I know right? This sounds horrible.
But truly, it’s not that your photographer doesn’t like you – and it’s not that they think you’re trying to be mean either! It’s that many people just don’t know this.
Your photographer doesn’t want to give you your unedited photos – and there’s a really good reason why.
To most photographers, asking for unedited images to use, is similar to the equivalent of asking your baker for just the separate cake ingredients.
“Don’t bother cooking it – it’ll look just as good at my party this way!”
Of course, you would never say this to your baker, but I suppose it’s far more obvious in that scenario anyway.
Asking for unedited photos is like asking for just half the job. Sure, it might look good to you already, but wait until you see the edited version!
It goes even deeper than this as well.
To a photographer, the images their clients share across social media, or in their photo frames on the mantelpiece, are like the bread and butter of their marketing. And if only the first half of their product is what’s being shown off? Well, you can imagine it could be bad for business.
Photographers know that people often share their photos around, and because of that, they want their best foot forward. In simple terms, if people only see half of the final product, or the raw, unprocessed images, they may choose to go with another photographer, whose clients have only shared the edited version. It’s unfortunate, but it’s the photographers livelihood and reputation you have to keep in mind!
To prove the point further, we’ve added some of our own before & after photos, as well as some from some lovely photographers who shared theirs with us! Hopefully this post helps anyone out there shopping for their next photos to think consciously about what the price includes, and why paying for the edited photos is so important to your photographer – as well as you!
And if you like any of the photographers, their websites and Instagrams are linked with their images – you should definitely go check them out!
Want to find out how we can take your social media photos to the next level? Check out our photography services – or even take a look at our photography portfolio to see what kind of exciting projects we get up to!
