August, and the folder of unedited weddings keeps growing
You shot two weddings last weekend and have two more this weekend. The folder of weddings waiting to be edited has nine in it. Some are culled, some are half edited, one is waiting for the second shooter's files, and one is with your outsourced editor.
A couple email to ask how things are going. You think their wedding was about six weeks ago. Your contract says you deliver within a certain period, but you would need to look up exactly what you promised them and when the clock started.
Why the backlog feels out of control
The editing itself is not the problem. It is that the backlog is invisible except as folders, so you cannot plan it. Weddings do not all need the same effort, and you do not know how many hours are ahead of you.
- Each wedding moves through stages: backup, cull, edit, review, export, upload.
- Stages are not recorded, so 'where am I with this one' needs you to open the folder.
- Promised delivery dates differ between packages and years of contracts.
- Outsourced editing adds a stage you are waiting on but not doing.
- Weekends are fixed, so the only flexible time is weekdays, which also hold meetings and admin.
What an invisible backlog costs
Late galleries are the most visible cost, followed by the emails asking about them. The less visible cost is your own wellbeing: working late every night without knowing whether it is enough, and feeling guilty on your day off.
It also affects bookings. Without knowing how the autumn looks, you might take on extra weddings in September that make the backlog unmanageable, or turn down work you could easily have fitted in.
How we build an edit queue you can plan with
- Every wedding goes into the queue on the day after it happens, with the delivery date calculated from its contract terms.
- Each wedding has stages you define, and you move it on with one tap as you finish each stage.
- Where your workflow allows, some stages move on their own: files arriving in a folder marks backup done, a gallery being published marks it delivered.
- Estimated hours per stage come from your own past weddings, adjusted for coverage length and image count.
- A planning view spreads the remaining hours across your available weekdays and shows which weddings are on track, tight or at risk.
- Weddings with an outsourced editor show when they went out and when they are due back.
| Wedding | Stage | Promised by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early July, country house | Editing | Late August | On track |
| Mid July, city hotel | Culled | Early September | Tight |
| Late July, barn | Waiting for second's files | Mid September | On track |
| Early August, marquee | With outsourced editor | Late September | On track |
The estimates are only as good as the history behind them, and we show them as estimates. You can override any wedding's hours when you know it will be quicker or slower.
The season with the queue in front of you
On Monday morning you open the queue and see the week's plan: which weddings to work on, in what order, to keep every promised date. If a date is at risk, you know weeks ahead, when there is still time to outsource a cull, move a meeting or tell the couple honestly.
When you are asked to take on another September wedding, you can see what it would do to the queue before saying yes.
Is your backlog like this?
- Your backlog is a folder of weddings rather than a list.
- You look up each couple's promised delivery date when they ask.
- You cannot say how many editing hours are ahead of you.
- You have delivered a gallery late without seeing it coming.
- You take bookings in peak season without checking your editing load.