on photo editing: a process reader

When I first attended college, I took English 110: College Writing.  I had an excellent teacher who thoroughly introduced me to the beautiful processes of writing.  She even required analyses of each essay we wrote- a sort of personal review of the process we went through.  Indeed, the textbook for our class was all about analyzing the process of writing, not just what makes a finished product good and what it might mean.  (I am keeping that textbook... probably forever.)

I was thinking about this this evening and thought of how it is valuable to stop and do that from time to time on everything we do- particularly in my mind, to sit down and really think about what processes I go through as a photographer.  The following is written as if to a client, explaining why I do things certain ways in my photo-editing process and what to expect.


It normally takes me about 4-8 weeks to finish editing a full batch of photos (end product 15-20 photos).  In the week following your photoshoot, I will upload originals from the photoshoot to a private online album which you may review and leave comments- helping me to know which photos are your favorite.  That same week you will also see about 5 finished photos published to a public web album for your enjoyment, as well as my blog and facebook page.  Thereafter I tend to edit 2-5 photos a week (depending on my work schedule and the amount of editing required per photo) until I have completed at least 15 edits with which I personally feel satisfied.  A single photo may require only 5 minutes of editing (this is rare) or it may require 60 minutes (a little on the excessive side, but in no way unheard of with the perfection I strive to achieve with each photo).  I will spend on average probably about 30 minutes per photo.  With this amount of time required and understanding that photography is not a full-time job for me, it easy to see how I (along with other portrait photographers) may take 6 weeks to finish editing photos for my clients.


I have never produced just 15 edited photos for a client- I often produce multiple edits of one photo (and count that as only 1 of your 15-20 finished), and will end up producing less than 20 only if the edits required were of a more time-consuming nature.  It is important to me to have your feedback on which photos are your favorite and I make it a priority to produce edited photos that will satisfy you based on what you have told me and what I know about you. However, I rarely edit all photos you may have marked as favorites.  My artistic opinion and professional experience and knowledge guide my decision of which photos to edit, weighing in mind the primary factors of the finished quality, potential and client satisfaction of each photo I work on.  (I ask myself questions like: how will this look when i am done?  do i feel that this is a photo i would personally want to display in my home if it were of me?  will it make my client smile?  does it evoke an emotion?  how can i enhance this photo- what would it take to achieve the vision i have of what this image could be? etc etc.)

With every photoshoot, I learn and employ a new skill.  Sometimes that skill is behind the camera, during the photoshoot.  Sometimes that skill is something nifty I've learned in photoshop or using a new photo-editing program.  With every shoot, the end result is a product created from hard work and creative detail.  The photos are not only added to my portfolio, but the experience of producing them expands my photographic capabilities and skills.