Dear Devlin.
I want to change my editing style but how do I do this when currently booked couples booked me on my older style? Do I stick to old edit for them, throw caution to the wind and edit in new style or during sneak peeks offer both and let them pick which one they prefer?
Little Miss Procrastinator from Scotland
Oh hey LMPFS! Now this is a fantastic question and one which most of us will face at some point. Very few photographers stick with just one preset throughout an entire career and editing styles evolve over time.
I think of how you shoot as style and then how you edit as fashion.
And of course, fashions change and shift. Most creative industries are the same, trends come and go, and some return. Yes, even the dreaded spot colour – Have you seen Olivia Rodrigo‘s new music artwork?
But unlike most other genres of photography, weddings are a long game. A client might book you months or even years in advance so what happens when your image treatment changes significantly?
How to Change My Editing Style
It’s been well over a decade now that I’ve been delivering digitally produced galleries to my couples and in that time I have probably changed editing style most years. In fact this season, I changed the preset that I use for weddings back to one that I preferred a few years ago. This did mean having to retrain Imagen which was something that I put off for a while but once tackled it was an easy task and the reward is back to letting Imagen take care of all my edits. Yay!
Not once have I brought it up with a customer and not once has any of them made a comment. They will have booked you for that style that I spoke about earlier and that will not have changed so much. They will also have booked you as they trust you and they’ve bought into your vision, brand, and personality. You are so much more than how you edit.
And no I would not advise letting them pick. Part of that trust that they’ve hired you for is your expertise at editing so have confidence that you are doing the best with their images.
To help you feel more confident about this shift, how about polling your Instagram audience? Ask what it is they like about your images. I would be surprised if many said ‘How They Are Edited’.
When considering a change in your editing style, it’s important to remember that evolving and exploring new creative paths is a natural part of the artistic process. Clients hire wedding photographers not only for the end product but also for the experience they bring.