Photographer deletes couple’s wedding photos after being denied break to eat and drink

A debate has ignited on social media following a photographer's decision to delete wedding photos they captured after the newlyweds declined to provide a break for the photographer to eat.

The predicament was shared in detail on Reddit's AITA (Am I The A**hole) thread, where the original poster (OP) clarified that they were not a professional photographer but a dog groomer. However, a friend getting married had requested them to photograph the wedding to save money on hiring a professional.

As per the OP's account, the couple had emphasized they would accept less than perfect pictures to cut costs.

“They were on a shoestring budget and I agreed to shoot it for $250, which is nothing for a 10-hour event,” the dog groomer explained.

On the wedding day, the poster mentioned that they accompanied the bride to different appointments to capture moments, then proceeded to photograph the ceremony, reception, and speeches.

Nevertheless, when the moment arrived for the food to be served, approximately two hours before completing the wedding photography, the dog groomer was informed they couldn't take a break to eat, and no seat was reserved for them at a table.

“I started around 11am and was due to finish around 7.30pm. Around 5pm, food is being served and I was told I cannot stop to eat because I need to be photographer; in fact, they didn’t save me a spot at any table. I’m getting tired and at this point kinda regretting doing this for next to nothing. It’s also unbelievably hot: the venue is in an old veteran’s legion and it’s like 110F and there’s no AC,” they wrote.

According to the OP, at that point, they informed the groom that they needed to take a 20-minute break to “get something to eat and drink,” as they were out of water, to which the groom said that they would need to continue photographing or “leave without pay”.

“With the heat, being hungry, being generally annoyed at the circumstances, I asked if he was sure, and he said yes, so I deleted all the photos I took in front of him,” the Reddit user continued, adding that they then left after informing the groom they were “not his photographer anymore”.

In the comments, OP also noted that they had originally been invited to the wedding as a guest, and had RSVP’d with their food choice. As for how they knew the bride and groom, they said that they were “low priority” on the friend list, as they “see each other at functions and that’s really it”.

Do you think it was RIGHT of the dog groomer to delete the photos?