I’ve been thinking a lot about outsourcing my editing lately… I take one look at my calender and get a little frightened with all the wedding post processing I will be doing over the next few months. However I read this article that made me think twice about it! This bit was especially interesting….
“…..Outsourcing is very popular right now in the photography industry. It involves paying others to do your color correcting, creative editing and even your image sorting for you.
At first glance this seems like a good idea: pay someone else to edit your images so that you can spend more time shooting or more time with your family. The problem is that you aren’t learning and improving your own skill set. In the long term you’re setting yourself up to be at a disadvantage compared to the photographers who spent years practicing and refining their workflow and technique. They’ll be able to edit images better, faster, and cheaper than you. You’ll be left behind in this rapidly evolving industry. When it comes to accounting and law, those are parts of your business you’ll want to outsource to professionals, but when it comes to photography you are the professional.” I have created a post production workflow system for my business that will allow me to NOT be hidden inside behind my computer all summer, that I’m going to try my HARDEST to follow in this busy season of back to back weddings. My worst nightmare is getting behind with my editing and making people wait too long for their images from the most special day of their lives! I can see why outsourcing editing is tempting for photographers, it sounds great to have someone else do the seemingly ‘dirty work’ of editing hundreds of images for you, and many photographers would argue that they aren’t lightroomers, photoshop and album design experts – they want to focus on the photography and business only. Is there a middle ground? Would you outsource only album design or just the bulk of your wedding images (only editing around 100)? The goal for me right now is to keep to my workflow system, keep working on improving my craft and constantly refine and improve my production techniques so that I can process efficiently and finish my weddings in a way that I’m proud of. What are your thoughts on outsourcing??
I’ve thought a little about outsourcing, especially after working such crazy summer hours. But part of me likes that I’ve complete control over all the creative choices. I took an image, I edited it and then I presented it, so it’s a really personal process. But I’m also going to be trying hard not to spend so much time at the computer this season. We need time for ourselves to recoup and to take our own work which there just isn’t time to do when you’re stuck indoors. Lots of luck to you – maybe you should report back around February and let us know how you’re doing?!
Hello Kate,
I think that your photo’s have a really special effect and that your work comes from your heart. I love your style and as much as I love the idea of outsource work (from my point of view because I have a passion for photoshop, photos and album layout) I dont know that someone else would beable to complete your beautiful images to the total effect and style that you do. (You could however get someone to do the simple stuff like taking out flies and poles etc.) Just my 5 cents. I wish you all the best with your work and love watching your posts.
Take care
Shelley
Hi Kate,
You know, one of the reasons I adore your blog is because you don’t just post beautiful photos. You talk about life as a photographer: the challenges, the ups, the downs, the wins, the losses… the everything! This makes your site so engaging and one of the reasons I keep coming back. Oh, and you also post beautiful photos! ;-)
With regards to outsourcing, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head when you say “when it comes to photography you are the professional.” The photographer is the one who has the idea and vision in their mind about the story, style and effect that they want to show in their images. Yes, that can be communicated to someone else but only to a degree. Is there a middle ground? Perhaps. Maybe it’s the meanial part of looking through the initial images and pruning out the really obvious rejects (missed focus etc). I don’t know. I’m not keen on it but I don’t hav the volume of business to need it (one day… one day!)
But as you say, it’s better to learn, define and refine your skills. I love that you’re a pro photographer who wants to keep learning. All too often I see pros who think they know it all (and scoff at those who are still learning).
I’d love to learn more about your workflow. Perhaps you could share more about that in upcoming blog post?
Thanks for another great post :-)
Good post! The million dollar question….I ask myself this every year. Is it time to outsource? Will it help? I tried it once with someone who was actually really good. But the problem was that I had to go and check it all and invariably made wee tweaks here and there too. So it really only saved me a tiny bit of time. What I have found is that after years of processing, I am getting faster and my eye is getting more in tune with how things work. It’s still too long in front of a computer though…maybe shoot film?
I think I’m too much of a perfectionist to let someone else do it, no matter how stressed I was or how little time I had. I think it’s nice to do it yourself and have your own touch to it. Doing just some small colour correcting can give photos a whole new look and feel and I think if it was someone else’s it wouldn’t quite feel right to you.
Keep up the amazing work Kate!