Which photo files your agency gets for editing

Agencies often have a post-production team or a trusted editor. That is a reasonable way to keep one visual standard across a client's materials. It also changes what you need from our photographer. The deliverable is now a set of files for another team to work on, not only a gallery for the client to enjoy.

This page belongs to our guide on agency and recurring event-photography commissions. It focuses on the handoff between our team and your own editors.

Is a finished gallery the same as a working file set?

No. A finished gallery is a curated, edited selection meant to be viewed and used. A working file set is what a post-production team needs to do its own work: a wider selection, a suitable file type and a clear record of what was changed.

Our guide to edited photographs, retouching and RAW files explains the difference between these file types. For agency work, the key point is that nothing should be assumed. Ask for each item you need by name in the quotation.

Who selects the frames?

Selection decides what your team has to work with. If our photographer selects, your editors receive a considered set but may not see frames they would have chosen. If the agency selects from a wider set, your team has more choice but also more to review.

Our guide to agreeing what retouching can and cannot change covers the related limits. Pick one approach and write it down. A common agency arrangement is our team-selected set first, then an agency request for additional frames from the same moments.

What editing happens before the handoff?

We edit for exposure, colour, crop and consistency. Your post-production team may then apply its own grade, retouching or layouts on top. If both sides edit heavily, results can drift away from what the client approved.

Agree one of these approaches:

• Our photographer applies a light, neutral edit so your team has room to work.
• Our team applies a full edit, and your team only crops and lays out.
• Our photographer supplies originals and the agency carries all editing.

Each is workable. Each changes the time and cost on both sides, so it belongs in the quotation. Ask us which can be included for your date. Your team should also know what modifications are acceptable after delivery; see cropping, retouching and modifying photographs after delivery.

A worked example

For example, an agency organises a 400-guest product launch. Its post-production team builds a recap deck, social crops and a partner report from the images. The agency tells us its editors work in a particular file format and that the deck is due soon after the event.

Before the event, we would confirm in writing which file types are delivered and who selects. We would also confirm which frames arrive first for the deck, which come later, and how files are named. After the event, the agency's team receives the agreed set with consistent file names, and any corrected file is labelled as a new version.

What should be agreed before event day?

Capture decisions start on the day, so late changes are hard. Cover these points in the brief:

1. The formats and delivery method for the files.
2. Whether originals are part of the commission.
3. The selection method and who decides.
4. How file names and folders are organised. Our photo delivery acceptance checklist helps your team confirm that what arrived matches what was agreed.
5. Whether any modification of the images needs our team's review.
6. The order of delivery if your timeline has several stages.

Who answers for what afterwards?

When two teams handle the same image, record the boundary. Our photographer answers for the files as delivered. The agency answers for what its own team changes. Our guide to image-handling responsibilities across agencies and partner photographers sets out the questions to settle.

Keep an unchanged copy of everything delivered. If a client later asks why an image looks different from what they saw, you can show each step. A simple photo archive plan keeps these versions organised.

When should you raise this with us?

At the first enquiry. Send us the file formats your editors work in, whether you want originals, and when the first images are due. We can then plan capture and delivery around that and confirm the details in your written quotation, together with the date, crew and venue. If you are also producing work under your own brand from our files, our page on agency-produced and white-label event photography covers that side.