You might be wondering if you’re ready to outsource your editing.

Note that not every photographer is ready to outsource their editing. There are definitely some benchmarks that you should be hitting before you send off your edits for someone else to complete.

Here are five signs you might be ready to outsource your editing.

HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE READY TO OUTSOURCE YOUR EDITING

1. YOU’RE BOOKED FOR THE YEAR AND READY TO SCALE.

You’ve filled your season with wedding bookings. Yay! That’s awesome. You’ve found yourself turning new clients away even though they seem like the perfect fit. You really want to take on a few more weddings, but you’re not sure if you can maintain your level of customer care if you take on more work.

You may be ready to outsource your editing. By outsourcing, you can take on a few more weddings or more sessions, without the added work of editing. You’ll be able to increase your profits without increasing your editing workload.

2. YOU HAVE A BUSY FAMILY LIFE.

In addition to being a business owner, you also have a busy family life. You may have kids with busy schedules. Perhaps you have a full social calendar with your spouse. You might serve at your church every weekend. Or, perhaps you just want to schedule some margin into your life.

You might be ready to outsource your editing. By outsourcing, you’ll be able to attend your children’s events, volunteer with your favorite organizations, and go on date nights with your spouse. You’ll be able to free up your time to take care of your personal commitments.

3. YOU’RE OVERWHELMED AND APPROACHING BURNOUT.

You’re super busy. Hooray! It’s always a “good problem” to have…until it isn’t. You’re overworked, overwhelmed, and approaching burnout. You know that if you don’t change something soon, you’re going to lose your mind.

If you’re ready for a break, you might be ready to outsource your editing. By outsourcing your editing, you can tend to yourself – indulge in some self care, go out to dinner with friends, or just read a book. Your work will be in good hands and you’ll be able to breathe easy.

4. YOU WANT TO PURSUE OTHER PROJECTS.

You want to host a workshop, but never have the time to strategize because you’re always editing. You’ve been wanting to teach an online class, but can’t drop the ball with your editing. There’s a conference you want to attend, but you just shot three weddings back to back and you don’t want to fall behind. You want to start another business, but your current photography business is holding you back.

You might be ready to outsource your editing. By outsourcing your editing, you’ll have more time to pursue other projects. You can plan that workshop, design that course, attend that conference, or start that new business.

5. EDITING EFFICIENTLY IS NOT YOUR STRENGTH.

You love shooting weddings. However, you don’t love editing. You’re okay at editing, but you wish that you were more efficient. You have your style defined, but you find yourself second-guessing yourself. You’re a strong photographer, you nail your exposure, but your editing still takes forever.

It might time to outsource your editing. By outsourcing your editing, you can spend your time doing things that you’re good at – perhaps that’s marketing, networking, or client experience. Invest in a private photo editor who is efficient and skilled at editing, and spend the time you would in front of the computer doing whatever else you want.

If you’re ready to explore outsourcing your editing to a private editor, click here to schedule a FREE consultation!

Ready to outsource your editing? Here’s when you should start.

You have big plans for your business

You should start outsourcing your editing soon as possible within your business. Start building the cost into your pricing. Create a signature style that is consistent and that you can teach a private photo editor to replicate. Start letting go of the nitty gritty details, because honestly, your client’s won’t notice if the color temperature is 2 points off.

You have plans to bring on associates

You have plans to grow your business, open up locations across your city or state, and create something bigger than just yourself. This is a great sign that you’re ready to outsource your editing. If the business will be expanding that much, you or your associates won’t have time to do all that editing. Start outsourcing now!

You want to give your clients a high touch experience

You should consider outsourcing if you want to give your clients a high touch experience. One of the best ways to gain referrals after a wedding is to feed off the excitement right after the wedding. Deliver sneak peeks a couple of days after the wedding. Deliver the final images within two weeks of the wedding day. Your clients will be so impressed and will be raving about you even more!

Personal story: my sister got married two years ago and her photographer was great. However, it took the photographer almost three months to deliver the photos and my sister had to email a couple of times for updates. That definitely left a less than excited feeling about the photos. While the photographer’s contract did state that it could take that long, I believe it’s always best to under-promise and over-deliver.