EDITING POLICY

From time to time our clients request raws, advance edits or re-edits. This page sets outs the terms and conditions attached to such requests and provides important information for each type of request.

RAW FILES

Raws are the files shot in-camera on the day of the session/wedding. Unlike images taken on a phone or non-professional camera, these files require professional software to edit each image/file. They cannot be edited by non-professional photographers, as access to this software is strictly for professionals. As such, raw file requests are typically made so the client can have another photographer re-edit the images in a different style to the booked photographer - this breaches copyright (enshrined in NI law) which sets out that the person who takes the image, has legal ownership, and re-editing of another photographers files is illegal without transfer of copyright and subsequent ownership. 

Clients can buy this copyright, pricing for commercial sessions, non-commercial session (i.e families) and weddings is a set price of £5000 for transfer of copyright and legal ownership of the raw files. 

ADVANCE EDITS/RE-EDITS

My post-processing is extensive, and includes import for multiple sd cards, creation of a bespoke client gallery and custom privacy settings, social media and print galleries etc. and multiple backups, to drives and a cloud-based storage system. If previews are requested, these are then produced for clients. Commercial sessions and family sessions have an additional couple of days per session for culling and editing. 

For wedding couples, there will be a week of culling excess files, then typically four weeks of edits. With the first week committed to prep files, the second to the ceremony, the third to the cocktail reception and the final week focused on the evening reception. 

Each image is cropped, colour graded to adjust camera imbalances in saturation and hue, and local adjustments are then made to correct contrast levels, lens distortion, white balance, work on sharpness/clarity and finally apply radial and/or graduated filters to each image to focus the viewer on the intended subject. There may be further edits made in photoshop to improve skin blemishes which I would consider temporary. Changing the scene in any way - removal of items in the scene for example bins, requires the use of a software plug-in which is charged per image, within photoshop. 

Basic edits take around 20 minutes per image, advance edits can take anything up to 2 hours for one image.

Advanced retouching on skin, and body shape is a discipline outside the remit of portrait photographers, and will always be outsourced to specialist retouchers. The pricing is £15+ per image, and an additional admin fee per request of £50 - for the studio time taken to retrieve files, handle the file transfer (this requires encrypted specialist software) re-import, and re-upload the new files to the gallery in a sub-folder. 

Given the time dedicated to advance edits or re-edits, requests for advance edits outside the remit of my normal extensive editing are always outsourced, as my studio is typically fully booked and there simply isn't any additional time to commit to a delivered project after the client gallery is delivered and I am committed to the next project. 

EACH CLIENT HAS THE OPTION TO RE-EDIT UP TO 5 IMAGES WITHOUT ANY DESIGN FEES FOR AN ALBUM DESIGN, SO TO CONVERT A COLOUR IMAGE TO BLACK AND WHITE, FOR EXAMPLE OR ANY OTHER RE-EDIT WHICH FALLS WITHIN THE REMIT OF STANDARD EDITING AS SET OUT ABOVE