As a real estate photographer, you’ve probably built your career by controlling every aspect of the creative process. That’s as it should be.

But as you get busier and your business grows, you should start thinking about outsourcing your photo editing so that you can start to take on more work and generate more revenue, without losing any of the professionalism that your clients have come to expect.

What Photos Can You Outsource?

Generally speaking, the more artistic or subjective types of photography don’t benefit much from outsourcing. In those cases, photographers have a particular look and feel in mind, and they are the ones who should pursue that vision all the way through. For example, fashion and art photography are very rarely outsourced for finishing.

But there are many other areas of professional photography where a more objective look is required. Those types of photographers benefit greatly from outsourcing their photo editing to editors who can deliver quickly, consistently and offer a professional finish to your work.

Let’s look at at three genres that benefit from outsourcing:

Real Estate

When you are photographing properties for realtors, there is a standard look and feel that must be achieved. Clean straight lines, bright lighting, sharp focus, correct colors – these are very important in real estate photography. Outsourcing your real estate photos can help you scale this aspect of your business. Many real estate photo editing services are located in countries such as the Philippines where there are highly skilled technicians working at affordable rates, typically starting at around $1.00 per image.

Product Photography

Shooting commercial products for marketing purposes requires a precise level of professionalism. You need to be able to place products onto white or transparent backgrounds (known as clipping) and know how to showcase products in a professional format. This is another arena where teams of professional editors can do wonders for your ability to deliver professional images at higher volumes.

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Wedding Photography

This is another area where there is a generally recognized look and feel that editors can use to provide a great service. The deeper the relationship between the photographer and the editor, the more work can be trusted to the editor. Although some wedding photographers have a very specific look and feel to their work, wedding photographers who are high volume producers typically find the value in outsourcing their culling and basic photo editing to a third party editing company or individual.

There are some photography outsourcing firms like PhotoUp that specialize in areas such as real estate photo editing, but you will also find editors that are happy to work across different fields. Do your research, and find a company or editor that works best for you.

How Much Are You Willing To Pay?

There’s a timeless saying that most people understand implicitly: “In life, you get what you pay for.”

Naturally, there are photo editing services on the web that charge extremely low prices while promising everything under the sun. But most photographers quickly realize that this is not the quality of photo editing service they’re looking for. There’s no collaboration, no quality control, subpar support, and no system of software for account management.

When you start looking, you will find offers ranging from $0.20 per image, all the way up to $10 per image. In our experience, customers are better off buying a monthly bundle that offers the chance to build a relationship with their editors over time, and provides the freedom and security to hand over more of your editing work as the provider gets to better understand your style.

How To Choose the Best Photo Editing Company

The best way to go about choosing a photo editing service is to make use of their trial offerings. Select a few images that you know would benefit from a good edit and send them to a handful of suppliers that you are considering. Then wait for the results to come in.

When the results come back, consider a few things:

• How is the final quality of the image?
• How long did it take to get images back?
• How painless (or painful) was the interaction with the service?
• How much did it cost?
• Can I sustain this cost moving forward?
• Are there any other additional benefits that this company offers?

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Software, Services, or Products to help you with your Business Needs

You should also be aware that many outsourcing companies typically use their best editors to do their trial images, in order to get new customers in the door. Don’t be surprised if they promise you top quality editing upfront, and wow you with results, before quickly slipping into very average output.

Make sure that there is a function that allows you to manage and rate the editors you work with. Having the ability to choose who you want working on your images is an invaluable tool when it comes to outsourcing your photo editing. It’s also critical that they give you the chance to ask for revisions or adjustments at no extra cost if you’re not happy with the work delivered.

At the end of the day, outsourcing your photo editing means that it may never look 100% like you would have done it, but you’ll have to decide if it’s good enough to save you the time and effort to do the editing yourself.

Choosing a photo editing service can be stressful, and it needs to be done carefully. But if you take the time and get it right, you’ll soon find yourself with an ally and partner who can transform the workflow of your business and allow you to scale up the production side of your business, allowing you to shoot more and edit less.

To find out more about what PhotoUp can offer in terms of photo editing, sign up for a trial account today.

