How to send RAW photos to a client

Should I send RAW files at all?

Check your contract first. Plenty of photographers deliver edited JPEGs and keep the RAWs, and that's a fair business decision. When the client is paying for originals, though, a retoucher, an agency or a brand team needs the actual RAW files, not exports. This guide is for that case.

What goes in the folder?

• The RAW files, as they came off the card: CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG. Don't rename them after you've edited, or the edits won't line up.
• The XMP sidecars, if you edited in Lightroom Classic. Lightroom keeps edits in its catalog. Select the photos and choose Metadata, then Save Metadata to Files, and an .xmp file appears next to each RAW. DNG files store this inside the file.
• The Capture One settings, if you work in sessions. Send the whole session folder, CaptureOne subfolder included, and your adjustments come with it.
• Full-size JPEGs in their own folder. Not everyone has a RAW editor, and it lets the client check they got the right shoot in seconds.

A layout that works: Client-Shoot/RAW, Client-Shoot/JPEG, Client-Shoot/Selects. Whatever you choose, the folders arrive the way you sorted them.

How big will it be?

Look at one RAW file on your card and multiply by the count. Size depends on the sensor and on whether the camera compresses, so a file can be 25 MB on one body and over 100 MB on another. A few thousand frames from a wedding usually lands between 50 and 150 GB. Add the JPEGs on top.

At that size, email and most free plans are out. WeTransfer Free allows 3 GB in 30 days. Tranzfer Free holds 20 GB at once, and Starter holds 300 GB.

How do I send it?

1. Sort the folder as above and check the total size.
2. Sign in to Tranzfer with Google, drag the whole folder in, and pick how long the link lasts.
3. Let it run. If the Wi-Fi drops, it retries. If you close the laptop, it carries on when it wakes. If the browser crashes, pick the same folder again and only what's missing goes up.
4. Send the link to your client with the expiry date and one line on what's inside. They download without an account.

Why not just use my gallery?

Galleries like Pixieset and Pic-Time are good at what they're for: proofing, favourites, print sales, a client experience. Handing over a folder of originals with sidecars isn't that job. Use the gallery for viewing and a transfer link for the files, and nobody has to wonder which version is which.

If you'd rather keep a delivery up for months, a shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder does that, at the cost of the files sitting in your storage. Tranzfer links end on schedule and the files are deleted, so last year's weddings aren't floating around. More on that on the page for photographers.