Wedding photographer and professionals please advise
Discussion
I got married last year, I asked for full size processed jpegs, rather than raw files, as I didn't want to process hundreds of someone elses photos - especially given all the photos I had to sort through/process after the honeymoon.
I'd concentrate on finding a photographer that you can both get on with, rather than ruling people out based on one requirement.
I'd concentrate on finding a photographer that you can both get on with, rather than ruling people out based on one requirement.
My wedding photographer gave me all of the RAW and JPG files and said do what you want with them.
However he was a friend who insisted on doing it for nothing!
Do you really need the RAW files though? Just get them to give you natural looking JPGs. Unless you want to do some really OTT processing that's all you really need I would've thought? It's all about the emotions rather than what Lightroom presets were used!
However he was a friend who insisted on doing it for nothing!
Do you really need the RAW files though? Just get them to give you natural looking JPGs. Unless you want to do some really OTT processing that's all you really need I would've thought? It's all about the emotions rather than what Lightroom presets were used!
Podie said:
I attended a wedding a few years ago, and got chatting to the photographer. Interestingly, he said he only shoots in JPEG as he "gets it right first time"
Whether that was a brush off or not, I don't know - but thought it was an interesting claim.
There are some very, very highly regarded wedding photographers shooting JPEG, crop-sensors too. In fact Fuji's do those things exceptionally well so many who use those happily shoot JPEG.Whether that was a brush off or not, I don't know - but thought it was an interesting claim.
I think most non wedding photographers lose sight of what wedding photographs are for. 98% of brides want emotions and moments captured, they don't care how the photographer gets there.
ukaskew said:
There are some very, very highly regarded wedding photographers shooting JPEG, crop-sensors too. In fact Fuji's do those things exceptionally well so many who use those happily shoot JPEG.
I think most non wedding photographers lose sight of what wedding photographs are for. 98% of brides want emotions and moments captured, they don't care how the photographer gets there.
Surely you are effectively shooting yourself in the foot if you don't shoot RAW + JPEG? The JPEGS might be 98% perfect but with RAW it can be so much easier to fix something in post compared to a JPEG. Even if you are that good it's always worth having a little bit of a back-up, no?I think most non wedding photographers lose sight of what wedding photographs are for. 98% of brides want emotions and moments captured, they don't care how the photographer gets there.
I'm a commercial photographer and asked my wedding photographer for the RAW files. I enjoyed his shooting style but his photos were always too over processed. He refused and I said, I enjoy your style, just tone down the processing by 50% and I'll be happy. I should have known better and walked away whilst I had the chance.
He didn't do as asked and was against changing ANYTHING. My wife and I ended up getting dressed up and going and re-shooting all of our couples photos a few months after the wedding. The photographer who shot that was a friend and colleague and he happily sent over the RAWs. Photos were exactly what I wanted as I processed them and I was happy.
Find someone who you connect with, not someone who fits the budget. You want your photographer to work with you and not just to fulfil their own personal agenda. Most wedding photographers have a certain look/style that they want to keep too for 'branding' or whatever so they won't share RAW files. Personally, I do - if my clients want RAW files then the best way for me to serve my clients is by sending over the RAW files. This has only ever backfired once where the edits weren't as good as I could have done.
I'm sure you'll get it worked out, perhaps you could negotiate that they just come and shoot the wedding, do a card dump at the end of the day and no retouching or editing is required and you'll do it yourself. You might end up with worse photos this way so be careful - I done this on one commercial job and the retouched photos looked better than anything I could have done!!
He didn't do as asked and was against changing ANYTHING. My wife and I ended up getting dressed up and going and re-shooting all of our couples photos a few months after the wedding. The photographer who shot that was a friend and colleague and he happily sent over the RAWs. Photos were exactly what I wanted as I processed them and I was happy.
Find someone who you connect with, not someone who fits the budget. You want your photographer to work with you and not just to fulfil their own personal agenda. Most wedding photographers have a certain look/style that they want to keep too for 'branding' or whatever so they won't share RAW files. Personally, I do - if my clients want RAW files then the best way for me to serve my clients is by sending over the RAW files. This has only ever backfired once where the edits weren't as good as I could have done.
