Weddingbee Blog

Originally published on February 2, 2009

One of the questions that comes up quite often here in the hive is, “how long did it take for your photographer to get your proofs to you?” Ms. Gazelle nominated Mrs. Avocado’s post on why your photographer may tell you it will be 8 weeks (or more) before you get your wedding photos back.

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As soon as I saw this post on the blog of Ksenija Savic (who might just have a harder name to say than I do!), I commented and asked her if I could re-post it here. I loved Anne Ruthmann’s post on Weddingbee PRO that talked about this very subject (and in fact, Ksenija’s post was inspired by Anne’s post). Ksenija took things a step further and broke down in hours how long each step of the process takes.

All the words and photos past this point are by Ksenija herself. I hope this helps you understand just a little bit better what it takes to process a wedding.

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Why does it take so long to receive my wedding/portrait images?

(Heather & I decided to collaborate on the verbiage for this post!)

While we haven’t had anyone ask us these questions, at times we wish they would! We wonder if people might be asking themselves these questions, or if they perhaps want to know more about the logistics of it all!

Let’s use a wedding as an example! Here are the basic steps of the process we fine art photographers go through the minute your session or wedding is over.

Step one:

We load all memory cards into the computer in order to properly back up your beloved photos. Then we begin what seems to be a NEVER ENDING process burning DVDs of these files to make sure the images are safe. We also back them up to an external hard drive!

EXAMPLE: 3500 images = 8 to 10 hours (MINIMUM)

Step two:
Thousands of images are reviewed (often times up to 4500 images… yes, 4500!). One by one, we choose the best of the best images, to help make your life easier. The idea behind narrowing down images is to make sure only the most perfect shots are edited and given to you. We take so many to make sure we can have a grand selection of every moment, as well as duplicates to ensure the moment is captured!!!
This process takes hours and hours. We look at each individual image and decide which ones to keep and which ones we don’t.

EXAMPLE: 2500 images = 2 to 4 hours (MINIMUM)

Step three:
Somewhere between 100 and 300 top favorite images are selected and then given very special artistic effects that are custom to the photographer’s style. This makes your wedding unique and special! This is the part of the process that takes the most time, energy, and personal touch, as well. In order to provide you with the beautiful, one of a kind, fine art you invested in, this process most definitely cannot be rushed.

EXAMPLE: 75 images = 10 hours (MINIMUM)

Step four:
A blog post is created so that you have a great sneak peek to be able to view, share, and enjoy some of the top faves from your day! I really LOVE being able to make my blog posts as special and personal as possible. I want your first look at your wedding pictures to be moving and memorable.

An blog post from start to finish takes me on average about 24 hours & up (MINIMUM)!

Step five:
Color and density is corrected in each and every image. Images are cropped, if necessary. Because your wedding was shot in a multitude of different lighting situations, each image can require different corrections.

EXAMPLE: 2500 images = 21 hours (MINIMUM)

Step six:
The images are loaded to an online proofing company for viewing, sharing and ordering! Depending on the photographer’s system and the online company used, this process can take several days.

EXAMPLE: 2500 images = 48 hours (MINIMUM)

… So now you can see it typically takes a minimum of 117 hours just to get to this point! This of course doesn’t include other weddings and sessions shot, client meetings, daily emails, phone conversations, downloading/backing up, orders made, album designs, etc. That all happens in the ’in between’ time!

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Thanks to Ksenija for letting me repost this! Check out Ksenija’s blog for more of her beautiful work. If you have any more questions about processing wedding photos, ask them below and I’ll ask Ksenija to come over and answer them for you.

How long did it take your photographer to return your images from your wedding?

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Catch up on Weddingbee’s “Helpful Posts” Series!