Lisa Lander Photography

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The Reason Why Your Photographer Won't Give You The unedited wedding Photos

When you think of wedding photography some of the main questions that come to your mind are “why is wedding photography so expensive?” “How many photos will I get of my wedding?”Can I have all the photos even the unedited versions?””Can I have the RAW photos?”

Wedding photography is more than just the image files or the person who shows up for your wedding day and snaps some photos. Wedding photographers spend hours prepping, researching, talking, photographing and finally editing. 

Wedding photography encompasses so much more than me just showing up at a wedding with an expensive camera. 

It is a long process that is convoluted and even I did not full understand all of the parts until I started photographing weddings. 

After I photograph a wedding, I typically have between 2000 - 3000 photos depending on the length of the wedding. When I go through all of the photos from your wedding day, I only pick the best ones. The ones that do not get picked include all of those photos with closed eyes, weird faces, multiple copies and anything else that doesn’t live up to my highest standards. 

I love my wedding gallery but can I have the RAW photos?

When I read this question from my couples, I normally ask them one simple question “RAW photos or the unedited photos?” Most couples do not understand the difference between a RAW file and an unedited JPEG file.

What is the difference between a RAW photo and the unedited photos?

RAW files are the photo file format that includes all the information from the camera in a data format. It is kind of like the ingredients that make up a cake, it is not the actual photo format. You cannot print the RAW files and you would need special software to open the files. 

Photographers shoot in RAW format as it can hold a lot more data. This includes more colours, detail, and everything else that goes into high-quality photos. 

So why don’t photographers give away the raw files to their wedding couples

Imagine that your photographer is a baker, then imagine that the RAW files are part of the ingredients that the baker will use to make a cake. The cake is a finished product, such as the edited wedding photos are a finished product. Now imagine you go into the same bakers and ask to have the ingredients for the cake. 

That is exactly what it is like asking a photographer for their RAW files. A professional wedding photographer normally will not give you the RAW files as they are not the final images. The photographer will use these files to edited them to match their photography style. 

The Files Are Really Large

When you hired a wedding photographer you are hiring them to capture the story of your wedding day through their photos. Each of these photos is a part of your story. The RAW photos are not important, the most important part is to make sure you hire the right photographer, with a photography style that you love and that you get along with and adore. 

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