"Can I get the RAW or Unedited Images?"

"Can I get the original, RAW, or unedited images on disk?"

This is a question I am finding myself being asked quite a bit lately.  I do understand the reason that people ask. Maybe they think that if they have the original image, I won't keep it.  Maybe they think that they'd like to edit it themselves. Maybe another photographer,  or just someone with a nice dSLR camera took some shots for them and handed over the RAW images.  I get it.. so let me give you a little analogy as to why my answer is, and will always be "no" when asked for the unedited images.  Keep reading!

First let me ask you:

Would you go into a restaurant and ask for a piece of raw chicken?  Highly doubtful!

Would you go into a restaurant and ask to cook your own piece of raw chicken?  Of course not.

If you did ask either of those questions, do you think any chef worth his salt would agree to either scenario? Absolutely not.  

You go to a restaurant to get a certain style of food, cooked a certain way. No chef would be willing to hand over raw chicken or let you cook it. It's his/her kitchen, in his/her restaurant and people go there for a reason.. because they like the food the way it's cooked!  Believe it or not.. photography is similar to this scenario!

An unedited image is much like raw chicken. 

Editing can be something as simple as going through the images and deleting all of the ones with soft focus, awkward expressions, closed eyes, snotty noses, etc.  This is a basic edit.  Then once that is completed, a photographer could correct exposure, levels, curves, color saturation, crop, sharpen, remove blemishes, add artistic touches, and other little things that can make an image stand out.  Personally, I do both. I start with basic throw aways, then onto advance editing to make sure your image is to my liking before you ever see a preview.

I do this to all photos, even my own. This is my style.. this is what I portray in each image, and what I hope brings back my repeat clients.

When you pay a photographer to take your photos, you aren't just paying for the click of the camera. You are paying for that photographer's vision, their trained eye, their artistic talent, and their personal style.

The Copyright Act protects photographers by giving them the exclusive right to copy, edit, and distribute their images for resale or transfer.  This means only your photographer is legally allowed to make any copies,  implement any edits (even changing the photo to black and white or cropping), or sell any of the photos they take.. including the ones of you or your children.

These rights also make it illegal to copy, scan, download, or share digital media without the express permission of your photographer!  Even if a photographer puts your image on their blog or on Facebook, it is illegal for you to copy, share, download, print, edit, or scan that photo because the photographer still owns the copyright!  However, if there is a note that you can tag yourself, or use the photo as your profile picture, then that is fine. You still cannot download, print, remove any watermark,  crop, or alter the image in any way.  Violators are subject to civil and criminal penalties by Federal Law!  Who knew Facebook could get you into so much trouble.. right?

If this is worrisome to you, don't let it be. Just ASK the photographer what you can do. Most photographers, like myself, simply just want to be compensated for their work, or at the very least, make sure they get credit for it.  We are reasonable people and all in all we want to make you happy! :)

So.... I will never be that photographer who gives you 1000 hi-resolution images on disk, nor will I be the one who is willing to relinquish all copyrights to your photos.. no matter how many times you ask me to.  

I will also never be willing to give you raw chicken.. or raw, unedited images either. :)

The difference between SOOC (straight out of camera) and the edit is like night and day.