What RAWs are and why you don’t need them as a client.

If you're planning your wedding, in your research, you may have come across the term 'RAW'. You may have read an article or googled 'questions you should ask your photographer' and come across this term and wondered what the hell 'RAW' means.

What are RAW files?

Unless you're a photographer – it doesn't really matter. If you're a photograhper you should know what RAW means and what it can do for your photography and editing. But if you're not, it's basically what it says on the tin. If raw meat is uncooked, a RAW image is a flat and unprocessed image that you can then take into a photo editing software and basically turn it into whatever you want, there’s a lot more options than editing a JPEG. So if you're a client or consumer you really don't need to worry about it.

Will my photographer give me the RAW files?

The short answer is no. You don't need them. What are you going to do with hundreds of unedited photos of your wedding day? If there is a genuine reason (and there's less than a handful of them) that you want the RAWs then there's a chance that your photographer will consider it – but it'll cost you money. A lot of it.

Why won't I get the RAW files?

First of all, most people don’t even have the appropriate software to be able to open a RAW file, you usually need some form of photo editing software like Lightroom or Photoshop to be able to open it and would be something you’d pay for, if you have no intention of learning or using this software then why would you want to pay for it just to have RAW files?

Secondly, a photographer's job is more than just pushing a button. Part of their job is the editing. Editing plays an integral part of the photographer's style. There's a lot of time, effort and practice gone into them developing their style and editing process. In theory, most of the time, the reason you decide to hire your photographer is because you love their style – of course there are exceptions but generally that's the reason. So when a client unnecessarily asks a photographer for the RAW images – it's kind of like a slap in the face.

As I said, editing is an integral part of a photographer's style which means that a RAW image is not a reflection of a photographer's work because it’s not finished and most of the time, the photographer doesn't want a RAW file representing their brand.

Again, what are you going to do with hundreds of unedited images of your wedding day? If you're thinking that you can get someone to edit them differently in the future – without the permission of the original photographer, that's copyright infringement. The copyright always lies with the photographer except in another handful of circumstances. You can pay a lot of money to own the copyright, but again, unless there’s a very specific reason, you don't need it. Which is why most of the time the photographer offers print releases.

So please understand that when we say no to handing over RAW files, it’s not because we’re holding out on you, it’s because we work hard for hours, days and weeks after your wedding/ session and we want to ensure that we’re delivering the highest quality images and the best representation of our work as possible.

I hope that you now have a better understanding of the subject and will appreciate all the work that goes into your images so much more :).