Photography

Did you sign a contract and what clauses does it have with respect to artistic rights and client use?

That has to be negotiated before the contract, not afterwards.

white washed skies means you didn't hire a pro.

Controversial take:

If they are a capable photographer I believe they should hand it out.

Hear me out: I work in graphic design and illustration for the better part of a decade, I am capable of editing raws myself and I often need to as part of my work.

A photographer not handing out raws is a kill-criteria and makes collaboration difficult. Frankly, I hate it.

I also believe in handing out open files and source material in pretty much any field of visual art.

Remember folks, clients hire your visual talent because of your signature and style (of shooting) + in large parts your personality. If you are afraid a client will walk away with source files and ridicule your work publicly or run off with it to a cheap competitor, than you are not as good as you think you are in the first place.

Agencies I worked for also always gave out files on request.

If a client asked nicely I would consider it. You never know until you ask, especially if it’s for a holiday card. Can’t imagine being a grinch about it.

You can ask, though I would question how professional the photographer is if they messed the images up that much and did not correct them before they gave you copies. So they may not have RAW files of the images. Expect they may also charge you for the files as well.

I wouldn’t ask for raw images. Not only are they quite large in file size, they also look nothing like the photographers usual work. I’d never give my clients raw images because I shoot underexposed with a cool white balance so they look dark and cold at first. Now you could however edit the photos you already have in Lightroom. There are probably even some presets that would work wonders on the jpg version.

You’ve got your answer. If you have photoshop you could probably replace the backgrounds easily with their new ai content aware fills.

Normally I wouldn’t advise editing another photographers photo and they may get nasty but if it’s just a Christmas card (and you’re not posting it online)… it’ll probably be fine.

You can ask, the worst they can say is no. Prepare to be charged extra for the release of the RAW photos, and in the most extreme case work with the edited photos with the Generative Fill functions.

I would be personally mad as a photographer if I saw that done to my work, but if there’s no contract stating the images can’t be altered or manipulated, you’re within your rights to do it. What happens after that is on your relationship with the photographer.

If the sky is blown out they probably shot it backlit and bright on purpose, it sounds like you're describing the "bright and airy" style. In that case the RAW files aren't going to help, the highlights were most likely blown to start with. This is kind of on whoever booked the photographer for not looking at her style beforehand. Download the high res jpeg files and do a sky swap in Photoshop, it's fairly easy but won't correct the look of the beach. Or post it to the r/PhotoshopRequest and see if someone will hook you up. Most pros won't give you RAWs, if they do they're likely to charge for it.

just replace the sky with your own sky

You can ask but expect to either get a no answer or if they do say yes, you’ll probably be asked to pay more.

You may want to ask if they can be re-edited.

It does concern me that the final images you have are being reported by you in an unusable condition. The RAW files may be of no use if you are getting sub standard images delivered to you.

Bigger issues may be in play here

I know I'm going to get downvoted here, but I strongly disagree with the photographer's apprehension for providing RAWs. I think it stems from the photographer and the client having a different understanding of meaning and purpose of the photographer -- and frankly, I think it's a case where the photographers should be more willing to give the customer what they want.

For the photographer, the photos are part of their Art. The finished photos say something about their style, etc., and they shudder at the idea of someone editing their pictures in a style they disagree with. I know they also have apprehension about showing the client (used to "unedited" iPhone photos looking bright and vibrant) what a real RAW looks like.

But for the paying client (for any type of family/event photography at least), we don't really care about that. The purpose of hiring a photographer is documentary. Yes, we have chosen a particular photographer (I hope) after looking at their portfolio and deciding that we like their style, but the reason we are paying the photographer is so that we can have a photographic record of a particular moment in time. If we want to showcase that moment differently, or go back years later as technology changes, why shouldn't we be able to? I mean, I imagine that if I had the RAWs from my wedding in 2007, I'd be able to make them look significantly better with minimal effort given the incredible differences in Lightroom since then.

That said, I may be a particular kind of client. Because I'm a (very amateur) photographer myself, I at least understand that an un-culled, un-edited RAW dump does not represent the skill of the photographer. But some sort of arrangement where after we've selected and agreed on final, edited images (and I've fully paid), I get a RAW dump for my own archival purposes should be completely unobjectionable to any family/event photographer.

youre more likely to be successful to ask for a reedit in more neutral tone (and pay for it) than getting raws.

If they delivered the photos to you with a completely washed out sky and background, chances are the raw images aren't going to help you. Im guessing if the sky could have been recovered, they would have done it. That's the thing about shooting portraits outdoors with only natural light.

Pay me enough and I'd hand them over, sure.

Something tells me after reading your responses OP, that this photographer likely delivered work that completely falls in line with their portfolio.

I don't know anyone who would hand over unedit files or RAW files. I know a number of photographers who would not be happy with pictures being reused and have even sued people for making copies of wedding pictures.

My point is, there might be a clause in your contract with the photographer about usage because they own the copyright to your pictures.

If they were a “professional photographer”, you signed a contract for their services. What does it say about the RAW files?

I don't offer my clients RAW files, and I don't know any pro shooters who do. If you had it in the contract that might be your only chance. Good luck.

No. If the fault was on them they should provide you with new jpegs at no charge. If that style was agreed on then you will pay for new jpegs. In neither case will raws be sent most likely.

Honestly no one don’t find it reasonable. I personally never give out RAW files. Does the editing look like the rest of the photographers work? If so then it’s sorta on you for hiring someone with a style different than what you want.

Also truthfully even if the photographer didn’t find this ask to be an issue, there’s very little chance they still have the raws. I personally wouldn’t have kept family photo raws that long

You could also ask in the https://www.reddit.com/r/PhotoshopRequest/ to fix your photos for a small fee which is usually a tip

As a photographer I give my clients all the raws. I don’t really care for them. It’s their photos. They can have them after I get paid. Lol

This actually takes quite a bit of time to sort out. To get the RAWs, they need to go to Lightroom and check the file name of the RAW image, then go to the RAW folder and copy it for you. X15 and this will take some time, assuming they still have the RAWs easily available. It might be easier to just give you all of the RAW files but then you have storage and sharing issues. You might offer to compensate them for the effort, especially if it's some time after completion of the shoot.