Vignette can help you pay an independent contractor who worked on a booking, such as a second shooter, assistant, associate photographer, videographer, or content creator.
Check that the team member is ready
The Pay contractor action appears after the person accepts the team invitation.
The team member also needs:
- A verified Vignette account connected to the invited email
- A payment account that is ready to receive money
- An hourly rate on this booking assignment
If something is missing, the Team row explains what needs to happen next.
Until the person accepts, their row shows the invitation status, such as Email sent, with a Resend button.
Review hours and pay
- Open the booking.
- Find the person in the Team card.
- Select Pay contractor.
- Confirm the hours worked.
- Review or adjust the contractor's pay.
- Check the amount the contractor receives, the estimated processing fee, and your total.
- Continue to the secure payment page and finish the payment.
The scheduled booking hours are only a starting point. Use the hours the person actually worked.
Understand the payment status
The Team row can show that payment is waiting, processing, paid, or not completed.
Do not start a second payment while the first one is still processing. Refresh the booking and check the current status first. A completed assignment cannot be paid twice through this action.
The contractor receives the money through their connected payment account and its payout schedule. The hiring photographer pays the contractor amount and the estimated Stripe processing cost. Vignette keeps no part of the contractor payment.
The final processing cost can differ from the estimate because the payment method, card country, currency, or Stripe pricing can differ.
Find the payment later
The hiring photographer can review the payment from the booking's Team card. The contractor can see settled team earnings in their own Finance area.
The contractor opens Finance → Team earnings to see these payments.
The contractor's view shows the hiring studio, role, booking label, event date, hours, rate, and paid amount. It does not provide access to the hiring studio's client, notes, contract, payment plan, gallery, or booking workspace.
What Vignette does behind the scenes
Vignette saves a copy of the confirmed hours, rate, and pay with the payment record. Later changes to the person's default rate do not rewrite a payment that already happened.
Payment becomes settled only after the payment provider confirms it. This keeps a browser closing early from making an unfinished payment look complete.
This is not payroll: Vignette does not decide whether someone is an employee or contractor. It does not calculate payroll withholding, benefits, or employment taxes. Use a proper agreement and ask a qualified professional about your responsibilities.