As a wedding photographer, you’ve likely had clients ask for raw files, thinking they’re getting more value by having access to every shot taken. But there are several reasons why raw files aren’t something you want to hand over, and your clients may not understand why. When this conversation comes up, it’s essential to explain the realities of raw files clearly and calmly, so they know what they’re really asking for.
Coming to you from John Branch IV Photography, this informative video breaks down five reasons why clients don’t want raw files. The first reason is the sheer number of photos. Shooting a wedding often results in thousands of images, many of which are duplicates, test shots, or missed-focus frames. These are photos that clients don’t need to see and shouldn’t have to sort through. Your job is to narrow it down to the best images, sparing them the task of dealing with unusable or irrelevant shots. Explaining this can help clients understand why the final curated selection is what truly matters.
The second reason is that raw files are unfinished. Branch shows examples of raw photos next to the final edits to demonstrate the huge difference. Clients often assume raw images will look similar to what they see on social media, but raw files are unprocessed and lack the color correction and retouching that give them life. This is where your expertise comes in. As Branch explains, photographers spend years refining their editing style, and handing over raw files means delivering incomplete work. Without those edits, raw images are far from what your clients are expecting.
Another important consideration is file size. High-resolution cameras produce massive raw files, which can be difficult to store and manage. Branch points out that a wedding can result in hundreds of gigabytes of raw images. Most clients won’t have the hardware or storage space to handle these files, making the process cumbersome and frustrating. This is something they probably haven’t factored into their request, but it’s worth mentioning to help them understand the technical limitations. That's just the start, so check out the video above for the full rundown from Branch.
Though it points it out in the first paragraph the headline should clarify "wedding/couples" clients because that's what he's really talking about.
It's not uncommon or unusual for commercial clients to require raw files.
The reason I point that out is that many photographers falsely claim that you should never, ever under any circumstances give out raw files.
Question. Isn't the point about the number of photos not really relevant to the discussion of 'RAW' images? In other words, the file format has nothing to do with how many images were shot during a session and whether the client has requested all of them, right? The other point - that the client may want the unedited RAW files because they are RAW - makes sense. But combining the points about the number of images and RAW files seems odd.
In addition to the already-mentioned reasons why it does not make good business sense to turn over unedited, raw files to clients, another reason to consider is that it does not help a photographer’s business—nor reputation—to have our raw photos “edited” by a non-professional, then posted online.
I don't shoot that many weddings, but I have been asked this question before. So ... I learned long ago to plan for it happening again. Because of that, my wedding-specific contract says that I will deliver all RAW files to the client if they ask for them - but at a cost that is twice of what the agreed upon fee is. So ... if I'm charging $2K for a half day wedding, then I'll charge them an additional $4K for all of the RAW files - which equates to a $6K payday. The contract also states that I won't edit anything before delivery and that they are not authorized to "credit" me as the photographer on any of the images they share. I'm just not convinced that the "never, ever, ever share RAW files" argument is right.
At this point in my career I don’t care if they want the raw files. I look at it as they are hiring me for my time. That includes editing. If they want to pay me to edit the photos and then go and mess with the raw files themselves, have at it. I just ask they don’t tag me on any photos they they have edited and posted online. I don’t want future clients seeing them and thinking it is representative of my work.