Ideal number of images delivered to clients?

[haring]

I think that delivering a lot of wedding or engagement photos to clients can be overwhelming...How many images do you usually deliver to clients after an engagement session or a wedding? What is the optimal number of images which makes clients happy...? Not too few...not too many....?

[soobumim]

I usually deliver 100 images per hour. My typical wedding coverage (8 hour) I deliver 800~900 pictures. Last weekend wedding, I only have 350 total images (6 hour coverage) since bride's wedding dress arrived 30 min before the the ceremony.

[haring]

I guess she was stressed...! :)

[thatsridiculous]

There's a great article on this in the last Professional Photographer magazine, actually. I think less is more in most cases, whether its a portrait session or a wedding - shoot with purpose, think before you click and all that. I've started trying to implement that and it's been pretty successful so far.

[ngoduyviet]

Ideal number varies with their expectation or how you set their expectation. There's no fixed ideal number.

[MicWayWal]

When you can figure out the ideal amount of images to shoot, the ideal number of weddings to photograph in a year, the ideal amount to charge for your services; you might know the ideal number to deliver.

When you find that out, please share it with us. Thanks.

[S-Man]

If you shoot ~900 per wedding, what about your second shooter? Lets say they also shoot ~8-900, then you're delivering ~1800 images to the client?

[PhotoDude79]

I deliver no more than 500 images.... Time coverage doesn't matter.

[Chantal]

I deliver between 400-900 depending on the wedding. If I shoot a Cambodian wedding which is a two day ceremony I may deliver about 800 pictures.

[Tom]

All of them.

[Redneck]

150 to 200 for a 5 hr wedding session and 300 to 400 for full day coverage.
E-session: 15 to 25.

[bthompson]

I tell clients 50 - 100 an hour but it generally tends to be closer to the 50 mark. 6 hours usually averages around 350. It's all about how the wedding was. If it was a hopping reception with a ton of fun activity and great dancing, faces, etc, they'll get more images. I won't cull out a good image just for the sake of keeping a number really low.. But I do believe in quality over quantity.

[BeccaJ]

Originally Posted by bthompson

I tell clients 50 - 100 an hour but it generally tends to be closer to the 50 mark. 6 hours usually averages around 350. It's all about how the wedding was. If it was a hopping reception with a ton of fun activity and great dancing, faces, etc, they'll get more images. I won't cull out a good image just for the sake of keeping a number really low.. But I do believe in quality over quantity.

this exactly.

I've delivered 450 images to a 3 hr wedding day that had a nice party crowd on the dance floor and I've delivered 375 images to a 7 hr wedding day where the dance floor involved 4 people.

[haring]

Originally Posted by MicWayWal

When you can figure out the ideal amount of images to shoot, the ideal number of weddings to photograph in a year, the ideal amount to charge for your services; you might know the ideal number to deliver.

When you find that out, please share it with us. Thanks.

:):):) I will!

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Ok folks think back 20 years ago or so when the top shooters were using Blads or other MF bodies to shoot a ceremony how many pics did they deliver to a bride who was happy with that number? (Say he double shoots all the main poses to be sure to have eyes open etc). For a 5 hour ceremony he may have shot 20 24 exposure rolls? Of course he didn't give them prints of every shot so maybe he delivered less than 1/2 so 480/2=240 and then he may have had a few throw aways so say 200 and the bride was happy as can be to have them to choose from to print out larger prints of the top 50 or so?

If the bride wants 60+ finiehed shots per hour that you are there she might as well just do video!