Is basic retouching included in wedding photography packages?

foxy_j

Hey,

So asking to bride/grooms and wedding photographers. What type of editing/basic retouching is included usually in your photography packages?

We did an engagement shoot with our photography and on the day my fiance had a skin breakout (which he does get quite often). We asked if there anything she can do and she yes no problem. She said she usually wouldn't unless asked as to not offend people. So we got our photos back and ok there was nearly 200 as she included all (even the unflattering ones) but she didn't remove the blemishes in any or offer to do a selection. There was some unflattering ones of me too but some nice ones aswell but his break out is noticeable in nearly all photos. I understand there might be a charge if I wanted some of the images of me to be softened. As the close up ones were quite unflattering

When I asked about the images being retouched she said she'd do one photo for free but the rest would be a day's work if doing all the close up shots. I'm worried now that on the wedding day if he has a breakout it'll be in most of the photos.

I understand she wouldn't do all but enough to fill an album I would have though would have been included. Feeling a bit panicky now as we already don't like getting our photo taken. I thought the shoot would put me at ease but i'm now more apprehensive for the big day. Which is only 6 weeks away now ☹️

baby and crumble

To be honest, retouching hundreds of photos for breakouts will be incredibly time consuming and therefore expensive for any photographer. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. We got 800 photos back from our wedding day - that's a hell of a lot of work.

Have you considered having some concealer/ makeup on hand for your fiance if he does have a breakout on the day? It's more likely to be a cheaper solution, especially since almost everyone at the wedding will be taking photos and posting them around, and you can't expect them to retouch photos for you, etc.

skallywag

Assuming you have a written offer / contract etc. with the photographer, I would take a look here.

I do not think that it is the norm to include this though.

pullandbang

The title of your post is a little misleading.
You're asking is "BASIC" retouching included and yes would be the answer to that.
However, covering skin blemishes/breakouts/acne etc falls under advanced retouching (for want of a better word) and would cost extra. Retouching skin is actually quite difficult and very time consuming so you can't expect your photographer to do it for free. You can always hire your own DRA (Digital Retouch Artist) and have them done, but that won't be cheap either.
What I would do in your case is chat to your photographer and see if she'll retouch the closeup photos for your album only and leave all the rest as shot.
As an aside, what sort of photographer gives you 200 photos from an engagement shoot, including the "unflattering" ones?
Also, I second what baby and crumble said, use some concealer/makeup on the day - it works a treat.

Bacchus

I pretty much echo what pullandbang said. You're not actually asking for basic retouching. That kind of work is time consuming. I once had a bride who had an unfortunate small cluster breakout on one of her temples. It was only noticeable in some photos so I retouched it, no hesitation. I'd class that as a reasonable effort to do. If you're talking about a more more noticeable breakout, that's going to take a lot of effort.

For your wedding, talk to your photographer to come to some arrangement (just in case). Maybe it's a case of delivering the photos with basic retouching and then you can request X photos to be retouched fully. Don't be surprised if there's some fee here but don't let yourself get ripped off either. By "basic retouching" (in my last sentence) I mean, if there's one big spot that's just THERE, that's a 2 second job per photo to get rid of in Lightroom.

It's also worth remembering you'll have your makeup done professionally on your wedding day. A good MUA is gold if you're worried about a breakout. Talk to your MUA too. They might be able to provide tips in advance of the wedding to help your skin.

foxy_j

Hey sorry for the late reply,

So I spoke to my photographer and she believes in giving you all photos. She doesn't want to pick for you - when I say unflattering I mean ones that I think are unflattering angles not ones that have eyes closed or anything like that.

She offered to retouch a few that we wanted to print. Ya i guess hopefully himself won't have too much of a breakout on the day as I don't think he'd wear concealer.

I'm hoping we'll have so many on the day to choose from that we'll at least find enough we like to fill an album and if some need a bit of retouching hopefully won't cost too much.

greentea is just wrong

I would say prevention is better than the cure in this case...! Try and Limit alcohol intake a few weeks before the big day, heaps of water, pristine pillow cases & good food should go a long way to try and ensure he doesn't break out...

Good luck