Just slow down a bit

"How quick can I see the results?"

I'm sure that I am not the only photographer that is asked this by almost every client, and, like a lot of us out there, I not only want to please the client but want them to see as soon as possible what a great set of images they have.

So, after the shoot, as soon as I've archived the full set of shots, I go through them all selecting a range of images that I feel are what the client is after. It's a process of elimination and depending on the number of shots taken can be a relativly long process. Lets say I took 600 shots during a session and I want to present a selection of 150 for the client to select the final shots from, that means I need to exclude about 450 shots from the shoot. Now that's not a real problem, a lot were taken in very quick succession as "Jack" was playing on the swing, or "Lois" was having tea with her dolls, and it is easy to select the best shots from those moments and present them, and so the process goes on as I whittle down the images till I am left with the very best.

Now I have 100-150 images that just need initial processing to make sure they are all looking good for uploading to the private gallery for viewing and selection, and all this is done before final retouching and presentation.

So whilst there is no definite answer to the initial question, I would suggest that it is not unreasonable to wait a day before you can start to browse your gallery and see the wonderful results, and don't forget to talk to the photographer about shots you "quite" like. If you want to see them as a black and white version ask for that, or perhaps you want a couple of the shots processed differently to fit in with the style of the room you will hang the prints in. All these things can be achieved but the sooner you let the photographer know the easier and quicker it will be to get the images you want.