Last Updated on July 22, 2024
Those of us who work in a business are in charge, making us feel we still have to handle everything independently. On the other hand, those who are the most successful in business have support, such as a photo editor, and one method to get aid is outsourcing image editing to a virtual assistant, which works as an online image editor.
As the owner, you have absolute control over your photography business. Still, you are not required to complete all of the tasks. Concentrating your efforts on your most vital skills would help, which most likely means firing yourself.
Here are 12 valuable tips for outsourcing image editing
1. Consider your time commitments while deciding if it’s worth it to outsource image editing
You may like retouching and editing your photos yourself. However, image editing might take a long time, depending on your shoot genre.
If you’re a wedding photographer, you might have hundreds of photographs from a single event to sort through. It might take a long time, hours or even days, to go through that many photos.
Nevertheless, of the genre in which you work. Consider how much time each of your responsibilities will require. For every hour you spend filming, you could spend many hours in post-production.
Consider how much better your business would be if you could free up some of those editing hours. If you sit down to edit the latest portrait shoot, you might not be up to taking on an extra customer this week.
Outsourcing image editing can be a better option for you. If outsourcing picture editing allows you to earn more money than you spend, you should do it.
2. Hire a professional to get the best results
Virtual assistants specializing in photo editing are highly skilled at what they do. They cannot only perform a fantastic job editing your images as well as you, but they can probably do it better. The shooting experience is common among virtual assistants.
Professionals dedicate their entire day to picture editing and have the knowledge and skills to take your photos to the next level. They are knowledgeable in lighting, composition, and other crucial aspects of photography.
One of their essential skills is retouching or professional editing of photos. They select to work in this sector since they like it and complement their skills. This implies getting a true professional when you employ an experienced photo editing virtual assistant.
3. To cut costs, include retouching into your pricing model
The cost of engaging a professional virtual assistant is no reason to avoid doing so. Look into a few expert retouchers to see what their prices are.
If you’re a consumer photographer, include the highest pricing in your bundles. If you’re a commercial photographer, you’ll almost certainly want particular bids based on the project’s scope.
This varies a lot. In such an instance, you might include retouching costs as a line item in the production estimate you provide the customer. You will be charged for any editing and retouching you perform.
4. Make your personality known to avoid disappointment
While editing your images, you may claim that you have your own style and approach to color correction. On the other hand, a picture editing service can duplicate the desired effect. The most crucial thing is to communicate clearly.
Give examples of the type of style the picture editor should imitate. That might refer to the teal and orange aesthetic, now trendy in landscape and portrait photography, or to more subtle tone alterations.
Professional picture editing services commonly accept presets. Presets may be made for some of your favorite looks.
Prepare to articulate and clarify expectations for whatever look you are striving for. Then, as a starting point, offer them to your picture retoucher.
5. To save time, consider outsourcing the clipping path and compositing
You could always wish to outsource certain forms of photo editing. It makes me think of Clipping Path.
In Photoshop, this is the process of extracting picture components. An example is cutting a product from a background and placing it on the packaging.
Owing to the requirement for apparent picks, Clipping Path requires excellent Photoshop abilities. Unless you have extensive expertise, this may be pretty challenging.
The same selection that takes a skilled retoucher minute in Photoshop may take you hours, with poor results. Save yourself the trouble and outsource these duties right away.
The same is true for compositing. We sometimes need to capture many photographs and combine them into a single image for a customer.
You would understand if you have worked on a shoot where a client requested an overhead photo of multiple plates on a table. You may lack the proper equipment because it might have been a last-minute request.
In any case, you might not be able to properly position the camera over the enormous table, and you might photograph each dish separately.
You can then hire a retoucher to make a single image in Photoshop, which will turn out beautifully.
6. Outsource frequency separation portraiture
You may work in consumer photography and shoot in genres where the appearance of the skin is particularly essential. Portraiture, glamour, and boudoir are examples of these.
Then, it would help if you considered hiring a virtual photo editor to smooth the skin. Frequency separation is a robust Photoshop method that enables non-destructive skin editing.
