What, to you, is a timely turn around time....

[kerri_albano]

<p>for wedding photos. I am a firm believer in sneak peaks (I always blog about a wedding within one week with a couple shots to tease the couple with). However, I have shot with photographers that let the photos go over a month with no peaks or galleries posted yet. What would you consider a timely turn around for a wedding?</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>Kerri -</p>

<p>I'm kind of like you - I believe in showing a few (under 10) on facebook or gallery as soon as possible. </p>

<p>I do this for 2 reasons - 1) give them some idea of what they got for their money 2) cut off relatives / uncle bobs who post right away at the knees.</p>

<p>It has backfired on me 1 time - when the couple saw the sneek peeks and thought that the remainder of the images would be coming with in days of the sneek peeks as opposed to weeks. (I told them both prior to the wedding and at the wedding that the images would take at least 5-6 weeks to completely edit and cull)</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p> </p>

[william-porter]

<p>Kerri,</p>

<p>Timely turnaround would have to be quick enough to keep the bride from getting anxious. </p>

<p>My contract gives me a full month after the wedding. When I first started doing weddings, I took that full month more than once, or close to it. And at that time I was reluctant to show ANYTHING at all until everything was done.</p>

<p>Now, I try to start getting photos back to the bride within days.</p>

<p>Will</p>

[pete_s.]

<p>Timely turnaround is within the time frame the contract stipulates, whatever that might be.<br>

The higher the quality of the product the longer I would expect to wait.</p>

[michaelchadwickphotography]

<p>You're likely to get a wide variety of responses here, so it really depends on your circumstances. For myself, I have a policy of never taking more than a month. I choose to do that, and share that with my couples, because I think the longer you wait the less and less likely people are to buy a print or a digital download from the wedding. Also, I feel the couples really appreciate having their pictures as soon as possible. A month gives them time to get back from their honeymoon, settle in for a week or two, and then voila - their photos are ready.</p>

<p>Now, given how busy some times may be, and that I'm a weekend warrior with a full time day job outside of photography, getting them photos within a month has sometimes called for some very late nights. In the years I've been shooting I've never taken more than a month - but I have certainly worked hard into the early morning hours to make sure I keep that up!</p>

[maira_sharron]

<p>I usually have the sneak peek of several images up on a blog within a day or two of the wedding. I promise image turnaround of 2-4 weeks, averaging 2-3 weeks. No sure if I agree with the statement, "the higher quality the product, the longer I would expect to wait." I average 2 weddings a month -- and I hate to be too far behind, since I have albums that I need to create as well. I promise albums between 10-12 weeks after the images are edited...and for that I usually take it all the way to 12 weeks.</p>

[neilambrose]

<p>The turnaround is timely when it is inline with expectations set and promises made in the contract. My contract says 30 days. I deliver on day 30. No sneak peaks, no blog posts. Works fine for me, and I wouldn't want to do it in any faster.</p>

[michaelchadwickphotography]

<p>I guess the "right" answer here is, whatever time you find your workflow takes you to produce the kind of quality images you wish to present to your client.</p>

[aandephotography]

<p>I recently did an engagement shoot (not as anxiety ridden as a wedding), and then had a family crisis preventing me from delivering the images in the time frame I had told them. So, I said it would take me a few more days, but instead of waiting about a week to get them all, I uploaded the edited/finished ones on their gallery every night. They LOVED the concept. This is not my normal way of presenting work, but I may consider it again in the future since it seemed to them that every night after coming from work, they would get a "gift" of looking at a few pictures.<br>

Otherwise, I do upload a few the night of the shoot (3-5), barely edited (cropped but pimples still showing!!). Then everything on the due date.</p>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>I must be in an alternate universe; I go home put the images into lightroom, make a quick scan of the formals and pick one formal of the entire wedding party do a quick edit or run an action on it and post it on Facebook, or if they don't have FB, email it to them along with a note that says something like "Thank you for including me in your special day. I'm going through the pictures and will post the proofs to your gallery as soon as possible." If I'm a little slow with the edits, then I post a comp card or other image to let them know I'm working hard. I find this special touch is greatly appreciated, gives you credibility and their family and friends (thanks FB) are really impressed. Always look for the angle to generate your next referal.</p><div></div>

[mark_harrington1]

<p>When I need more time I post something like this:</p><div></div>

[richardsnow]

<p>I try to post a few for the couple via facebook/email/blog on the night of the shoot, cropped and color corrected.</p>

