What to Do When Clients Ask for Raw Files

When a client asks for raw files, the request can put your deliverables, your editing time, and your reputation on the line. Handle it casually and you risk handing over work that is unfinished, easy to misuse, and hard to control once it leaves your drive.

Coming to you from David Bergman, this practical video tackles the moment a client says, “Can I get the raw files?” Bergman starts by resetting what “raw” actually means in real terms: sensor data that still needs decisions made about color, contrast, sharpening, and more before it looks like what you’d call a finished photo. He also draws a clean line between a JPEG and a raw file, including the fact that raw formats differ by brand and usually require dedicated software to even open. That matters when a client thinks they’re asking for “the originals” but doesn’t realize they’re asking for a file they may not be able to use. It also matters when the real fear underneath the request is, “Am I getting the highest-quality output,” not “I want to learn raw processing.”

Bergman also gives a blunt reminder that the look of the final image is often the job, not an optional extra. If someone edits your work badly, then posts it with your credit, it can land in front of future clients as if you approved it. He points out a modern version of an old problem: instead of heavy-handed filters, it might be an app that smooths faces until skin looks like plastic. You end up associated with an image you would never show in a portfolio, and you may not even know it’s out there until it spreads. He uses Leibovitz as an example of a well-known style where the creator’s finishing choices are part of the product being purchased. The useful part here is not celebrity name-dropping, it’s the idea that style has value even when you are not famous.

Where the video gets especially sharp is the translation step. When a client says “raw,” Bergman suggests you ask a direct question: do they mean full-size finished files, more coverage, or the ability to choose selects and handle editing themselves? Those are three different requests with three different price tags and three different risks. He lays out situations where handing over raw files is normal, like commercial jobs with art directors and retouchers, or specialized editorial workflows where an organization wants full access for production reasons. He also shares why a large editorial operation might want every frame for context, especially in fast sequences where the best moment is not obvious until the whole run is visible.

He then breaks it down by job type in a way that makes contract language feel less abstract. For portraits, weddings, headshots, and events, he frames culling as part of what you’re being paid to do, because nobody wants to sift through blinks, near-misses, and test frames. He also talks about shifting the phrase “all images” into “all usable images,” which is a small change that can prevent a fight later. In that same section, he introduces a proof-gallery approach so the client can pick favorites without you fully polishing frames they will never use. On the editing side, he outlines a few workable boundaries: no alterations at all, alterations allowed but without credit, or full freedom if you truly do not care. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Bergman.