I'm sure you'll get it worked out, perhaps you could negotiate that they just come and shoot the wedding, do a card dump at the end of the day and no retouching or editing is required and you'll do it yourself. You might end up with worse photos this way so be careful - I done this on one commercial job and the retouched photos looked better than anything I could have done!!
An interesting and timely thread here - I've just booked a photographer for our wedding, and am a little nervous about asking for the RAWs for fear of offending her now (she's an old acquaintance). That said, I'd like to have them for the future in case I want to process the pictures in a different style a few years down the line.
[pedant mode]raw not RAW, it's not an acronym[/pedant mode]
If she knows you're a photographer too she should understand why you want the raw files. Whether she gives them to you or not is up to her, but she'd have to be really touchy to mind being asked!
Krikkit said:
An interesting and timely thread here - I've just booked a photographer for our wedding, and am a little nervous about asking for the RAWs for fear of offending her now (she's an old acquaintance). That said, I'd like to have them for the future in case I want to process the pictures in a different style a few years down the line.
I don't see why it would offend anyone. She knows you have confidence in her abilities because you've already booked her!If she knows you're a photographer too she should understand why you want the raw files. Whether she gives them to you or not is up to her, but she'd have to be really touchy to mind being asked!
We have a nice wedding photo on the wall at the in-laws, lovely. Have not opened our photo album in 19 years, 20th anniversary this year. Think of that when assessing the cost. We did not spend a fortune but did hire the best local professional and have some lovely shots but the ones taken by friends and subsequently scanned and posted on facebook have had far more coverage.
As above, only married 4 years but don't think I've seen 98% of our wedding photos for at least 3 and a half! Lovely to have, but not worth getting worked about.
Finding a photographer that understands your day and is right for you (be that barely noticed, or directing exactly the setup shots you really want) is as important as the final product. I know several brides who feel their wedding day has almost been ruined by an overpowering photographer.
It's why I never get hung up about 'only' delivering 250-300 photos on a wedding day. My style just seems to fall into that number, absolutely everything is still covered. I know some expect/demand 600+, which is bonkers given most will hardly ever be looked at again.
Ironically given we had little interest in the group shots, just wanting a natural record of the day, it's the group shots we have looked back at, particularly as we've lost quite a few family members since.
Finding a photographer that understands your day and is right for you (be that barely noticed, or directing exactly the setup shots you really want) is as important as the final product. I know several brides who feel their wedding day has almost been ruined by an overpowering photographer.
It's why I never get hung up about 'only' delivering 250-300 photos on a wedding day. My style just seems to fall into that number, absolutely everything is still covered. I know some expect/demand 600+, which is bonkers given most will hardly ever be looked at again.
Ironically given we had little interest in the group shots, just wanting a natural record of the day, it's the group shots we have looked back at, particularly as we've lost quite a few family members since.
ukaskew said:
Ironically given we had little interest in the group shots, just wanting a natural record of the day, it's the group shots we have looked back at, particularly as we've lost quite a few family members since.
It's an interesting point - the photos are not just for yourselves and instant gratification, but history for the future. My parents didn't have a photographer at their wedding and no photos exist. I will always wonder what they looked like then and who was there.It's quite funny as I myself shoot weddings and for sure I'd say no to your question- simply, it's my work, you buy my service, done my way and you can't just buy a painting from Van Gogh and then re-paint it. But at the same time... for my own wedding I'd ask exactly for RAW's even if I had to pay more for that. Hypocrisy. For example, http://www.annasokol.co.uk/weddings < her pictures are lovely and warm, I wouldn't mind hiring her but then what if in 2019 I'd be all about high-key and glitter fonts?!
elwina said:
It's quite funny as I myself shoot weddings and for sure I'd say no to your question- simply, it's my work, you buy my service, done my way and you can't just buy a painting from Van Gogh and then re-paint it. But at the same time... for my own wedding I'd ask exactly for RAW's even if I had to pay more for that. Hypocrisy.
The conflict is that you're not prepared to offer the servce that you yourself would want. As a newbie I carved my lump out of the market by identifying with the customers and providing what they DID want. Then, all else being satisfactory, all you have to do is open the bag and the money falls in.Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff