How Long to Keep Client Photos: An Archive Policy
Write a photo archive policy: why you need one, common retention ranges, what storage costs and the wording to give clients.
In this article
Keep client photos for a fixed, written period, and say what that period is before the shoot. A common approach is to keep the edited finals longer than the RAW files and to tell the client that the delivered gallery is their responsibility to download and back up. What matters more than the exact number is that the policy exists, that you follow it and that the contract says it.
Why a policy
Without a policy you make the decision under pressure. A client emails four years after the wedding asking for the files. You either have them, or you do not, and either way you are improvising.
A policy does three things:
- It sets the client's expectation: the pictures are theirs to download, not a permanent service.
- It limits your storage bill. Archives grow with every job.
- It protects you if a drive fails after the stated window.
A policy also makes deletion routine rather than stressful. If every job has a date after which RAW files go, you can clear space on a schedule without agonising over each one.
Typical ranges
These are examples, not rules. Photographers vary widely.
| File type | Short | Medium | Long |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAW files | 6 months | 1 to 2 years | 5 years |
| Edited finals (full size) | 2 years | 5 years | Indefinitely |
| Web-sized selects | 5 years | Indefinitely | Indefinitely |
| Contracts and invoices | Check local record-keeping rules |
Weddings and other once-in-a-life jobs tend to sit toward the longer end, because the client may come back years later. Quick commercial jobs often sit at the short end, since the client has already used the images and holds the files.
Tax and record rules for contracts, invoices and payment records are separate from picture files and differ by country. Ask a local adviser how long you must hold paperwork.
Storage costs
Work out what a year of archive really costs you. Example numbers, change them to your own:
- A wedding of 3,000 RAW files at about 30 MB each is about 90 GB.
- Edited finals of 600 JPEGs at 10 MB each is about 6 GB.
- Forty weddings a year is about 3.6 TB of RAW files and 240 GB of finals.
If you follow the 3-2-1 idea of three copies, on two kinds of media, one off-site, the RAW volume triples. A shorter RAW period saves a large share of that cost. Keeping finals for years costs very little by comparison.
Do a rough sum: terabytes per year times copies times price per terabyte per month, from your current provider's page. Look at the result once a year. When it grows faster than your income from that work, shorten the RAW window.
For active jobs, your editing workflow should say when files move from working storage to the archive, so the fast drives do not fill with finished jobs.
Telling clients
Tell them three times: in the contract, at delivery and in a reminder before the window ends.
At delivery, the message should be plain: the gallery is here, please download everything and keep two copies. Say the date on which the gallery link or your own copy expires. For the reminder, send an email 30 days before.
Good boundaries make this easier. If you have written rules for how and when clients contact you, the same document can say how requests for old files are handled. See communication boundaries.
Offer a way back too. For example, after the window you can say retrieval is possible only if the files still exist, and for a fee of your choosing. Do not promise a copy you may have deleted.
Example wording
Adapt this, and have a local adviser check it. It is a sample, not legal advice.
Storage of your files. After delivery, we keep your edited images for five years and the original unedited files for one year. We cannot guarantee that files will be available after those periods. You are responsible for downloading and backing up your delivered images within thirty days of delivery. If you ask for files after the stated periods, we will check whether they still exist and may charge a retrieval fee.
Notes on the wording:
- It names a period for each file type.
- It says "cannot guarantee" so you are not promising something a failed drive could break.
- It gives the client a task and a deadline.
- It leaves the fee open so you can decide case by case.
If you do AI-assisted culling, remember it affects what you keep. Tools that mark rejects can tempt you to delete early. Read the AI culling and editing tools post before you let software decide what to throw away.
How ClickBook helps
You can put your archive terms in the contract that the client signs from the same private link as the proposal and invoices, and keep the signed copy stored against the job. That way, when somebody asks in three years what you agreed, the answer is on the job, not in an old email. Galleries stay in your own gallery tool; ClickBook is not a gallery host. You can see the contract flow in the demo.
Write the policy once, put it in every contract, and set a yearly reminder to clear what is past its date.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a photographer keep wedding photos?
There is no standard. Many photographers keep the full set for a year or two and edited finals for much longer, and some keep selects indefinitely. Pick a period you can afford to store and state it in the contract.
Am I responsible if I lose a client's photos after the retention period?
Your contract decides that. If it says you keep files for a set time and the client is responsible for their own copy after delivery, say so plainly. Check the wording with a local adviser.
Should I delete RAW files?
That is your choice. RAW files are the biggest cost, so many photographers keep them for a shorter period than the edited finals. Tell clients what you keep and for how long.
Can clients ask for old files later?
Yes, and some will. Decide whether you offer retrieval after the policy window and whether you charge a fee.