The worry usually isn’t the editing. It is the gap. You send a wedding to a team in another country, you picture them asleep when you have a question, and you only find out on delivery day that the skin tones are wrong.
Here is how the timing really works between Canada and our team in Pakistan, what it does and doesn’t change, and how to brief a project so the first version is close to right.
The real time differences
Pakistan stays on UTC+5 all year and doesn’t change its clocks, according to timeanddate. Canada does change, so the gap moves twice a year.
| Where you are | Summer (daylight time) | Winter (standard time) |
|---|---|---|
| Halifax | 8 hours behind Pakistan | 9 hours behind |
| Toronto and Ottawa | 9 hours behind | 10 hours behind |
| Calgary and Edmonton | 11 hours behind | 12 hours behind |
| Vancouver | 12 hours behind | 13 hours behind |
Those gaps matter less than they look, because our editing team doesn’t keep one fixed working day. It works in shifts, 24 hours a day.
A team that works around the clock: what it changes and what it doesn’t
Because someone is always working, the hour you send a project doesn’t decide when it gets looked at. A link sent from Toronto at lunch or from Vancouver late at night is picked up soon after it arrives, and if we have a question about the brief, it can come back to you at any hour.
What it doesn’t do is make delivery overnight. Standard turnaround is seven business days from the point your link works and the brief is complete. Weekends and Canadian public holidays don’t count. Rush is 72 hours for +50% on the whole order.
So the honest version is this: a team working around the clock means your link is picked up soon after it arrives, and questions about the brief can come back at any hour. The clock is still seven business days.
One piece of advice holds whatever the hour: everything works best in writing. A written brief gives the editor the same answer at any time of day, which is why it matters so much.
The brief: your preset, three frames, the must-haves
Most of what goes wrong with outsourced editing traces back to a brief that left the editor guessing. A good one takes ten minutes and saves a revision round.
For a gallery, send:
- Your preset, as an .xmp or .dng file, or whatever you use.
- Three edited frames you are happy with, ideally from different light: one outdoors, one indoors, one at night.
- Must-have shots and people. The family formals, the grandparents, the detail shot you set up.
- What to leave out. A guest who shouldn’t appear, or frames the couple asked you not to include.
- The count you want, within your package’s range.
For a film, add the music, a reference film of your own, a camera list and which recorder caught the vows and speeches.
We grade test frames against your preset and reference frames first, and check them side by side before the full set is touched. If something in the brief is unclear, we ask before we start, not after.
The link: your storage, our download check
You don’t upload anything to us. You send a link to your own Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, pCloud or Box folder, and your raws stay there under your account.
On the first day we:
- Download from your link.
- Check that every file opens, including every camera, drone and audio file for films.
- Reply to confirm the brief, or to ask about anything missing.
The seven business days count from the point the link works and the brief is complete. If a file is missing or a link has expired, we tell you, and the clock starts when it is fixed. To avoid that, check that the link doesn’t need a login, and that a WeTransfer link won’t expire before we download it.
We delete our working copies once the project and its revisions are finished, unless you ask us to keep them. More on that is in our data processing terms.
Review and revisions
On delivery day you get a link to the gallery and your Lightroom catalogue, or the films and the project file. Go through it the way your couple will: start to finish, at full size.
If something needs changing:
- Reply with notes. Be specific: “warmer skin in the reception”, “swap frame 214 for 215”, “shorter intro”.
- The same editor works them in, so you don’t explain your style twice.
- Each round takes about two business days from when your notes arrive.
- Your package lists how many rounds are included: 2 on the Engagement gallery and Highlight film, up to 3 on the Wedding gallery, 3 on the Feature film.
Because the team works in shifts, notes are picked up soon after they arrive, whether you send them in your afternoon or late at night.
A sample week from Toronto
Here is how a standard Wedding gallery might run for a Toronto studio, sent on a Monday evening in summer. It is an illustration of the clock, not a promise of specific hours.
| Business day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Monday evening, your time | You send the link and the brief |
| Day 1 | Download, file check, reply to confirm the brief, test frames graded to your style |
| Days 2 to 3 | The cull, down to the count in your package |
| Days 3 to 6 | Grade and retouch, then the quality check across the set |
| Day 7 | The gallery and Lightroom catalogue are delivered |
If a Canadian public holiday falls in that week, it isn’t counted, and the delivery day moves by one. Films follow the same seven business days: download and check, sync and select, story cut, colour and sound, review and export, then delivery.
Is it right for your studio?
It works best if:
- You are comfortable briefing in writing.
- You want the cull, grade and film cut done, and to keep the final look and the client relationship.
- You plan deliveries around a seven-business-day clock, with rush for the odd fixed deadline.
It is less of a fit if you want to sit on a live call through every edit. We work by email and in writing, and we would rather say so up front.
Your next step
- Try the handoff with one wedding through the free trial. Your first Gallery project or Highlight film is free, with no card.
- See each day of the process on how it works, and send a paid project through send a project.
- Most other questions are answered in the FAQ.
If you are wondering what it means for your couples’ privacy, read what PIPEDA and Quebec’s Law 25 ask of you.