When done correctly, frequency separation gives an image a professional, high-level appearance that cannot be matched. However, it is a difficult skill to perfect, and poor frequency separation attempts can ruin an image.
If you shoot people, you want your clients to be pleased with their photographs and return to you repeatedly. Outsourcing your images to a professional familiar with frequency separation might be beneficial.
7. Do your fine-tuning for more control
Another option is to split the job between you and a professional picture virtual assistant. This will help you save some time and money.
You do more work than if you outsourced everything, but you don’t have to pay the picture editor as much. An example is outsourcing simple changes, such as exposure and color correction.
You may do any fine-tuning. You will need to work on considerably fewer photographs this way. Only the finest shots from the shoot will be given to your customer.
8. Use outsourcing to get a quicker turnaround
Offering your clients a quick turnaround time is one of the most essential things you can do for your photography business.
Weddings are the most demanding regarding the number of pictures edited a photographer must perform. No clientele is more eager to see their images than the bride and groom!
When clients receive their images shortly after their wedding, they are overjoyed. Most weddings are photographed throughout specific months of the year.
This implies that photographers are overburdened with photo editing while shooting many weddings.
Outsourcing image editing may help them ensure their clients receive their photographs quickly, but the experience will still enthrall them.
Client satisfaction increases when you can provide them with a quick turnaround time. They will see you as an expert and advertise your services, increasing sales.
9. Make photographic community connections to find the best virtual photo editing assistants
You may discover some of the top retouchers within your photography community. However, going through an agency is more accessible and has fewer hassles.
Photo editing is a popular side hustle for many part-time photographers. Most will be eager to demonstrate their abilities by providing you with a few complimentary photo adjustments.
Photographers who don’t reside in your market and aren’t in direct competition with you might be helpful resources.
10. To make more time for more clients, outsource
Outsourcing your post-production processes to a picture-editing firm may save you time that you could spend on other things, such as photographic marketing initiatives to increase customer traffic.
One key goal as a small business owner is to attract a consistent stream of new customers. Having repeat customers is fantastic, but you can’t rely on them to bring in all your business.
Even seasoned photographers are always on the lookout for new clientele. The key to good marketing is consistency.
When photographers are overworked, they tend to drop the ball. Then, when things calm down, the clients are nowhere to be found.
If you spend a lot of time editing and retouching your images, you’re probably missing out on possibilities to expand your customer base and develop your photography business.
You can’t do everything. Allow yourself to let go of less critical tasks, such as photo editing so that you can focus on the essentials.
11. Outsource to relieve stress and allow you to concentrate on shooting
You probably started into photography because you enjoy shooting. You might also enjoy retouching. However, editing is not a strong suit for many photographers.
If this describes you, you should consider outsourcing your photography. This will allow you to concentrate on your strengths.
After all, did you get into photography to sit in front of a computer for hours? It’s incredibly liberating not to be under the strain of hundreds of revisions for every customer who walks through the door.
You can concentrate on being creative and creating the most incredible images possible. As a result, you’ll have more time to learn about lighting, composition, and other aspects of photography, which will also help you work better.
12. Aim for high-quality results, but don’t expect perfection
Letting go is one of the most strenuous facets of outsourcing photographs for photographers. You may be emotionally attached to your job as a photographer.
It may reflect on you. Establishing standards is critical. However, many creatives have unrealistic expectations of themselves.
It would help to let go of perfectionism so that outsourcing would work for you. It’s frequently preferable to get something done than to get it perfect. This isn’t to say that you should put up with shoddy outcomes. It implies that you don’t obsess over minor details that other people will overlook.
The bottom line about outsourcing photo editing
You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner if you attempt outsourcing some of your photographs to a professional virtual photo editor. A picture virtual assistant may handle all of the tedious Photoshop labor.
Outsourcing image editing allows you to focus on clients with larger budgets. They may also assist you with tricky methods that would take a long time to master.
To be successful in business, you must concentrate on the highest-revenue activities. Outsourcing image editing work is one acceptable method.