A Wedding Photography Planning Guide: What Happens with My Wedding Photographs after the Wedding?

Hey y'all! My name is Lissa Chandler and I'm a creative wedding + portrait photographer based in Fayetteville, Arkansas who has been shooting happy weddings since 2011. And this wedding photography podcast? It's got all the answers to FAQs about wedding photography! Get so excited cause this limited series is a blast!

Can’t wait to chat with you about what happens to your wedding photographs after the wedding!

Questions We’ll Cover Today Include:

• Will I Get a Sneak Peek of My Wedding Photographs?
• Do All Wedding Photographers Deliver the Same Amount of Photos?
• How Long Will it Take to Get My Wedding Photographs Back?
• What Do Most Photographers Edit?
• Will My Wedding Photographer Share My Wedding Photographs?
• How Long Will My Wedding Photographs be Available?

Want to Know This Episode in One Quote? Fantastic!

When working with your wedding photographer, it can sometimes be tempting to ask your married friends what happened with their photographers. And, while this is totally valid and a great discussion to have, know that not all wedding photographers are the same, not all have the same schedule, and not all have the same approach to editing. There’s a lot of rhetoric out there about how to pick the best wedding photographer for you – and I totally contribute to that discourse! – but the most important thing to remember is this:

Your wedding photographer will not operate exactly like other wedding photographers and, what’s normal to one wedding photographer may not be normal to other photographers. An example of this is turnover. My weddings often take three months for me to edit. This isn’t because I’m slow or because I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s because I hand edit everything – even brushing in sun! – and because I like to give myself a breather between shooting and editing so I can edit things with a fresh perspective.

If someone posted about this on a forum, there would definitely be photographers who say they deliver their galleries in two weeks and that three months is too long. And that’s totally fine! It’s their perspective. My perspective? It’s that two weeks isn’t enough time to let a gallery settle. And six months? It’s too long to let the gallery sit. As a longtime wedding photographer, though, I know there are phenomenal photographers that deliver their galleries six months to a year out. And on the flip-side? I’ve seen jaw-dropping images from people who deliver their galleries in under a month.

As a couple getting married, the best thing you can do is communicate with your photographer and get to know what’s normal for them. It’ll save you so many worries and answer so many of your “what if” questions, too! You’ve got this! Your photographer should, too!

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Note: I'm putting this series on a temporary hiatus. Fingers crossed to be back soon!

Want something to listen to? Check out Your Photographer Mom or Our Favorite Villes for weekly podcasts!

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