<p>After that I shoot for having all of the images ready when the couple returns from their honeymoon (usually 7-10 days after the wedding) and 14 days at the latest.</p>

[cliff_nj]

<p>I always post proofs within 10 business days.</p>

[francie_baltazar]

<p>I have images up within 7 days.... before they are back from the honeymoon.... engagments 3 days - bridals 7 days...</p>

[mariosforsos]

<p>I usually make it a point of making the majority of shots available in a locked, password protected gallery, within a couple of weeks from the event (I'm saying event because I don't really shoot weddings, except on special occasions and for highly specific reasons). Then the B&G are notified, with a link to the gallery, a username and a password which they can then share with as many people as they want. This allows them to view the images in high res but not download them in any way and, most important, to mark them for prints.</p>

<p>If I've shot too many images, then maybe, over the next few days I will upload more images onto the gallery, but that is rare. No FB, no nothing.</p>

[William Michael]

<blockquote>

<p>"What would you consider a timely turn around<strong> for a wedding</strong>?" <br /><br /></p>

</blockquote>

<p>There isn't. <br /><br />I agree 100% with Neil Ambrose’s* sentiment: Our studio had the preview session ready for the B&G on the following Monday evening following a Saturday Wedding - if they went away for an honeymoon then it was ready on their return. <br /><br />Whilst there seem some similarities between Neil's business and mine - there are also differences - and this is one of those differences. <br /><br />Both are correct - and so is everything in between or even in excess of 1 month - if that is what is expected. <br /><br />If it were my wedding, I wouldn’t wish to wait more than a few days: but that is a different question – and it is possible to change a point of view with intelligent reasoning. <br /><br />Have you canvassed your client base for their opinions? <br /><br />WW<br />*sorry . . . and I agree with Pete S on this point also, didn't notice that at first.<br>

But on his second point - quality can also be done quickly, too - but yes there is a relationship, though not linear as such.</p>

[fotografz]

<p>I promise that all materials will be completed 90 days from the wedding date ... with the caveat that albums are subject to client review times and album maker's delays, if any. I have never taken that long, and usually everything is ready by the time the couple returns from Honeymoon.<br>

However, what you promise in a legally binding document, verses what you actually do, should take into account possible unknown circumstances.<br>

I do not rush to post images on a site like Smug Mug because it blows the thunder of personally presenting the work one-on-one ... usually in the form of a 100 frame, high resolution slide show set to music shown on a 30" screen with stereo audio. Presentation is 9/10s of the game IMO.</p>

<p>I usually also show the album design at that time if it is part of the package.</p>

<p>Only after the client's have seen their images do I offer to post them on my Smug Mug site. </p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>I deliver on day 30. No sneak peaks, no blog posts. Works fine for me</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If you are finished after twenty days do you still wait another ten before delivery?</p>

[neilambrose]

<p>Steve - yes, the presentation meeting is scheduled in advance (sometimes even before the wedding) so no reason to change it. I produce the work in line with the schedule rather than the other way round. Also, the presentation for me is an important event, for similar reasons to those that Marc mentions, and I don't rush it.</p>

[rafael_s]

<p>I worked assisting a photographer who probably had the worst track record in turn around time. It was not my business so I couldn't handle his work. I just assisted and was paid as my fee. We shot a wedding November of 2007 and I found out he finally delivered pictures February of this year, 2010.</p>

[scott_ferris]

<p>When I did weddings with film, it was two weeks to full delivery of album and all prints. Later, with digital, it went down to one week.</p>

<p>I always found faster turnaround resulted in many more prints, even more pertinent now everybody has a decent camera, also, if it was a busy season, I found completing jobs without too many overlapping helped immensely.</p>

[ann_will]

<p>Mine is up to five weeks in the contract for both portrait and weddings. I like to give myself a little slack in case something comes up. Portrait session I usually have done in a few days- weddings depends on my schedule. Like many others I'm a firm believer in sneak peaks.</p>

[cjogo]

<p>I send the final DVD in about 4 days -- no sneak preview >> We send a Disc of the RAW and a final edited Jpeg....Albums have not been part of our sales for over 10 years. We also generally shoot under 500 total images for a full-day coverage.</p>

[sera]

<p>Typically, my turnaround is 1 month to give them all their pics. I give myself an extra week or 2 in my contract so that I won't pass the contract deadline.<br>

I'm going to start a blog soon(ish), because I would like to start doing "teasers" since it seems a lot of couples love that.</p>