I posted this picture on facebook the other day as a fun way to show the difference photoshop can make to an image. I had no intentions of it spreading like wildfire and starting a discussion. I am overwhelmed at the amount of messages I receive and the stories I was told. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where it doesn’t matter where you are and the angle you are shooting that you can’t avoid that big ugly exit sign at the back of the reception hall, right behind where the couple is doing their first dance, or even worse that beach ceremony with all of the people in the background, the people that are half naked and laying in neon pink plastic lawn chairs with big bulky coolers next to them? How can you capture that special moment and all of the details that your bride spent so many sleepless nights working on, if these things are distracting and taking away from the value of the image. With that said this post strictly relates to fellow photographers, it’s not judgement so please do not perceive it that way, and it’s not an open forum for your negative response but I would like your feed back. I am simply going to throw this out there and I am not asking you to run with it. Yes, I a newer photographer when it comes to the wedding industry but I feel I have earned the right to ask this and my questions is, Would you give unfinished images to your client? Now what I mean by that question is, let’s say that your client orders a disc with all of the images from the wedding, so that they can print their own prints and use the images for social networking sites, are you going to put unedited images on that disc and send it off? I recently ran into someone who was telling me about their experience with their photographer, he was well known, an all around great photographer, great work to show off in his portfolio, but when the bride received her disc 50% of the wedding reception images were blurry and no red eye correction had been done, even some of the images from their wedding (formal shots) were underexposed, so dark you could hardly see what was going on. Would those be images you would give your client? After talking to several people about this I have realized that some photographers do not do any post processing of their images, except for the 5 or 6 they post online and when the client receives the cd or prints the rest are all unedited. Is this normal procedure? Am I wasting countless hours behind the computer starting at lightroom and photoshop to edit out that hawaiian print bright yellow purse that grandma left on the ground that is standing out like a sore thumb?What I would like to know is your standard proceedure, how do you handle those situations, and what should your client expect from you in these situations?
***After reading your comments I thought I should include my post processing techniques… I don’t know if this is the best or right way, but it’s what I do, and it seems to work…
1. I load all images into Light Room for proofing and post processing.
2. I go through the images and delete every image that is unfixable. (Blurry, exposed incorrectly, duplicates)
3. I do basic edits such as color correction, exposure correction, cropping, red eye correction, etc.
4. I go through and tag images that score a 10 on a 1-10 scale.
5. I import the images that scored a 10 into photoshop for additional post processing, a more intensive editing process, with fun actions and lot’s of changes. Those images will then be the images I use for my portfolio, facebook, or the blog…
This is what I do.. Just thought I would share! 
Visiting Estelle Getty’s grave at Hollywood Forever Cemetery…
Amazing food in the Eiffle Tower Restaraunt…
