A lot of things are instant these days…coffee (blech), messaging, replay, and photos–right? You take a photo with your camera, and voila, you can see it immediately. And if you took it with your phone, you can upload it to facebook and tag all your friends in a matter of seconds.
So, you may ask yourself, “Why don’t I get my wedding photos back instantly?” And you may be wondering what exactly I do with all your wedding photos before you see them.
True, most people don’t expect to see their wedding photos immediately…but I think there is some lack of understanding as to what kind of work is involved post-wedding. In reality, the amount of time I spend photographing a wedding is only a fraction of the time that I spend editing it. So, what exactly is my editing process? After 50+ wedding and events, I’ve certainly streamlined my system (though there is always room for improvement!).
Here’s what I do:
1. Download all the files to my computer/external hard drive (I’ll start this process while I’m working on something else because it can take upwards of an hour or more).
2. Import all my files into Lightroom and organize them. I shoot only in RAW format (which, is like it sounds–an “uncooked” type of file which must be edited).
3. Select which files I will most likely keep by starring and flagging them.
4. Color correct (white balance), crop (if necessary), and adjust exposure (if necessary) for all starred files. At the same time, I’ll also probably cut out some more files which I think are duplicates or just aren’t good on closer inspection. This step is usually the longest for me. It’s also something I’ve contemplated outsourcing but haven’t yet.
5. Export all files from Lightroom into JPEG format (at this point all the adjustments I made are actually applied to the photos).
6. Open up Adobe Bridge and batch convert specific photos (which I’ve already starred) to black and white through Photoshop. I have created a specific action in Photoshop that I use for all of my black and white conversions.
7. Select which photos I will blog and run final Photoshop actions on them, including stamping my logo.
8. Blog wedding.
9. At this point, if there is an album to design (and depending on how quickly I’ve gotten everything else done), I will design the album and upload it to the website.
10. Run final actions on all remaining photos through Bridge and Photoshop. For me, I like to keep it simple, so my the actions I use are very clean. I will also individually edit photos if there are some visible major blemishes on the bride and/or groom.
11. Batch rename files (I do this now because I may have cut out one or two more photos).
12. Upload files to website and notify bride and groom their photos are up.
13. Make any album changes, if necessary.
14. Burn DVD of images and send to bride and groom.
15. This is a step I have a habit of omitting but I want to do more often: update website and blog with new photos.
16. Delete RAW files (this step doesn’t happen immediately (usually), but I eventually discard all my RAW files. There’s no need for me to keep them at this point.
Technically, I would like to add some more steps involving sending files/photos to vendors on a regular basis, but I haven’t gotten to that point.
All in all, you can see there is quite a bit of time and effort involved in editing photos. Shooting is only the first step. As far as my turn around time goes, I think I am one of the fastest in the industry. I usually have all the photos uploaded to my website within a week or two (and blogged it before then). I know of people who wait 3+ months to get their images back from their photographer. For me, that’s just too long… So, while you won’t see your photos immediately after your wedding, please know you’ll see them very soon (and I’m working very hard on them)!
As an example of the changes I do on the photos, see below. I’ve been editing Kerry and Josh’s wedding…
The first photo is straight out of the camera. It looks OK, but it’s perhaps a tad underexposed and very flat looking.
After all my editing, this is what I get. Much better!
More to come from this wedding soon!
by mary
Mark - Great Clean Workflow! I try to automate my workflow as much as possible to be consistent. How long does your typical wedding take from Download to Lightroom to Finish Edits? 6hrs? or More????
Heather - I think you are doing these blogs just for me! Thanks!
Sumer Schmitt - Great informative blog, Mary! Very well explained!
caroline - I remember reading a comment on Twitter where someone was just amazed that a photographer would have photos to the client in 2 weeks. As much as I do carefully pore over photos, I can’t imagine taking 3 or more months to deliver them, and I’ve always told all of my couples to expect them within 2 weeks.
Leeann Marie - I think that workflow sounds pretty darn reasonable and is pretty similar to mine. However, I usually blog my weddings the week after the wedding if my couples are on honeymoons so they can see them right away with everyone else. Also, I love lingering just a bit longer sometimes, so for some sessions I’ll use AutoLoader to work every photo in Photoshop, but it saves a lot of time.