- Quality Control: Not every photo taken during a session may meet the photographer’s quality standards. Some images may have technical issues, such as being out of focus or having poor lighting. Photographers want to present their best work, and delivering all images, including the subpar ones, can harm their professional reputation.
- Editing and Post-Processing: Professional photographers often spend a significant amount of time post-processing their images to enhance colors, adjust exposure, and retouch imperfections. This process is a part of their artistic and creative workflow, and they may not want unedited or unprocessed images to represent their work.
- Protecting Their Brand: Photographers build their reputations on the quality of their work. Giving clients unedited or low-quality images could dilute their brand and make it difficult to control the way their work is presented to the public.
- Legal and Copyright Concerns: Photographers retain copyright to their images by default, which means they have the legal right to control how their work is used. They may be concerned about clients using unedited or unapproved images in ways that could damage their reputation or infringe upon copyright laws.
- Client Preferences: Many clients may prefer a curated selection of the best images rather than receiving a large number of unedited or repetitive shots. It can be overwhelming for clients to sort through and choose from a vast number of images.
- Storage and Organization: Providing all images from a photoshoot would increase the storage and organizational demands on both the photographer and the client. It’s more efficient for both parties to work with a smaller selection of high-quality images.
- Professionalism: Part of a photographer’s job is to curate and deliver a final product that meets professional standards. This is what clients expect and pay for.
However, it’s important to note that photographers may offer different packages or options for clients. Some photographers may provide a limited number of edited images as part of a standard package and offer additional images for purchase. Others may offer to provide all images for an additional fee. If you’re interested in having access to all images from your photoshoot, it’s a good idea to discuss this with the photographer before the session to clarify your expectations and work out an arrangement that suits your needs.