What "delivery" really means — RAW, edited and turnaround

RAW files are the unedited digital negatives from the camera. They are large, technical files that need specialist software to view and colour-grade properly. Most photographers do not include RAW files as standard — they're the working material, like handing over sketches instead of the finished painting.

Edited images are colour-corrected, exposure-balanced JPEGs, delivered in web and print resolutions. This is what you'll actually use for social, prints and your website. Expect 300–800 edited images from a full wedding, 20–60 from a family shoot, and 10–40 from a commercial or brand session.

Culling is the photographer picking the best frames out of everything shot on the day. This is where their taste and experience really show — a great culler can turn 3,000 frames into a tight 500-image story.

Retouching goes further: skin softening, blemish removal, colour work, sometimes background clean-up. It's almost always priced per image beyond a small included allowance.

Real-estate photography: 24–48 hours is standard.

Headshots and product: 3–7 working days for edited finals.

Weddings, events and full-day shoots: 3–6 weeks for the full gallery, with a small teaser set inside 5–7 days.

Anything faster than these ranges is either a paid rush option or a red flag — quality editing simply takes time.