If you missed the first post in the “What Happens to Photos After the Wedding?” series, you can read Part 1 here.
So now that you know we’re kind of crazy about backing up, let’s get on to the post-processing details:
Step Four – Color-Correction (1-2 weeks)
We then send that pared down set of images out to our color-correction lab and it takes up to two weeks for them to return the images to us (they’re usually in a short queue, not because they work on them that whole time). Because most weddings are shot in a variety of lighting situations, each image may have different corrections needed – and we’re big on consistency. If you’re thinking of printing your photos in an album, you’ll also really appreciate this sort of consistency in lighting. This is all done in Lightroom, and we shoot all our images in RAW which allows for the highest flexibility in editing.
One note: up until the middle of last year, we did this step in-house. Since we’ve been more clearly defining our strengths and goals, we’ve realized that this is one area we’re comfortable out-sourcing, since it is higher in basic technical skills rather than creativity/artistic ability. Though we’re fully capable of doing this, we are equally fully confident in our choice of editors, and do not feel that it subtracts from our brand/style in any way. It also allows us a bit more time to pour our efforts into other creative areas in the business.
One note: up until the middle of last year, we did this step in-house. Since we’ve been more clearly defining our strengths and goals, we’ve realized that this is one area we’re comfortable out-sourcing, since it is higher in basic technical skills rather than creativity/artistic ability. Though we’re fully capable of doing this, we are equally fully confident in our choice of editors, and do not feel that it subtracts from our brand/style in any way. It also allows us a bit more time to pour our efforts into other creative areas in the business.
Step Five – Creative/Final Edits (5-10 hours)
From there, we work through the photos in both Lightroom and a little in Photoshop, deciding which ones – and how – to edit; we make sure they look as flattering and yet, consistent, as possible (within reason; there are always different lighting situations that make some photos less flattering than others). Ultimately, with this medium, it’s a creative/artistic process and the final product is subject to our best, professional discretion.
Step Six – Upload Images to Blog & Gallery (6-8 hours)
Lastly, the images are uploaded to a a blog post as well as your own password-protected online gallery for viewing, sharing & ordering. This can take up to 8 hours, depending on the amount of final images and if our internet connection goes crazy or not (it’s never fun when that happens…), because by this step we’re soo ready to show the images, but we just have to be patient. :)
In Summary
If you do the approximate math, this all totals to around 3-4 weeks. We, personally, quote six weeks for delivery of wedding photos, because this doesn’t even include things like emails, phone conversations/consultations, writing blog posts, other weddings and sessions, as well as those sessions we’ve already shot that are at a earlier/higher priority in our working queue, and taking a day or two off from work (i.e. what we call “weekends”, though it may not actually fall on a weekend)!
You can read Part 3 here – some thoughts on balancing art and business.
You can read Part 3 here – some thoughts on balancing art and business.
