A couple weeks ago I was on an IG Live and the topic of turnaround time came up, and I realized I’m in the minority on this: the “two to four week” delivery window is just too long now. Not as some paid “rush fee” add-on, but as the standard. We live in a right-now world—Google, AI, short-form content, DoorDash, Uber—everything is instant, and clients’ expectations have shifted right along with that. For photography, I’m talking 2–4 business days. For video, a week to a week and a half. The biggest reason is simple: you either deliver while the excitement is still alive, or you miss the moment. Especially for events, if you’re sending a gallery two weeks later, the client has already moved on, and you lose the window where nostalgia helps you upsell and where the content actually feels fresh. And let’s be real—people in the crowd are posting iPhone content immediately, which steals some of the thunder if you’re slow. I also talk about the “I’m too busy” argument. If you’re full-time, the goal is to be busy, so you have to build a workflow that supports fast delivery. Tools (including AI) have cut my editing time down 80–90%, and there are tools for culling, duplicates, and even style-based edits. Adapt to the times or get left behind.