's awesome that we have that technology at our fingertips. What stinks about it is when we photographers are trying to do our jobs and Aunt Sally is totally in our way, trying to get the first kiss on her phone. Or when Uncle Bob is constantly following us around with his camera, taking the same shots as us, because he thinks he's doing you a huge favor and wants to send you his photos. He doesn't realize he's actually totally distracting us, getting in the way, and making it very difficult for us to do our jobs.

It's becoming more normal to ask guests to put away their cameras and devices during the ceremony and family portraits. You can ask the officiant to make an announcement, and there are really cute signs you can get to put around the area.

Refer us to your friends

All the ads, brochures, and billboards in the world aren't as effective as a great referral from someone you trust. So if you've had an awesome experience with a photographer, tell all your friends and family. We appreciate it so much, and a lot of us have rewards for sending people to us.