As your wedding photographer, I have the privilege and responsibility to capture and deliver to you stunning photos that you’ll cherish for a lifetime. No pressure, right? Now, here’s a little insider scoop: after spending the entire wedding day clicking away and capturing all joy of your big day, I’m nervously driving home with your precious memories like a first-time parent leaving the hospital with a new enfant. Yep, I’m the sole custodian of your wedding photos, and I’m not going to lie, it’s a mix of excitement and nerves! But rest assured, I’ve got a robust backup process for my precious cargo.
Let’s talk about the burning question: when do you actually receive your wedding photos?
In this article, I’ll take you behind the scenes about what happens after I depart your wedding until your photos are revealed. The wait can feel like forever so I thought it would be helpful to share what happens behind the scenes including the magic of post-production where I enhance colors, retouch, and curate the best shots to tell your unique love story.
Photo Selection: Crafting Your Narrative
This is where I spend most of my time in the post-production process. Every wedding is unique, and so is every wedding story. That’s why I meticulously sift through every image captured during your wedding, handpicking the best shots that narrate your unique story. Factors like composition, lighting, and emotional resonance guide me as I curate a collection that truly shines. And of course, I ensure that everyone is captured in the most flattering way, especially you. For a typical all-day wedding day photography coverage, on average I deliver around 1000-1200 images. Your mileage may vary depending on the number of events, details and wedding party.
Enhancement: Bringing the Vision to Life
Once the selection is made, the real magic begins. Enhancement is all about fine-tuning each chosen image to bring it to life. From adjusting brightness, contrast, and saturation to correcting exposure issues and color casts, my goal is to ensure that colors pop and details shine through, creating a consistent, polished look across all photos. For the technical nerds, I use Photoshop Lightroom and apply my own preset filters as a starting point. My editing is inspired the timeless style of film photography. I don’t apply trendy edits that will date in a few years. I would hate for you to look back on your wedding photos and say, those photos are SO 2024!
Here is a before and after example of a gently edited image. I simply raised the exposure and cleared the orange colorcast from the camera to offset the overcast day (it was actually raining). I also cropped in on the image to really bring in the viewers on the emotion of the couple.
Retouching: Perfecting Every Detail
The retouching stage is where a selection of images are carefully refined to perfection. I meticulously remove distractions or imperfections, such as blemishes, stray hairs, or background clutter, to create a clean, polished aesthetic. Subtle touch-ups enhance features and ensure that everyone looks their best while maintaining a natural and authentic appearance.
Here’s an example of Sally & Kurt taking a stroll after sunset with me. The magic of this photo would be lost if I had just stopped at the basic edits. This edit probably took over an hour to polish to make sure the Mt. Rainier alpenglow was preserved while bring out Sally & Kurt out of the shadows.
Special Touches: Just for Fun
But the editing journey doesn’t end there. For select images, I take it a step further with creative editing techniques. This could include merging multiple images to create a unique composite and making GIFs of multiple shots. These are just for fun that you can share on social media.
Special Delivery: Your Wedding Photo Gallery
Right after your wedding I will send you some sneak peeks for you to share with family and friend. This is to share the joy in the best way while you’re still on cloud nine.
So, when do I deliver your wedding photos?
Because I only take a limited number of wedding clients every year, I don’t have a large backlog of weddings to edit. I’m able to deliver your photos within 30 days. But I’m known to under-promise and over-deliver. You will receive a special delivery email with a link to the online gallery with all your photos waiting for you. Just grab a glass of wine, snuggle with your new spouse, and enjoy reliving the day by scrolling through the images. Be sure to share the gallery link with friends and family.
Throughout the editing process, my ultimate goal is to stay true to your vision and deliver the story of your special day. I strive to create a cohesive narrative that evokes the same joy, love, and excitement you experienced, ensuring that each photo becomes a cherished memory you’ll treasure for a lifetime.
If you’re looking for a wedding photographer in Seattle and the surrounding area, I would be honored to have the opportunity to capture your special day. You can see my portfolio of my favorite images I’ve captured located here. The blog consisting of my recent work is located here. You can also reach out to me here.
