Good photographer who delivers RAW and will do NDA

Where are you located

Where are you located? That would help in suggesting a photographer. Otherwise I would say look at the vendors tab and see if any are willing to deliver RAW.

I did a NDA with my photographer for privacy reasons and it was no problem. I got it added into the contract.

We are currently deciding between a wedding in Charleston, NYC, and Napa. Obviously, we'd pay travel fees for the right photographer.

You have a 5-10k budget for photography only? Who are you?

Yeah any good professional trying to protect his brand whose worth his salt isn't going to give you all the raw files.

Anyone who does is a questionable *professional*

@jorocka I know that I hear that from most top pros, but a lot of that is trying to protect their image. Like I said I'm willing to sign an NDA to guarantee that these images are never seen by anybody that us so there could be no damage to their brand.

Just curious why you want access to the RAW files vs just having a digital copy of all the HR images with printing rights?

@ogjaci I imagine what we will do the same we do with all of our pictures; flip through them on the computer as we see fit. We are both traveling all the time. I spent 200 nights in a hotel room last year, and yes I actually do look back through my pics on my hard drive frequently. On the other hand we printed one album of our photos from a trip 3 years ago that we have looked at exactly once. We do appreciate really high quality photos but when its personal we also like pictures that may not be technically good if they elicit a laugh or bring back a memory. I hate the idea of never getting to view those images that might mean something to us but look ugly to the artist.

I don't have any suggestions for you, I'd say if you found anyone who meets your criteria you should go with them. I'm also curious why you'd go through so much work for your photos to make sure that you are the only ones who see them. I guess I always figured that photos are meant to be shared? Like will your guests not be able to see photos they took with you at your wedding? I'm having a hard time with the concept I guess lol

@laine l, I think we'd be open to all the hr jpegs or tiffs if it was truly every snap of the shutter, even unedited. That said we do all our own post for our photos and would preferably like the option on these, again with no chance anyone else sees them. I think its ok to like your photographer's style and your own style or to have different visions for how a particular might look.

@erin we are just super private so no images are going to be shared in open forums, but we would share the photographers original edited work with our close friends and family that will be at the wedding (only about 30 people). I just wouldn't share the unedited RAW images because it might reflect poorly on the artist. I want those simply for us to look at.

Just was wondering. Because the only reason anyone would want RAW is for post processing. Hmmmm I am not sure of many photographers who will let you post process the images. I definitely cannot think of any. We are paying $4,500 for our photographs and we get the digital HR files from the wedding and engagement shoot. I am guessing they will prolly delete the blurry ones or any that aren't good but unlike you, I don't want those ones anyways lol. I will still have access to well over 800 of my photos from the big day which is more than enough for me!

I know plenty of photographers who would give you the RAW images, but they're not very good. You'll have much better luck finding someone if you drop that requirement. Unless you're planning on editing them yourself. Most people don't even have the right software to open RAWs.

If you must have the RAW images, then your best bet is to have an enormous photography budget. You'll get charged extra for not allowing the photographer to use them for portfolio/promotional use, and if you are able to talk someone into giving you the RAWs, they'll likely charge an arm and a leg for that, too.

I hope Jay will weigh in, but I can tell you that most of my photographers will not give anyone RAW photos and they will not agree to forgoing using what is essentially their property to promote them.

It's kinda like people sending me scripts they write and asking me to read them.

I don't. My brand is at stake.

I hear you. The two that are artistically excellent that I found are on the west coast and at the high end of our budget. I just want to do my due diligence to ensure I'm not leaving a better option on the table that I couldn't locate on my own.

@Cecilia, I agree that the RAW is a tough ask, but I haven't talked to one high end photographer who wouldn't do an NDA, some for free some for a fee. They all have said that its common. The best have told me that they don't need the images from one wedding because their reputation draws clients not their blog posts.

Also, would you read a script for them if they paid you and were legally not able to distribute any proof that you did so? I don't deal with the artistic world much, but I'd find it hard to turn down money if its on the table for something like that.

Think of it this way - everyone has a price, but unless you rank Jennifer Lopez or higher on the money scale, you're not getting the RAW images.

Signing an agreement not to use the photos for self-publicity? Sure, for a price. Getting copies of every image taken? Maybe, for a price. Getting the RAWs of every image taken? Have celebrity amounts of money, and even then you'll have to pray and beg.

I recently found out that an old dormmate of mine is now a high-end wedding photographer, who is based in Boston but does travel for weddings too. Dunno about RAW and NDA, but wouldn't hurt to ask: http://www.animus-art.com/

It's Celia.

And no.

I'm sorry @thatonechick, but that's not totally accurate. I'll grant that it is for most photographers but there are some, even critically acclaimed, photographers that will sell their RAW files. The two I've found charged for it but it wasn't horrible($1000 or less). These are good photographers whose starting price is north of 5k.. I simply asked the group if they knew of any others. I'm not able to contact every good wedding photographer so I thought I'd see if anyone else found one. I'd like to know all my options before we make a final decision.