Wedding images and sizes for online gallery question

TurnipFarmer

TurnipFarmer

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Name
Aaron
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I did my first ever wedding at the weekend and going to process the images this week.

Now I have a Zenfolio account for my normal portfolio work but intend to upload the wedding images to a gallery on there for guests to see. I will give the bride and groom a copy of the images on disc.

I have a few questions being relatively new to wedding photography. With the images supplied to bride and groom is it common practice to give them full red images so that they can print off at later date? Best to use DVD or CD or USB stick for this?

The main thing I'm a little unsure of is the image size that I upload to my online gallery. Uploading 800-900 full size images will take an age so what is optimal image pixel size to upload to keep upload times down but allow people to view and purchase images?
 
Do you really want to upload that many? There aren't that many combinations of shots, surely. Just get the ones where people are looking their best. Is it me, or do people tend to take too many shots these days and not dispose of enough?

That's not a dig, just me musing.
 
800-900 was just an example of how many but wedding albums from what I've seen do have this many in that showcase the day unless I'm wrong? Is this not normal practice? Also this is my first ever wedding shoot too.

I would pick the best out from those though to showcase on blog and show the bride and groom.
 
I'm not sure what's 'normal' to be honest. I took the photos for my sister-in-law's wedding in August (my first one), spent all day with her from getting ready to leaving the venue (10-11 hours) and only took 550, of which 310 were 'keepers' and I then reduced it down to about 230.

I can't see how more would have made it better for me and them.
 
TurnipFarmer said:
800-900 was just an example of how many but wedding albums from what I've seen do have this many in that showcase the day unless I'm wrong? Is this not normal practice? Also this is my first ever wedding shoot too.

I would pick the best out from those though to showcase on blog and show the bride and groom.
Click to expand...

How many you deliver is a purely personal thing, but ask yourself:

Is it technically perfect
Is there a similar better image (group shots etc, it's normal to shoot anything from 3-10 and to only show 1 or exceptionally 2 if the expressions of the B or G is radically different and pleasant)
Is it helping with the story telling

My 'show' rate is about 25 - 30% and if it's not good enough for the B&G, it's definitely not going anywhere else. Remember who your customers are. Why would you let other people see pictures you didn't show your customer?

Other people will shoot more or less than me and have a higher or lower 'keeper' rate. Like I said, it's a personal thing, but my favourite analogy is this:

When I go to a restaurant I want a perfectly cooked and presented meal, I don't want to have to wade through the vegetable peelings, meat trimmings and stuff they left out too long to find my dinner amongst. I just want to be presented with a beautiful finished product.
 
I think that sums it up quite well. I wanted to get down to around 100 shots, but as I was just giving them the shots on a DVD, I gave them the 232 that I thought were the best, put the other 80 suitable keepers in a no. 2 folder and also gave them the rest in a no. 3 folder. I wouldn't want to show the no. 3 shots to anyone, but thought there was no harm in them having them on the basis they will only want to show the best ones as well.
 
Regards image size, upload 3000 pixel images on the longest edge (big enough for a 30" print) and reduce the quality setting to 90%

THat should provide fairly small images that will upload in a reasonable amount of time.
 
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