Are You Editing the Wrong Photos?

Issue #34

[Read Time - 7 Minutes]

This is one issue that keeps good photographers from becoming great wedding photographers. It’s debated by many, but usually only between amateurs vs pros.

How much editing should you put into your photos?

This debate also came up in my recent conversation with a former wedding photographer-turned-Uber driver (I talked about him in Issue 28).

One thing he didn’t regret about being a former wedding photographer was the time he spent editing each photo from his wedding. For him, every photo was meticulously touched up to perfection.

I don’t agree with this mindset or this practice.

Early in my career, I attended the big Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) event in Las Vegas.

I was a new wedding shooter, and everything about the wedding business was new. I talked with everyone, and it probably sounded even greener than I really was, but I was learning, and that was the best part.

During one conversation with a veteran wedding photographer, I asked how long it took him to deliver the photos to the couple. “Most people take four weeks, but listen, it’s got to be within two weeks,” he said with authority. “But how is that possible?” I said incredulously. “I have hundreds of photos. I can’t edit them that fast.”

I’ll never forget that conversation because it not only changed my thinking, but it changed my business.

“Your bride doesn’t know the difference between a well-edited photo and perfectly edited photo,” was his prompt response.

If flies were buzzing in the convention center, my open mouth would have caught at least two when I heard that.

How could this be? This highly regarded professional wedding photographer does NOT edit every image they take to perfection before delivering them to their couple. I was floored.

You have to understand that this was early in the digital days. Things were not highly automated like they are now. The images that came out straight from the camera were good, but they were not great. You HAD TO work on them if they were to be ready for prime time.

“Are you now telling me ‘good’ is good enough?”

Yup, that’s what he was saying…and you know what? He was right.

Getting your photos to your couple faster is BETTER than getting them perfect. Remember The Glow?

Before you scream and call me a Photo Blasphemer, let me ask you this - Will your version of “perfect” be the same version of perfect as your couple? Probably not.

So, if your perfect is not really perfect, then WHEN should you strive for perfection?

Oh, pick me, pick me! I have an answer for that one!

Before I reveal my answer, let me hop on a chair like Hamilton and make this proclamation - Your style is YOUR style. What you deliver is a direct reflection of your unique approach to photography. Stand up for it. “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?” (OK, that last line was actually from Hamilton, but it works)

Your secret black-and-white recipe may be super groovy and admired by hundreds, but some folks simply won’t see what all the fuss is about.

Some may even (dare I say) hate it. And that’s just fine because photography is a form of artistic expression, and everyone likes what THEY like and hates what THEY hate.

So what should be perfect…Every. Single. Time?

Your group photos should be perfect. Your “Formals,” as I call them, should be perfect, Every. Single. Time.

The rest of the day is subjective. Sorry, but it’s true.

Your bride and groom hired you for your photographic style, your unique and artistic approach to preserving a wedding day with photos.

The edgy black and whites, the buttery soft complexion on the bridal photos - those things are cool.

The group shots aren’t exactly cool, but they are essential and admired by every member of the family who is in them, and even more so by those who weren’t.

Ever seen one of those ancestry commercials? Your group photos are a part of history. They are the official photos of record of the family members and the closest friends in attendance at your wedding. They’re what I like to call the “team photos,” and they may not be as sexy as the “game photos,” but to many, they are just as important (psst, check out more about how to shoot these in Issue #17).

And that’s why the group shots have to be perfect.

OK, fine, but I thought we were talking about editing. Don’t worry, we still are because while it’s not essential to perfectly edit every photo throughout the day, ALL the formals need to be edited perfectly. Your photo style should also shift toward the middle. Not too light, not too dark, everything should be just right.

Now, the big one.

Other than your bride and maybe the groom, people won’t appreciate the nuances of the game photos, but you want to know what kind of photo EVERYONE universally hates?

One where eyes are closed in a photo.

Can you hear them admiring your photo? “Oh, what a great group photo! That is such a perfect…wait, are my eyes closed in that one?”

Boom, moment blown. Photo fail. Sorry, thank you for playing. That one will certainly NOT make it in the album or be purchased.

I might sound a bit harsh about this, but I’m not, I promise.

I’ve heard the feedback in the days of film and I NEVER want to hear it again.

So what do you do?

When you shoot your group photos, take 3-5 of each group. Yes, they’re the same shot, but with ten or more people in a photo, the likelihood of someone blinking is rather high.

When you shoot a few, you’ll have at least one photo of everyone’s eyes open, even Mr. Blinky McBlinky in the back row.

When you’re editing your photos, if your favorite selection has a blinker, just edit their eyes with another photo using your favorite photo editing software (Do NOT use AI for this).

When you do this, your group photos, the official team photos for the wedding, have everyone looking good, properly posed, perfectly exposed, and all eyes open. Who won’t like these photos? (Besides that one person who never likes seeing themselves, but they don’t count).

Chris, this is pretty obvious, isn’t it? As a professional, isn’t this something everyone does?

I thought so. But I’ll never forget the day a fellow wedding photographer and I had lunch to chat about our businesses and trade war stories.

He pulled out a new wedding album he was about to deliver to his client. He was so proud of it. The book was beautiful. His work was inspiring, and…wait, there, in that group photo of the wedding party - one of the bridesmaids has her eyes closed!

Before I could even put my kindness filter on, I blurted out, “Her eyes are closed!” and his reply is WHY I’m writing this.

He replied blandly, “Yeah, that happens sometimes.”

Let me be so crystal clear that even Colonel Nathan R. Jessup will approve, this should NEVER happen at a time when digital editing is so easy and available!

Since that conversation, I have never assumed that something so basic, like making sure all the eyes in group photos are open, is something every photographer does.

Since then, I now compete against the careless by making my workflow a selling point for the couples I meet.

“Your group photos will be perfect because I know though they might not be the favorite part of the day, they are one of the most important parts of the day, and they should be perfect.”

That line woos the moms Every. Single. Time.

When I shifted my workflow toward delivering faster and making sure the BEST moments were perfect, my business grew.

Now I was able to deliver my weddings in one week (take that veteran wedding pro), make my brides extremely happy, and dedicate more time to perfecting all of the selections for their wedding books or special orders.

And the faster I got at editing, the better I got, which raised the bar even higher in my work with no more time invested. That never would’ve happened if I’d still been trying to make 750 perfect photos for each wedding.

“The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.”

– Robert Half

This scenario is a great example of what I call the “inner game of wedding photography.” THIS is what I write about each week in this newsletter.

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If you’re starting out and haven’t quite figured out to how to handle the hundreds or even thousands of photos from an event, I’ve created something special to help you.

It’s a guide to help you process your wedding in one week and it’s a system I’ve used for over 25 years and still use it to this day. Don’t spend weeks trying to process and missing out on The Glow. This system will help you get your photos to your client, make them happy and make you look like the professional you want to be.