Nigerian Wedding Storyteller Emeka Amafor known as BedgePictures weighed in on the issue on his Insta stories and this is what he had to say:
“While it is common decency to feed your photographer at your wedding, it’s a must and when you’re paying for the service, sometimes gets overlooked. Photographers, you either make provisions in your contract requesting a break so you and your team can get something to eat is essential or you could request to be fed (still in contract). Never presume that you will be fed just because you’re working for them”
Also Tosin Junaid, a Nigerian based portrait photographer weighed in on the issue stating his ‘two cents’:
“The nature of wedding photography makes it very tricky, as a portrait photographer, I don’t go shoot a client and expect to be fed, But with weddings ehn, it’s different… most times your day starts at 5:00am and ends at 11:00pm and you really can’t catch a break to go outside of the venue/hotel to eat, especially in Lagos (if traffic catch you and you miss the bride’s entrance. WAHALA)… Maybe the solution is to put it in the contract as people are suggesting “WE REQUIRE A 1 HOUR BREAK TO FEED”. Still doesn’t make sense sha, when there’s food at the event”
The topic is quite controversial but at the root of the matter is all hired help must feed. I’ve photographed a couple of weddings in my still growing career and I’ve always made it a point of reference to have my assistant buy snacks that we could eat in between ceremonial rites that don’t require documentation. It’s all based on some form of understanding between yourself (the photographer) and your client.
Have you ever been the ‘unfed‘ photographer? Leave us a comment detailing your experience and your take on the issue.
