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Wedding photos are usually delivered between 8 and 12 weeks after the wedding date. That is the timeframe many photographers give when answering couples' frequently asked questions. The count starts from the wedding day. Some cases are quicker: the odd photographer prefers not to drag out the wait and delivers the photos in under a week. Such short turnarounds are the exception. Most need two or three months to prepare the collection with care. What makes the difference is the work that comes after the celebration, because hundreds of images have to be chosen, corrected and organised one by one. That is why it is worth the couple knowing the approximate delivery date before booking, and having it in writing. Knowing that the photos will arrive within two or three months means you can wait calmly. Without that date, every extra week feels like a delay.
What happens to the photos after the wedding
A wedding can produce around 4,000 or 5,000 photos. Of all of them, the couple usually receives around 1,000 or 1,200, although it depends on the wedding. Some photographers have delivered more than 2,000 when the day allows for it. The first step is the selection. Every image is gone through, and duplicates, blurred shots and those with someone's eyes closed are discarded, until only the ones that tell the story of the day remain. Next comes the editing, which means adjusting the light and colour of each photo so that the whole collection has a consistent look. Finally, the images are uploaded to a private, password-protected gallery, where the couple can look through them at leisure at home and choose the ones that will go in the album. Several things lengthen the timeframe. The more photos are delivered, the more review time is needed. When two photographers work together, one usually goes to the groom's home and the other to the bride's, so there is more material to bring together. In the busiest wedding months, a studio may cover two weddings per weekend, one each day, and the editing piles up. If there is also a couple's session after the wedding, on the honeymoon or a few weeks later, those photos are prepared separately. The timeframe shortens when the photographer sets aside days for editing straight after each wedding, or when the collection is smaller.
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What to ask your photographer
For a couple still looking for a photographer, the sensible thing is to ask three things before signing: how long they take to deliver, roughly how many photos they deliver and in what form. It is also worth asking for the timeframe to be included in the contract. If the wedding has already taken place, simply check that contract and count the weeks from the wedding date. If the agreed timeframe has already passed, the simplest thing is to write to the photographer to ask how the work is going and when they expect to have it ready.
Photo from evsimon.com · Book your event
