In my photography business journey, there have been a few critical moves that have helped me scale my business into a lucrative full-time career. One of those game-changing moves has been outsourcing my photo editing.
If you were like me, you have probably dismissed this thought a few times. You probably have more than enough objections for why this isn’t for you. To be honest, I too shared many of these too.
However, when I made the move to outsource my editing for my photography business, I found more benefits than I expected. Here are my top 3 reasons why you should considering hiring an editor:
1. You will have more time to devote to marketing. I was no longer bogged down with editing for hours each week.
2. You can double or triple what you are making. By outsourcing your editing, you are eliminating a bottleneck in your workflow. You can take on more sessions each week without the burden of falling behind in your editing.
3. Your turnaround time will be faster and more consistent. Professional editors have only one job — edit your photos consistently and get them back to you. When you hire a great editor, or company, you will see quicker and more consistent turnaround times.
Common Objections to Outsourcing Your Photo Editing
If you have ever thought about outsourcing your editing, I’m willing to bet you’ve found yourself saying at least one of the following statements. How do I know? Because I believed ALL of these before I hired an editor and began outsourcing my editing.
“NO ONE CAN EDIT LIKE I DO”
This is perhaps one of the biggest objections when it comes to considering outsourcing your photo editing. As photographers, our work is an art. As an artist, it feels contradictory to outsource our work. However — if you want to scale your business, hear me out.
A good editor will edit just like you. They will take your presets, your editing secrets and workflow and apply them step-by-step to your images. They will edit your photos exactly how you would do it.
If you like light and airy, you will share your “secrets” to achieving your signature look with them. They will then use your exact editing steps to edit your photos.
This was always my first limiting belief that prevented me from exploring an editor. I assumed editors applied their own style. What I didn’t know was how in depth they worked to understand their clients unique editing style. Photographer’s Edit has an in-depth set up process to set up your own editing style.
“I WANT TO HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER MY EDITS.”
Piggybacking off the last myth, this was always my second thought. I want to always have control over my edits. What if I don’t like what they did? What if I want to change something? These were the thoughts that haunted me and stopped me from considering outsourcing.
When you work with a good editor, they will deliver an edited catalog back to you — not just the final images. From there you can tweak, edit and apply any advanced edits before exporting your final images. You have control over your editing style and the final images.
I work with Photographer’s Edit and they have a seamless workflow, making it easy to add an editor to your process. When an order is finished, I simply download the edited catalog and import it back into my larger client catalog. I then go through the entire catalog and apply any final touches. These could include small tweaks, black and white conversions or any advanced edits. Although they are capable of doing more advanced editing, I like to do these myself.
“IT WILL BE TOO EXPENSIVE.”
An editor just sounds expensive. Many people are shocked when I tell them how INEXPENSIVE it is to outsource my editing. There are many great editing services out there but Photographer’s Edit has been a great choice for my business personally. I only utilize the Color Correction service and pay only $0.24 per image. For a catalog of 50 images, I only pay $12.00. It only cost me TWELVE DOLLARS to save a few hours of editing for every session.
This cost can be easily justified if you charge your clients appropriately and can be easily added in to any price increases you plan for.
“I DON’T WANT TO KEEP MY CLIENTS WAITING!”
A quick turnaround time is something I pride myself on when it comes to my clients’ galleries. I always assumed outsourcing took a long time. What I found was the quite the contrary. Outsourcing speeds up the process and expedites the gallery delivery.
I utilize the Premium Service with Photographer’s Edit. This gives me the ability to schedule my sessions for editing in advance when I book the session. This premium service gives you access to a much quicker turnaround time. (I highly recommend by the way if you plan to utilize them on a regular basis. It’s not expensive!) In most cases I will get an edited gallery back within 2-3 days, sometimes less than 24 hours!
Thinking about outsourcing your photo editing, but not sure where to start?
The beauty of outsourcing, is it’s completely at your own pace. You can simply try them for a session or two. If you find they are not right for you – your investment of time and money has been minimal. If the editing service does help improve your workflow (which I know it will), you now have a powerful new tool to use in your photography business.
WHERE can I start?
There are many great editors out there but my comfort and familiarity is with Photographer’s Edit. I use them for my own photography business and have loved the ease of use, quality, turnaround time as well as price. Feel free to check them out for your own business or ask other photographers about who they use.
Whomever you hire (outsource) will be an extension of your business. You want to choose a company that will make the process seamless for you and provide you with the level of quality and service you need. They are being hired to help make your job easier!
WHEN should I start?
If you are gearing up for a busy fall season, I encourage you to try them out before you are buried in sessions. As with anything else, there is a small investment of time to set up your account and get your editing style just how you like it.
If you upgrade to the Premium Service (only $99 a year) you will get a dedicated team of editors. They will be the same editors that work on your galleries every time you submit your catalogs. Give them feedback with each edit to maximize the quality and consistency of your galleries.
If you want to give them a try – Click Here to Get 50% Off your first order of $50 or more with Photographer’s Edit.
Outsourcing my photo editing has allowed me to begin scaling my business to a full-time career. I have more time each week to dedicate to marketing and growing my business. I feel comfortable taking on more sessions each week without the burden of falling behind in editing. This was a move I would highly encourage for anyone looking for the same from their photography business.
Feel free to check out Photographer’s Edit and enjoy 50% off your first order of $50 or more.
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