Today, outsourcing is commonplace and frequently required for a business to develop. Outsourcing, by definition, is the redelegation of work to an external source, such as a corporation, person, or even software. Although it's a terrific technique to handle a heavy workload, wedding and portrait photographers may have a negative perception of outsourcing when it comes to editing. The wedding image editing service most widespread misconception among photographers is that losing creative control when outsourcing is involved. Is this accurate or is it simply a myth? In this essay, I want to delve more deeply into the subject of outsourcing and share my general experience with it, as well as what it is and is not.

A wedding photographer will almost always respond that editing takes up the majority of their daily time. According to numerous statistics, the average wedding photographer actually spends 10 to 14 hours editing each wedding, or almost 50% of their overall time working with one couple. If you move outside of the wedding photography space, you will see photographers spending upwards of 80% of their time on editing when compared to other things. This is because weddings naturally require more time spent photographing and communicating with couples than do smaller shoots or other types of photography.

When many photographers advance in their careers, they pick up more and more clients, which results in a heavier editing workload. More well-known photographers frequently shoot 40 weddings each year in addition to countless smaller assignments. You might start to comprehend how overworked photographers might become if you factor all these weddings and picture shoots into the "peak" photography season from May through October.

Nearly every photographer may encounter an editing "bottleneck" at some point in their career. At this point, shrewd photographers must either reduce the number of clients they take on or find a solution to handle the increasing workload. The photographers who don't pivot frequently burn out, lose their enthusiasm, fall seriously and steadily behind on their work (ever wait 6–12 months for your photographs to be returned? ), or just find another job. Those who do pivot frequently opt for outsourcing of some form or keep the number of photoshoots and weddings under control.

There are several options available to photographers who choose to outsource their job. You can outsource your editing to online businesses, local or international freelancers, AI software, or a trainee staff.

Online businesses are typically the most popular and least expensive. Internet businesses have rapid response times and are frequently excellent at general edits. Super-styled items might be harder for them to recreate, but you might have luck with businesses that let you upload your personal style through example photographs along with your preset (s).

Independent contractors, or people who work for your firm but are not employees, may be even better at matching a certain style, though it might be challenging to locate a suitable one. While some of the top editors charge more for their services, outsourcing can be far more expensive than working with a bigger organization. Because they do not work for you and set their own schedules, their turnaround times may also vary greatly due to life events and the amount of work they have to perform.

AI editing software is the newest kid in town. Even while AI may produce some really distinctive-looking work, it is currently not advised because it is by far the worst outsourcing option. Maybe one day this may change, but based on what I have personally witnessed, I do not even suggest considering this.

Last but not least, some photographers employ individuals to perform their editing and instruct them on how to edit as they choose. Because it is so dangerous and time-consuming, this approach is perhaps the least popular. To achieve the desired results, a photographer may spend months adjusting and working with an assistant, just to have the assistant leave or move on. Some photographers have had wonderful success with this technique, but I don't think the danger is justified.

Indeed, a few years ago, I started outsourcing my weddings (just weddings; I edit all of my other photos). I resisted doing it for a long time because I thought I would lose creative control and the quality of my final output would decrease. When I was "in the zone," I could edit roughly 200 photographs per hour, or 100 if I was editing more casually. I also developed presets to speed up my process, but even so, I was completely burned out on editing. At that time, I made the decision to explore outsourcing in an effort to genuinely save my own sanity and happiness. 

I eventually decided on the company I liked the best after considering four different ones and three different contractors.

I gave each person and business the same set of photos with various lighting and white balance settings in an effort to discover the best outsourcing possible. I then kept track of how long it took each one to deliver the edited photos to me and how accurately they were edited. I told them all that I was trying out their service to see what worked best for me. Finally, one business stood out to me, so I chose to work with them. 

The company I selected always promptly returns my photographs to me (often between one to two weeks), and their adjustments are excellent, if not flawless.

1) Enter images into Lightroom (10 minutes - passive)

2) Remove the pictures (about 30 minutes)

3) Edit 20 to 30 photos from various times of the day to provide my outsourcing firm with photos to contrast (10 minutes)

4) After sending the catalog to the business, wait one to two weeks while they finalize the adjustments (10 minutes - passive)

5) Add their revisions to my Lightroom library (2 minutes)

6) Review each picture and make any necessary alterations (30 -45 minutes)

7) Export the images for my clients and upload them to the internet gallery before sending them a USB (30 minutes - passive)

My average time spent editing and sending off a wedding used to be about ten hours, but since I started outsourcing, it only takes me about 60 to 90 minutes of active editing time (during which I am entirely focused on the task at hand) and 45 minutes of passive editing time, during which I can do other things or step away from my computer.

Editing and other back-end work used to take me approximately 400 hours per year because I shoot about 40 weddings on average, but now it just requires 40 to 60 hours, freeing up a lot more of my time and mental energy.

What do I think now that I've been outsourcing my work for a while? Do I harbor any remorse? Without a doubt. To be perfectly honest, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. The most repetitive aspect of my job, in my opinion, was editing. Everything else felt very much like copy and paste, which got old really fast. I enjoyed (and still love) editing the photographs from portrait sessions and sunset sessions since those are the ones where I am most creative. By the conclusion of a wedding season, I was so exhausted that I frequently considered reducing the number of customers for the following season, and editing, in all honesty, sapped my profession of its love and originality. I realized I needed to alter before either quitting or giving my clients lower-quality photographs and experiences since I was growing more and more unhappy.

On the other hand, I have discovered that I am much happier and more creative with my photos now that I have outsourced my wedding editing. Since editing no longer makes up a sizable portion of my employment, I never feel constrained or weighed down by it. I get to concentrate on what I enjoy doing, which is being there with my customers and providing them with the greatest possible experience and images. I believe that my clients can see how passionate and content I am. Customers are incredibly pleased with my work and amazed when I deliver their photographs in a month or less. After outsourcing, I've had more positive evaluations and feedback than before. Really, everyone benefits from this.