Unless you are especially skilled in image post-processing, editing can take up quite some time, up to 20 minutes or more if the image needs a lot of work. And in the course of a project, the photographer needs to edit more than one image, sometimes a dozen or more. If you do the math, that is a lot of time spent on editing! That is time that could be spent on more important things such as:

• marketing your business
• working on more projects
• working on your hobby, sport, or passion
• spending time with family and friends
• going on a well-deserved vacation

That is why many real estate photographers resort to outsourcing their post-processing tasks. Outsourcing photo editing frees them from the time-consuming task of editing, allowing them to allocate that time to more important work. Another advantage is providing a job to those in need. Photo editing is a big business that employs many people around the world, specifically in countries with high poverty and low employment rates like India, Vietnam, and The Philippines. By working with a socially responsible photo editing company, you will not only be helping make your business more scalable and efficient, but you’ll also be having a real positive impact on the lives of your photo editors.

If you’re a real estate photographer who plans on outsourcing your post-processing work, congratulations! You made a wise decision. To ensure effective, efficient, and harmonious outsourcing, photographers need to overcome communication obstacles between you and your outsourced team. These tips should help make interactions with your editing team better, faster, more efficient, and with fewer chances of misunderstanding.

Use established communication channels when outsourcing your photo editing

Whether it be private messages or emails, all communication should be done through established channels. Both parties must agree on time frames and processes. Also, commit to monitoring these channels daily. By doing this:

• messages are documented
• recipients will always be aware of the messages
• recipients will always reply to messages

It is even better if your outsourcing company has a dedicated and customized communication channel. A dashboard, for example, that allows photographers to upload photos, give instructions to editors, create sub-accounts for your associate photographers, and provide ratings for your editors. The more established and documented your communication is, the better your edits will be in the long run.

Communications are encouraged to be as interactive as possible

Photo editors are still humans, and sometimes, misinterpretations or misunderstandings can occur. Reduce the chances of these happening by being proactive. Clearly state your instructions to them. The more specific your instructions, the easier it will be for them to understand what you want accomplished. At the end of the day, over-communicating is always better than under-communicating. Ask questions, be open-minded, and listen to their answers and suggestions. Here’s a great article on how to work with your photo editing team.

Interactive communication is important at all levels not just for excellent service and results but also for a more beneficial, meaningful, and long-lasting business relationship.

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Accept that there will always be diversity

Many outsourcing companies are located in another country. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be cultural differences. For example, the English that they practice can have nuances that may not be familiar to you (or might hit some sensitivities). Cultural habits that are pretty normal in your country may be unfamiliar and strange in your team’s country. At the end of the day, refrain from using slang or abbreviations that may become confusing for someone in another country.

Once in a while, communicate live

It is admittedly difficult to meet your editing team if they are located halfway around the world. However, it is strongly recommended that you hold meetings where you can see and talk to your team in real-time. Love conference calls using video conferencing tools like Skype or Zoom allow you to interact with each other and get more done in a shorter time frame. Face it, a lot more can get accomplished in a 5-minute phone call as opposed to crafting a 20-minute email.

Live communication allows you to gauge your team’s communication skills, check their work attitudes, and observe their work culture. Not to mention, you’ll be building relationships with your editing team that is sure to provide another level of commitment, understanding, and appreciation for the person on the other end of the image.

Make sure there are escalation mechanisms in place

Sometimes, problems and disputes that are beyond your team’s capability or authority may arise, regardless of how strong your relationship is. The intervention of a “higher power” may be needed to resolve an issue. As such, your team must have an escalation and dispute management mechanism. A clear protocol must be followed, and there should be a top-line decision-maker in the chain of command. It’s not really a pleasant experience if you’re being transferred around from one person to another, or offered unclear, vague, or ineffective solutions.

Before signing a contract of service, always ask the provider if they have an escalation system and how it works. This is an important aspect to ensure continued relationships and actually getting what you paid for.

Ready to outsource your photo editing process? Make sure you take the time and effort to communicate effectively with your team, and you won’t regret your decision to in outsourcing your photo editing.