The best things in life are free, but you can leave it to the birds and the bees…I want money,” so goes the song many of us remember and it came to mind this morning when a lovely coordinator we work with – Kelley Cannon – emailed to ask about tips. She wanted to know if it’s standard for couples to tip their videographers, and if so, what is the appropriate amount? Here’s what I had to tell her.
Honestly, we rarely receive tips and we don’t expect them. When we are tipped, it’s typically between $50 – $150 per shooter (and we do a happy dance in the parking lot on our way home). The best ‘tip’ for those couples who’d rather not tip us: provide a hot meal and a parking spot.
After shooting with our hearts and souls to capture the emotions and moments of the day and to ensure the family can revisit every significant moment in their video, it sucks to eat a BLT made the day before served alongside a stale cookie. It’s not always quite so bad, but it has been on occasion and those meals stick out in our minds like a walk down a pirate’s plank. A hot dinner or a divine vendor meal can really rejuvenate a shooter and have them feeling ready to take on the last part of the shoot with renewed vigor! And a parking spot can really take the edge off when shooting in a one-take environment.
Not having valet parking or an assigned spot can be a huge stress on any vendor. There’s no worse feeling than driving around the block searching for an on street spot or garage when you know the bride is inside putting her dress on or the processional is lining up. Yikes! While we do arrive early, if there isn’t a spot available for us, cruising the neighborhood is all we can do (I did have a shooter park illegally, halfway on the sidewalk outside a Cathedral in DC once, and they weren’t even ticketed, but that’s another story!). Spending $10-$20 on parking to ensure your cameras are actually filming and not driving around is a great investment.
The reality is, the meal and the parking spot guarantee that you get as much time in front of that camera as we can possibly provide. Months after, when you’re sitting on the sofa watching your wedding video for the first time, you’ll be thrilled to see all that was captured without you being aware of us. But you’d be really upset if your dad’s impromptu toast was missing because your shooter was out grabbing a burger or feeding the meter. If you can avoid this (and we know that sometimes you can’t), then it’s the best tip we can get!
If you’re looking for more tips on ‘tips’, ask Kelley for a copy of her “Wedding Gratuities Guide” here.
For more tips on how to reduce stress on your wedding day, check out our Less Stress series: Category “How to Reduce Stress on Your Wedding Day”
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