Keep selected RAW files, sidecars, and reference exports connected with a clear manifest so your wedding editor can identify the work.
The handoff stalls when an editor cannot connect a select to its RAW original. Send a manifest that identifies each assigned capture, its sidecar and reference export, and the expected edit; folder proximity alone leaves the assignment unclear.
An editor should receive the selected originals, the editing information needed to open them correctly, and a manifest defining the assignment.
Keeping RAW files next to selects solves a location problem. The handoff also needs to explain which photographs require work and what the editor should return. A folder might contain approved captures, alternate frames, reference JPEGs, and photographs awaiting a decision. Their presence does not establish their status.
I use “select” here to mean a photograph assigned for the current editing pass. Put that definition in the brief. Album candidates, client favorites, and portfolio choices can all carry selection markers while belonging to different stages of production.
For a library organized in Atlas Photo, apply the same distinction: the location of an original and its assignment status answer separate questions. Make both explicit in whatever handoff package your receiving editor uses.
Define the expected return as well. Specify the export format, naming convention, destination, and whether the editor should return updated editing information alongside finished images.
Star ratings can identify selects when the sender and receiving editor share an explicit definition of each rating used in the assignment.
Adobe’s Lightroom Classic documentation describes ratings from 0 to 5 stars, alongside flags and color labels. Those markers offer several ways to describe photographs, so a visible rating needs an agreed meaning before it becomes an editing instruction.
Write the selection rule into the brief. State which rating or flag defines the current assignment and whether other marked photographs are included as context. If you also use ratings to identify album candidates, explain how the editor should distinguish that status from the editing queue.
Export or record the resulting selection in the manifest. That preserves the assignment boundary if someone changes a rating after the package leaves your hands.
Identify each select with its original filename and relative path within the handoff package.
Wedding coverage can include captures from different cameras or cards with matching filenames. A filename without its folder context may point to several possible originals. A renamed reference export adds another connection the editor must resolve.
Include these fields in the manifest:
Keep capture filenames intact unless the receiving workflow requires a documented rename. When renaming is necessary, record the original and replacement names together.
I would check identity before discussing folder aesthetics. A tidy directory can still contain an ambiguous assignment. The practical check is whether the recipient can follow a manifest entry to the intended capture without asking which camera folder you meant.
XMP sidecars should travel with selected RAW files when they contain metadata or adjustments the receiving editor needs.
Their role depends on the application and workflow. State which software created the editing information, which application should open it, and whether the recipient is expected to preserve the supplied adjustments.
A sidecar’s presence does not confirm that another application will reproduce the same appearance. Check the receiving workflow with a representative capture before sending the full assignment. Include the dependencies that matter to that job, such as an existing crop or a reference export.
Put essential expectations in the written brief too. If the crop is approved, say so. If the editor should develop the photograph afresh, state that instruction against the assignment.
Where the starting state depends on a catalog or an application-specific package, identify that dependency explicitly. A folder containing every capture may still lack the information required to reproduce the intended starting edit.
Reference JPEGs should identify their source RAW files and explain which aspects of the reference the editor should follow.
A reference may communicate an approved crop, a desired color treatment, or a previous delivery. These roles carry different expectations. Record the role in the manifest or shared brief, with image-specific exceptions attached to the affected capture.
Keep that mapping even when references and originals live in separate subfolders. If an export has a delivery name unrelated to its capture name, the manifest should connect them directly.
Avoid treating a polished appearance as evidence of approval. An editor needs to know whether the framing is binding, whether the treatment is illustrative, and whether the export represents the current instruction. Answer those questions before the edit begins.
A changed selection needs a revised manifest identifying additions, withdrawals, and the instructions it replaces.
Adding files to a shared folder leaves their purpose unresolved. They could extend the assignment, replace earlier choices, or provide references. Attach the instruction to the change.
Give each manifest revision a distinct label and retain the previous version with the handoff record. For withdrawn captures, specify whether editing should stop and whether completed work should still be returned.
Apply the same discipline to changed crops or treatment requests. Record the instruction against the original’s identity so the editor can reconcile it with work already underway.
Check that the receiving editor can resolve the manifest to the files, open the intended starting state, and identify the required return.
Start with a representative capture, then reconcile the complete assignment. Every assigned entry should resolve to an available original. Every reference should have a stated purpose. Every dependency named in the brief should be accessible.
Keep preservation separate from the temporary editing package. The Library of Congress’s personal digital archiving guidance recommends at least 2 copies of selected photographs, stored in different places, and checking saved files at least once a year. An editor’s working folder does not establish that those archive copies exist.
Open the next wedding selection and create its manifest. Trace an assigned capture through its RAW original, sidecar, reference export, and return instructions, then resolve any missing connection before releasing the package.
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