Weddings and RAW Files for Clients

Well, things do change and everyone has to evolve. Your former clients can get a nice digital scan of their nice prints and do everything your current clients can do with their jpeg files including posting to Facebook, making bad prints and showing to everyone they know, etc.

So I think keeping possesion film negatives or the RAW files offers little security for a wedding photographer because technology and expectations have changed. As you say, people generally don't want and don't know what to do with RAW files, so why do so many wedding photographers have this level of concern about RAW files getting out?

• If a few people in your career who happen to be proficient in Photoshop ask you for the RAW files for personal use and you give the clients what they want, how much are you really risking?

• How likely is it really that the clients will be able to profit at your expense with wedding photos?

• How likely is it really that the client will be able to do any more harm with a RAW than the jpeg he is already getting?

If your client is inclined to do you harm, it seems they are going to do it whether or not your client has the RAW file.

Personally, I don't want to process all the files, but I might want to do some for personal use. If the photographers I like won't give me RAW files, I may end up editing the jpegs for personal use only.