There are so many amazing reasons why you would want to become a photo editor! If you’re interested in learning how to start a profitable photo editing business this is for you!
Becoming a private photo editor has completely changed my life in big and small ways that I didn’t know was possible — but, that’s for another post. 😉
I am all about encouraging and empowering others to learn the skills they need to find the freedom and flexibility in their career that they deserve!
Let’s dive into how to become a private photo editor in five steps…
1. Discover Your Niche & Your Ideal Client
This is an easy step that beginner business owners are tempted to skip—don’t! If you want to create a profitable business that is built for longterm success you are definitely going to need to know what your niche is and who your ideal client is.
I often see photo editors struggling to find (and keep) clients because they’re trying to appeal to all of the people and open their services to anyone that comes their way. I completely understand how it may seem like the more stable route to offer your services to a really broad range of photographers, but that strategy actually deters your dream clients that you’d love to work with.
Start with market research on your niche — what type of photo editing do you want to pursue? Then define your ideal client — who is the photographer you’d most love to work with? What wedding or portrait or event photographer are looking to outsource their photo editing with a private photo editor?
I actually wrote a blog post on this topic.
2. Determine Your Services & Rates
Before you dive into building your brand presence and setup your systems I suggest you determine your services and rates. Doing this step first will help you set your financial goals and visualize where you want your business to go.
Private photo editors typically charge a rate that can vary based on their skill level. The great part about having a business based on a skilled service is the ability to raise your prices when your skills improve and you have more experience.
There are a few different ways private photo editors can price their services. The most common option is a per image rate (meaning, they’ll charge a rate anywhere between $0.24 – $0.45 per image). Charging a per image can be very profitable if an editor has clients that send larger galleries to be edited (like wedding photographers sending over 10-15 wedding galleries per year).
This means editors can make anywhere from $200-$400 on average for a gallery that has 750 images in it.
Other ways photo editors charge for their services are monthly retainer/subscription rates or a flat per gallery rate. These pricing options are great for editors that have clients that have a large quantity of smaller galleries. An example of this photographer would be a family portrait photographer that during their busy season (late summer to fall).
WONDERING HOW MUCH IT WILL COST TO START AND RUN AN ONLINE BUSINESS AS A PRIVATE PHOTO EDITOR?
All of this info and more is on the Free Training page! Sign-up for instant access below.
3. Setup Your Effective Systems & Workflows
It’s not enough to simply have a functioning and operable business — your systems need to all work flawlessly together to create an amazing client experience (happy clients are loyal clients!). If you’re new to this industry, don’t feel intimidated about setting up your business’s operational systems and workflows! This is basically just fancy terminology for setting up the ins and outs of your business that make working with your clients seamless and easy!
Photo editors that have simple and convenient systems setup with their ideal clients in mind have clients that love their experience with outsourcing! You don’t want to have complicated and confusing systems in place, this could overwhelm and deter potential clients from following through.
Luckily, this is a part of my business that I’m completely nerdy about! In The Photo Editor’s Guide Online Training, I dedicate 1/3 of the entire course to this topic. I teach my students how to setup their business operations that are sure to make a great client experience and have clients rave about their private photo editor to other wedding and portrait photographers. These tutorials are taught in step-by-step, bite sized video tutorials so you can squeeze in quick 15 minute trainings on your busy days… which, let’s be real, is probably every day! 😉
Building an amazing business foundation from the very beginning is an important step to creating an amazing service and experience that your clients will rave about and hire you year after year.
4. Learn & Refine Your Profitable Editing Skills
None of us are perfect — and no one expects you to be (even your first clients)! If you’re unsure if you are capable of learning or refining your photo editing skills… take a deep breath — understand that it’s an extremely forgiving and versatile skill that can easily be learned.
I really had to practice and refine my skills as a photo editor, even though I had 6+ years of professional photography experience. Editing photos for yourself is completely different than editing photos for other photographers.
There are so many tricks of the trade and techniques I discovered as a photo editor (things that I really wish I had learned as a photographer) — these are the skills and techniques that photographers know editors are more equipped with. They are happy to pay someone for editing if they know that the editor is better trained than them!
Friend, if the idea of learning and refining this skill still sounds overwhelming let me help you. In The Photo Editor’s Guide you’ll find the training you need to become a skilled private photo editor — learning all of my secret, tricks-of-the-trade that have helped me build a thriving photo editing business as an online private photo editor.
Yes, this is for you if you’re learning from scratch or if you already have experience editing photos.
This valuable training will guide you through every single step — and I’ll be there for you too in the Guide community hosting live Q+A’s and cheering you along the way!
5. Create Your Brand & Build Online Presence
It’s time to bring it all together! Refer back to your niche and ideal client as you build your brand. You should keep your ideal client in mind at all times when you’re building your website and social media accounts. Your ideal client should feel that they are the in right place when they step into your space online.
It’s vital as a private photo editor that you make connections in online communities where your ideal client is active!
Engage with photographers and begin to build a community of support and value.
Providing value in your social media and online presence rather than just selling and promoting helps establish your business in the industry.
Ready to learn how to become a private photo editor so you can discover the freedom & flexibility you crave?
INTRODUCING…
THE PHOTO EDITOR’S GUIDE
Sign-up to start off with our Free Training and enrollment information!
