A wedding can produce more than a thousand frames, and each one needs sorting, colour correction and a consistent finish. Editing them takes days that a working photographer would rather spend shooting, meeting clients and growing the business. Outsourcing the editing gives that time back, but only if the results still look like your work. This guide shows how to do it well.
What batch editing covers
The work usually has three parts. Culling is choosing the best frames from the whole set. Correction is fixing exposure, white balance and colour so that every frame is accurate. Styling is giving the set one consistent look: warm or cool, soft or punchy, matte or glossy. Portrait retouching is a fourth part, which some clients want and some do not. Decide which parts you want to hand over.
Start with a sample set
Never send a full wedding as your first job. Send a sample of 20 to 30 frames that show different situations: indoor and outdoor, portraits and groups, bright and dim. Add a few frames that you have already edited yourself, as a reference. The retoucher returns the sample for you to compare. Adjust the notes until the sample matches your style, and then send the full batch.
Write a short style note
A style note is a single page. It describes the look you want in plain words: “warm skin, natural greens, soft contrast, light grain”. It says what to do with difficult light and mixed colour. It says how heavily to retouch skin, whether to remove distractions and how to treat black and white conversions. It lists any presets or profiles you use. It names the crop ratios you deliver.
Be clear about file handling
Agree the file types you will send and the file types you want back. Say how you want the files named and ordered. Send every frame in the same folder structure each time. Keep a copy of every original, and tell the retoucher not to overwrite anything. Use a secure download link for large batches.
Plan for the turnaround
A full wedding takes time. A 14 business day turnaround is the norm for a complete batch, and a larger batch earns a bigger discount. Plan your delivery date to the client with that in mind, and tell the retoucher early if a deadline is tight. Wedding and family batches have a volume discount from 100 images. Details are on the pricing page.
Quality control
Review the first returned batch carefully. Look at colour consistency across scenes, skin tones in mixed light and any frame that looks different from its neighbours. Send corrections as a short list, with the file names. A good retoucher learns your preferences quickly, and the second batch needs fewer corrections than the first.
Protect your clients
Wedding photographs are personal. Ask the retoucher how files are stored and deleted, and who can see them. Agree that images will not be shared or used for other purposes. Delete the shared folder when the job is done.
Keep it a partnership
The best results come from a steady relationship. Share what the finished work looks like when it is delivered, tell the retoucher what clients loved, and update the style note when your look changes. Over time, the batches need less direction and the work gets faster.
Related guides
For portrait retouching, read natural retouching: where to stop and headshot retouching for teams. To see results, browse the wedding batch examples. If you also have old wedding prints, see photo restoration.
Send me a sample set
Send me a sample set and a style note. I return the edited sample so you can judge it before you send a full batch. You can request a retouching quote here, read about wedding and family batch editing, and call, email or message me using the details at the bottom of this page.
