Why We Don’t Give Clients Raw Files: Edited vs Finished Photos

As photographers, one of the most common questions we get is “why don’t you give us raw files?” It’s not that we’re trying to withhold information from our clients; it’s just that there are many benefits to retouch photos before they are given to the client. In this article, we’ll be discussing what those benefits are and why we don’t give clients raw images.

First of all, let’s talk about a misconception. A Raw image is how the camera records digitally a scene. What you see in the back of the camera has been already slightly processed by the camera’s built-in processing engine. Raw images are usually large and contain more information than a JPEG, but that is also what makes them so difficult to edit. It can take hours for professional photographers to edit one raw image manually. The Raw file looks flat and dull and certainly does not represent the final result of the image. Also a specialized software is needed; without it a Raw image cannot even be opened.

Does the Customer Really Wants a RAW File?

What a client usually means by “Raw file” is an unedited image. We don’t provide unedited images either. A photo that you see on our website is a “finished” image, meaning it has been retouched and optimized for the web.

Printing involves another adjustment process called “color correction.” What you get from us are high-resolution, finished images with all adjustments made so they will look good once printed.

What About Copyright?

We did not talk of copyright laws yet, which is a subject of another article. Simply put editing a photo for which you don’t hold copyright (because the photographer owns it), is a violation of the US Copyright laws.

The composition of images below illustrates the concept of color correction. The images from left to right are:

• Raw image (purposely underexposed for calibration needs) exported as Jpeg
• Image preprocessed (as the built-in processor of the camera would treat it, plus the color correction needed for the light condition at that moment)
• Slightly retouched final image (not yet the image we would deliver to the client)

For best results you should enlarge the image by clicking or tapping on it.

Monitor Calibration

Please note that people DON’T use calibrated monitors (and smartphones are even less color correct than a computer monitor); for this reason, colors might look off (and darker) on your monitor. This is why we prefer to provide prints rather than digital images.