Turn around time of Photos

In today’s modern era, a wedding day and a professional photographer are often synonymous. The chances are that you’ve hired one to capture the intimate moments on your special day, which will be immortalised through photos. However, one of the biggest concerns of many couples is how long they can receive the photos from their photographers after the wedding day.

In this article, we’ll share with you what to expect as far as the wedding photos’ turn-around-time is concerned. Read further below to see what you need to do when hiring a wedding photographer and what a reasonable turn around time of photos would be.

Turn around time of Photos From a Wedding Photographer

Typical turnaround time

Keep in mind that receiving wedding photos varies from one wedding photographer to another. In most cases, the turn-around-time ranges between three to eight weeks from the wedding day. If it goes beyond this timeline, there my be other reasons why the turn around time has stretched out a bit. In fact, some highly established wedding photography suppliers may also give you the option to rush your wedding photos, you just need to ask, while those same suppliers may be under the pump from a busy season – a victim of their own success so to speak.

I personally quote betwen a month and two months turn around time of photos at weddings I cover. This is both slower and faster than other wedding photographers out there – but it’s my experience that provides me with enough time so that I am not rushing their post production, while also not being too long to wait for most people.

Traditional Wedding photo

Usual factors for any holdup

Of course, you must understand that various factors can affect the turn around time of photos . Below are several notable factors:

The number of photos: How many photos they’re dealing with will impact the turn around time. The more photos there are, the longer the post-production will be. On a typical full-day wedding I personally am taking between 2500-3000 photos, that can easly be streatched to 4000-5000 if there is a second photographer with me.

Production staff: Know that some companies have a certain number of production staff while a few others may only have a one-person photographer doing the actual shoot, editing, and production. Many popular wedding phtoographers even outsource their post-production work in order to same themselves some work and produce their finished albums quicker.

Editing workflow: Keep in mind that photo-editing will always be a part of the overall equation. Photographers are not only taking photos on a day, then uplaoding them all onto your USB to be handed over. I personally say that for each hour I shoot on a wedding day, equates to 3-4 hours with of editing time. And then there are other aspects to running a business that also takes up time – which is time taken away form editing.

Pandemics or other forces: In another life, this would be an odd thing to put on a list like this, but the fact is this past COVID-19 pandemic has both hit and helped the wedding industry in a way that those outside of the industry may not understand. In the first 6-8 months people were cancelling their weddings – but also rebooking them at about the same time. I personally shot as many weddings as I usually do in an entire year in 6 months! This certainly slowed down the turn around time of photos. In the same vein also, sometimes there are some compassionate reasons why the turn around time of photos may be higher than usual – keep in mind your photographer is human.

Mt Wellington Hobart wedding photo

What to do

If you want to receive your wedding photos on time, here’s what you can do:

When hiring: The most logical course of action is to hire the right wedding photographer. As such, be sure to check their portfolios, ask them about their typical turn around time at the time of year you’re planning on hosting your wedding, and seek testimonals from past clients. That way, you’ll get the assurance that they’ll deliver those photos in a timely manner.

During the actual production: If the turn around time of photos has exceeded what you expected, the next step to take is to be proactive and simply get in touch with your photographer. Make sure to contact them and ask what is causing the delay – there is probably a very good reason why the processing of your photos is taking that little longer, and belive me when we say we are just as excited as you are to see the finished product!

bride and groom under blue lights and smoke

Here at Sven Studios, we offer wedding photography packages in Adelaide, from hourly coverage to full-day coverage with two photographers and an onsite photo booth. With our experienced, award-winning wedding photographers, we’ll deliver your captured memories in fine-art prints, high-resolution USBs, and incredible coffee table albums to best document your day!

Our turn around time of photos vary due to the time of year and how busy we get, but we are always transparent and clear on how long we can expect the post production to take and always stay in contact if we need a little extra time.

At this point, you should be able to understand a little more about the turn around time of photos from a wedding photographer after the big day. Be sure to consider all the information discussed above and only hire the right wedding photographer and understand their usual turn around time may be faster or longer than usual due to a vast number of reasons. Ultimately, rushing your photographer is normally not a great idea, as those wedding photos are to cherished forever!

Are you looking for a professional wedding photographer who loves what we do? We’ve got you covered! Here at Sven Studios, we offer professional wedding photography around Australia. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our services!