Questions for all wedding photographers ....

[DepthOfFocus]

Hi Again! Questions for all the wedding photographers here:

A) Given that you'll take anywhere from 500-1500 images on the day of, how many images do you end up providing to your clients?
B) For The ones that are provided to the client, are ALL of them edited? Or Do you ever give them any straight from the camera?
C) If the client wishes to share them on Social media, do you have a policy that they only display watermarked images?
D) Do photographers generally have the same scheme regarding the above points, or is everyone all over the place?
E) When editing, do you always keep the editing style the same on all the images, Or do you always switch it up? Do you ever give the client different samples of different presets and edit based on what the client likes?

Thanks!

 

[pixmedic]

A: depends on how many we think are worth keeping. wedding from 2 months ago, we took roughly 1000 pictures, and the bride/groom got somewhere around 170 pictures, including a dozen or so that were just B&W conversions. wedding from late last month we took roughly 1600 pictures, and the final tally is looking like it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 250ish, plus whatever few get done in B&W.

B: NOTHING but a final edited picture goes to a client. EVER. (thats just how we do it, others may have a different policy)

C: not really. preview shots WE post on social media sites have a watermark. if the clients pay for digital copies, they can display them on their sites without the watermark.

D: eh...hard to say. i can only speak for myself.

E: we do things basically the same. we try to have a consistent product. we never show a client different edits and let them pick. clients will hire us based on them liking the way we shoot and process, so we want to keep that consistent when we do their shots.

 

[Big Mike]

A) Really depends on the 'Events' that are covered. I could boil down a ceremony and formals to 100 or less, but 4 hours at a reception might yield 300 unique and usable shots.
My philosophy is usually to avoid giving them duplicates or shots that are only subtly different, so I give them as few as I can...but when there is a party reception, many of the photos end up being unique.

B)I certainly process all the ones that they see/get...but the level of processing or editing will vary. I'll spend more time & effort on ones that are more likely to sell as (large) prints...the 'portfolio' type shots etc. But if it's just a picture of their drunk uncle with a tie around his head, I'll just do a quick crop/color/exposure.

C)If they purchase the 'limited usage rights' to the images (I give them a disc), then I don't mind if they post to social media etc. A long as they don't represent them as their own etc. But if I only put them onto my on-line gallery, I wouldn't be happy to see them being used, unless they were somehow linked back to my gallery.

D)From what I've seen...it's all over the place.

E)Not all the images. Some I follow my instinct and edit to where I think it makes the strongest image...even if that means it's not consistent with the 'standard' editing that most of them get. For example, I'll often use some B&W images, but I don't usually give them both color and B&W versions.
But most of them do have a certain consistency as a result of my own personal editing style.

 

[CCericola]

A) Given that you'll take anywhere from 500-1500 images on the day of, how many images do you end up providing to your clients?

Enough to tell the complete story of the day. On average 100-200

B) For The ones that are provided to the client, are ALL of them edited? Or Do you ever give them any straight from the camera?

The proofs are just color corrected and maybe cropped. Only the images chosen are retouched.

C) If the client wishes to share them on Social media, do you have a policy that they only display watermarked images?

I give them digital copies for social media when they receive their final order. I watermark now because it's good for business. Never had anyone complain I let you know if someone does.

D) Do photographers generally have the same scheme regarding the above points, or is everyone all over the place?

All over the place.

E) When editing, do you always keep the editing style the same on all the images, Or do you always switch it up? Do you ever give the client different samples of different presets and edit based on what the client likes?

The same so the entire story is cohesive. But each wedding may have a different feel. But this will have been discussed already with the bride and groom.

 

[DepthOfFocus]

Thanks everyone for your responses!
It seems that the general consensus is that a couple hundred are always provided, enough to tell a story of the day!

 

[hirejn]

Your questions have subjective answers. There are no rules.

I usually end up presenting about a third of the images I take. I never take more than about 1,500. The first step for me is culling, even before I categorize. I then edit what's left, usually about 300 to 500. The numbers are not "given." Some photographers shoot more than 1,500, a lot more. I never show a client an unfinished image, unless it's on the back of the LCD. Some don't even do that. I offer watermarked Facebook images and full-res unwatermarked files separately, depending on what the client wants to pay for. The Facebook files are included. The full versions are extra. I achieve the look I want in camera and then finish it in post, so the editing style plays a small part. I apply presets when possible to speed up editing, but my goal is to never spend more than five minutes on an image (it's usually not that much). I design my own presets but buying them is an option. I may do additional edits on portfolio images to give them an extra polish. I have sole discretion on how images are edited. People come to me for what they see, so my style changes for no one but me.

If I'm a second shooter these rules change and I typically hand the files to the first shooter and am done. That's the easiest way to go, but it pays less.

Don't do weddings without professional training.