How long should they have to wait for their pictures?

electroniclady · Mar 20, 2012

What is the length of time that you take to edit/post process and deliver proofs or disk? That is, how much time do you give yourself and promise your clients delivery of their pictures after the photo shoot? I typically allow at most 2 weeks. I work another full time job in addition to my photography work and want to give myself ample time to spend on editing/post processing if necessary. But I wonder if this is much too long to ask clients to wait.

tirediron · Mar 20, 2012

Are you talking about a proof gallery or final prints/files? I usually try and have a proof gallery up in about two weeks, but tell clients "two to three". For final prints a two week turn-around is VERY quick. I tell clients six-eight weeks and usually try to have them done in four, but I like breathing room.

Big Mike · Mar 20, 2012

I know several very good professional photographers who's turn-around time is terrible. Month....not weeks.

The problem is that most wedding/portrait photographers are small businesses. They do most of the work themselves...and when they are busy shooting, they don't have a lot of time to spend editing. That's probably a good problem to have because being behind the camera is where you make money, and sitting in front of the computer isn't. But at some point, it's going to bite you (them) in the butt.

I was attending a seminar on the business of photography and the speaker was talking about the time issues with photographers. He said that as the business owner and (main) photographer, you time should be worth $50-$100 per hour. So if you're spending most of your time in front of the computer, when you could be behind the camera, you are loosing money. The solution is to outsource anything that isn't worth your time. So if you can hire someone to do the post processing, and pay them $15-$25/hr, you are still going to be ahead. Not to mention that you'll have more time to yourself (family etc.)

I've seen several photographers work themselves into this situation. They work really hard to get their business going. They book a whole bunch of wedding/portraits and everything is great. But when the busy season hits...they get swamped with work and the backlog of editing in the 'to do' pile, keeps getting bigger and bigger until it looks like they're never catch up. This typically makes them stressed out and burned out...which doesn't help for getting things done any faster. This drives many of them out of business altogether, others have to limit how many jobs they take for the next season etc.

So, my point is...many photographers have a fairly long turn-around time, and if you can get it done in a couple weeks, that is usually going to be good enough for most clients. Of course, I'm assuming that we're talking about weddings & portraits. If we are talking about commercial/editorial photography, turn around time may have to be hours, not days or weeks.

KmH · Mar 20, 2012

electroniclady said:
What is the length of time that you take to edit/post process and deliver proofs or disk? That is, how much time do you give yourself and promise your clients delivery of their pictures after the photo shoot? I typically allow at most 2 weeks. I work another full time job in addition to my photography work and want to give myself ample time to spend on editing/post processing if necessary. But I wonder if this is much too long to ask clients to wait.

Retail, commercial, or editorial?

electroniclady · Mar 20, 2012

Retail -- it portrait photography that I'm referring to. The replies have been very helpful. My two week turnaround is what works for me, but I was wondering what the industry norm is.

imagemaker46 · Mar 20, 2012

All depends on how busy you are, how good you are at editing, how efficient you are, and how many images you are working with. I turn photos around depending on the client, anywhere between an hour and two weeks. Generally it's a few days for up to 500 final keeps.

Tony S · Mar 20, 2012

Usually two weeks but I have gone as far as 30 days when I see on my schedule that my workload is going to be up. It's pretty easy to stay in those time frames now that I won't do weddings any more.

CCericola · Mar 20, 2012

If I had to guess I would say the average is 2 weeks. But I have no statistical data to back that up. I have seen some established studios turn over wedding proofs in a few days only because they pay a staff of people (Admin, Sales, Retouchers, etc...) In reality, I think the idea of 24 hour pictures gives the customer the perception that you are just another cookie cutter photographer like the Mall studios and Department stores. I think 2 weeks is a respectable amount of time. (just my opinion) and you can always offer rush services.