[Culture]

I was wondering how many here outsource their editing work?
I read an article about people outsourcing their editing work because they hate processing.

I dont hate it perse, I actually love it when I know what I am doing. Sometimes I dont and it just stresses me out.

Any experiences?

Culture.

[pete-tarmigan]

A couple of years ago I remember reading an article by a professional photographer that said that most professionals don't have the time to edit their photos much less to learn and keep up with the techniques and software. I can't remember where the article was published or the name of the author.

[Culture]

A couple of years ago I remember reading an article by a professional photographer that said that most professionals don't have the time to edit their photos much less to learn and keep up with the techniques and software. I can't remember where the article was published or the name of the author.

You mean this Wedding Photographers: Get Your Life Back by Outsourcing Your Editing | Fstoppers

This is why I am asking this question?

[pschlute]

I am not a pro so time is not an issue. But if I were one surely I would become a worse photographer if I outsourced all my photographic processing. Is it not the case that when we take a picture we are aware of the limitations and possibilities offered by PP, and that colours to an extent how we capture our image?

I know some great photographers of the past outsourced their film processing and printing so maybe I am wrong.

[eddie1960]

I think it really depends on what you do and what your goals are, ?I doubt i would outsource to anyone other than a local i could meet with in person and discuss options and goas as we review files, and then it would largely be for wedding type work that i would do this. prop sports shooters send raw on the fly and someone back at office deals with it, Even in fine Art you may work with another for some of it (I prefer to do my own, but my cousin for the big painting and photo show he does once yearly works with someone on the image files because they are macros of his painting he then blows up to 4'x6' or larger and it makes sense to work with someone well versed in latest print methods for him . I have had 6 people approach me in last month form Us based companies offering the service tho so people are using it

when i used to shoot a lot of b/w film and took it someplace i went to a pro shop and we reviewed the options for print from proofs and made notes to get best out of the neg
since he did this at a higher level than i could ever hope to achieve it was worth it for some shots

[ccc_]

I can't imagine outsourcing my pp work...it's actually why I take pictures

then I thought about it and imagined it for someone else...it kinda worked

it seems as though you would have to be precise in articulating your vision
I have no cohesive arc of expression
i'm all over the place
however each image gets the look I want
I see other photographers whose work an be distinguished by the processing...almost like a brand
if that was your goal and you could find someone with really good slider memory...it might just work

interesting question

[pete-tarmigan]

You mean this Wedding Photographers: Get Your Life Back by Outsourcing Your Editing | Fstoppers

This is why I am asking this question?

That article doesn't look familiar, so I may be thinking of a different article.

[jbinpg]

My sis-in-law is a real estate photographer. She got so busy that she couldnot keep up with the pp. So she hired someone to do most of the pp. She now has her life back.

[stevebrot]

There is a whole spectrum of what defines PP outsourcing. At the low end is the equivalent of minilab processing for negatives/prints. At the high end is iterative work (artist-to-tech) to produce gallery quality print output.

I would not pay good money to run images through a Photoshop macro en masse. I also would not expect any third party to properly anticipate how I might treat a particular image without a lot of back and forth. So much for time savings, eh? In between is the realm of macros and presets that allow automated base processing for near-final results. Again, it is sort of silly to hand that task off to someone else except perhaps to work with another person to craft the macros/preset so one can DIY.

The simple answer is that I would not trust (and pay) to outsource work that affects my reputation and the quality of output to my customers.


Steve

(...of course there is also the matter of using print mills for final output...)

[dms]

Some of the greatest photographers did not do there own darkroom work, or did not do all of it, so it is really not so different. But the individuals that did the printing may have been almost as famous as the photographer, and worked w/ said photographer on a long term basis.

And on the short term--news breaking events, war photo's, etc.--almost need someone else to do the editing/printing/pp.

[BigMackCam]

I was wondering how many here outsource their editing work?
I read an article about people outsourcing their editing work because they hate processing.

I dont hate it perse, I actually love it when I know what I am doing. Sometimes I dont and it just stresses me out.

Post-processing is an important part of the creative process, and - even with subtle processing - can completely change the final result. On that basis, personally I don't see how anyone creating work for artistic reasons can rely on an outsourced service provider without compromising the integrity of their work.

I appreciate your frustration with post-processing when you don't understand it. It's taken me a full three years to become (what I believe to be) truly proficient and fluent with all aspects of Lightroom (I'm now transferring those skills to Darktable, and having to learn some entirely new ways of doing things). I've barely scratched the surface of image editing in tools such as Photoshop, GIMP etc. But, learning post-processing properly, from good books or online training materials (or even courses) is time well-spent. It's almost as important as learning the fundamentals of photography, in my view.

I wouldn't choose to go with outsourced post-processing because you're frustrated with your own abilities in that area. It's just another challenge, like learning how to use the camera in manual mode, learning about flash lighting, learning how to photograph birds in flight etc. etc. My advice, for what it's worth, is to embrace the challenge and work at it 'til you've nailed it

My sis-in-law is a real estate photographer. She got so busy that she couldnot keep up with the pp. So she hired someone to do most of the pp. She now has her life back.

In this application I can see a real benefit for outsourcing. With all due respect to your sis-in-law, her main objective isn't to produce art for art's sake, but to make the photographs she takes look as good as possible for very specific commercial purposes. In a similar vein, I could see someone who does corporate portraiture and brochure-type photography getting similar benefits from outsourcing their processing

[sqrrl]

If it's commercial work, or work to a commercial brief then I get why people would outsource their PP - especially when working with a team, if you are working to a style guide then it makes sense.

I've done some PP for other people, including darkroom printing, and when I've shot catalog stuff I've had other people take over some or all of the PP depending on the job - In fact some businesses demand it as part of the brief.

For my own creative work, or for small projects I don't use other people as the results for each image tend to be individualistic in their treatment and would require too much talking back & forth to get results I am happy with, which (given that I am confident in my skills with PP) wouldn't save me any time or effort.

[stevebrot]

Some of the greatest photographers did not do there own darkroom work

Henri Cartier-Bresson was famous for expecting his darkroom assistants to make up for laxity in technique and did so as a simple hand-off. It did not seem to cause him much grief, but it is tempting to wonder what might have been.


Steve

[stevebrot]

It's almost as important as learning the fundamentals of photography, in my view.

The capture is raw material...what we do with it makes art/product.


Steve

[sqrrl]

I would second Steve's last comment.

I'm an adequate photographer, a pretty decent darkroom printer and a fairly good photo-shopper (albeit I use older versions of Photoshop) - it's mainly the post processing that makes any of my photographs good - hence my not outsourcing my art output.

I do have a very good handle on how to use a camera (hell, I've taught it for years and can answer tricky questions on the spot), but where the art kicks in for me personally is in the post processing and printing - that's the stuff that drives me as an artist.