THE JOURNAL
Learn how I decided which photographs are edited & included in each client’s wedding photo gallery from start to finish.
Every wedding is special, meaning every gallery is unique to each couple I serve. However, one thing that doesn’t change is how I curate each wedding photo gallery.
As they say, there’s a method to the madness!
You might wonder what happens after we capture every candid and iconic moment of your wedding day. Before I can deliver your sneak peeks—and the rest of your wedding photo gallery—I follow an efficient and repeatable post-production process.
Every photographer may do this process differently, so be sure to ask your photographer what process they follow! Without further ado, let’s dive right into the first step.
Importing and backing up your photos
Immediately after the wedding—and I mean immediately—I import all the raw photo files from each memory card onto my external hard drive. My external hard drive also backs up to cloud storage to create multiple backups to safeguard against data loss.
In addition, I keep the SD cards that were used untouched until the wedding photo gallery is delivered. If you’ve been counting, that means I have three total backups of all your wedding photographs. I believe you can never be too careful! These extra backups ensure all the images are secure before any editing begins.
Culling through your photos
The photo-culling process can be done manually or by utilizing AI software. Using AI has helped me to turn around sneak peeks much quicker by selecting the best images and removing duplicates or blurred shots.
This usually involves choosing the photos that tell the story of your wedding day, highlight key moments, and capture emotions in a beautifully candid way.
One concern many people have with using AI software is that some special moments may go missing or won’t be caught by AI. However, AI simply combs through and shows me the best images, but rest assured it doesn’t delete the others. After the software selects what it believes to be the best pictures, I go through and confirm that every memorable moment is represented in your wedding photo gallery.
Making basic adjustments
Then, I add global adjustments to color, exposure, contrast, and white balance for each photo within Lightroom. This will correct any lighting inconsistencies and ensure all of your photos have a cohesive look. This establishes a foundational look that you’ll see throughout your wedding photo gallery.
Cropping and straightening
Admittedly, with the rushed nature of capturing candid memories as they happen, I don’t always take a photo straight or with perfect composition. However, my clients would never know this because I take the time to crop and straighten each photo. As a wedding photographer, you can never skip over this step!
Cropping and straightening photos help to improve their composition and framing while eliminating distractions. That means the focus is on both of you while also straightening any tilted horizons or poorly aligned shots.
Detailed retouching
Once all of the basic adjustments have been made and the images have been straightened and cropped, I move into more detailed retouching in programs like Photoshop. This step isn’t done for every single image. I mainly focus on retouching bridal portraits, couple portraits, family photos, and ceremony images.
Detailed retouching can include steps like:
– Skin retouching to smooth any blemishes (while still making you look natural)
– Removing distractions from the background of your photos (like those pesky exit signs)
– Enhancing your smile, eye color, or any number of features (so you really shine!)
Fine-tuning and artistic edits
For key moments in your wedding day, I’ll spend extra time on artistic edits. This will often include enhancing sunset skies, adding a soft glow, or creating a black-and-white or film-inspired version of certain shots for dramatic effect.
So many of my clients say these artistic edits become some of their most treasured favorites. I believe these edits add a personal, artistic touch to your most important moments which make them stand out in your wedding photo gallery.
Checking for consistency
After the in-depth edits have been completed, I like to compare images side by side to ensure consistency across the gallery. I’ll check for uniformity in tone, color, and style to ensure the photos flow cohesively. This is key to a professional-looking wedding photo gallery, and it ensures the final images tell a cohesive story with a unified look.
Exporting the final images
Finally, the photo editing stage is complete when I can confidently say I’ve created a consistent gallery! This signals it’s time to export all of the photos in a high-resolution format so no detail is lost.
Organizing and categorizing
Once everything is exported, I organize photos into distinct categories like getting ready, ceremony, portraits, and reception. I believe organizing the photos ahead of time makes it easier to look through each portion of the day. Otherwise, the final gallery tends to feel quite large, so this way, you can easily browse and later find the exact photo you’re looking for.
Creating and delivering a final wedding photo gallery
Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for! After all of the edited images are categorized, I will upload the full gallery to an online photo gallery delivery platform called Pic-Time. It’s minimally designed so the beauty of your photos shines through, and it’s intuitive even for the non-techies.
Pic-Time helps me create a smooth delivery process, ensuring you receive your photos in a beautiful, easily accessible format. You can also bookmark the gallery on your phone or computer so you always have it handy!
Archiving the images
Lastly, I archive all the final images to keep them safe and available for future reference. All of the images in your online gallery are available to you for four months after the delivery date, but be sure to download all your images to multiple places for safe keeping!
However, if something were to be missing or lost in the future, you can always have peace of mind knowing I still have the photos just in case. Phew!.
It’s through this process that I make sure each client receives a wedding photo gallery that is polished, consistent, and artistically aligned with your wedding day!
Are you just now planning a wedding and don’t know where to start in your photography search? I’m here every step of the way!
