How to send RAW files to a client or retoucher without degrading them

Delivering finished JPEGs and delivering RAW files are two different exercises. The RAW holds all the editing latitude: the moment a tool recompresses it, converts it on the fly or re-encodes it, you lose exactly what made it worth sending. The stake isn't just the weight, it's the integrity of the original.

A RAW weighs tens of MB, more on medium format. A full shoot climbs quickly to tens of GB. Know how much you'll send and check that your channel handles that volume with no cap and no upload that fails halfway.

This question of volume overlaps with sending large files in general: it isn't the size itself that matters, but the reliability of the transfer and what the recipient sees on arrival.

This is the non-negotiable point. Some consumer services re-encode or generate previews that replace the original, others silently convert for display. For RAW, you have to deliver the file bit for bit as it left the camera, with no transformation.

Make sure your tool serves the original intact, with no compression pass and no format conversion. A retoucher who receives an altered RAW, or a preview in place of the source file, simply cannot work.

Keep the camera's original filenames, or adopt a consistent convention, and then leave them alone. A retoucher who has to match your RAWs to a selection, to sidecar files (XMP) or to a precise order needs stable naming. Sort by sequence or by series rather than dumping everything together.

If you're sending a selection to retouch, clearly separate the chosen files from the contact sheets or previews that only exist for reference. The retoucher should see at a glance what's actually going into post.

The retoucher receives the full-resolution RAWs, works, and sends you back the retouched files (often as TIFF, or a RAW edited with their settings). For that round trip to stay clean, keep each step identifiable: the source material on one side, the retouched version on the other, without overwriting the original.

A delivery page that keeps a dated history of every exchange avoids confusion over which version is current, especially when a project runs through several rounds. Everyone knows which file is the reference.

Whether the recipient is a client who wants their digital negatives or a retoucher who'll develop them, the rule is the same: deliver the original intact, at full resolution, served as is. xFer serves the source file with no recompression or conversion, over a private link that handles the volume of a full shoot and resumes after a drop, on a delivery page where the naming and order stay the ones you chose.

Plan for the volume, never let a tool recompress or convert your RAWs, keep naming stable for whoever receives them, separate the source from the retouched version, and always serve the original at full resolution. RAW gets delivered like fragile material, because that's what it is.