Client asked me to document my editing process so they can share it to other contractors when I'm unavailable — should I do it?

[Ralfus]

Hi there, I'm posting here as I'm feeling conflicted and not sure what to do.

I'm a freelance photo stills editor working in television. One of my clients is a large streaming platform who I've been working with for a year. It's been going well, except I also have a regular day job and sometimes that makes it really hard to fit both jobs in.

The client has been really happy with my work and before me they struggled to find the right person. Recently I was feeling quite burnt out from juggling everything and when I wrapped up my last project with them, I took a 2 month break. I made sure they knew I'd be open to more work after this break though.

Anyway, because I'd been on break they had to find someone new to take over for the next project. This is totally understandable. However they've also asked if I could document my process for others in the future who might assist with this work. This is what I feel funny about. I've had several years of experience working as a photographer and retoucher to develop the eye that I have today and I'm also very uniquely positioned by having relevant feature film experience that is quite hard to find in my country. Asking me to put that experience on paper so that their other contractors or employees can take advantage of that feels wrong to me. This isn't about documenting requirements — this is about documenting my workflows that I developed through my own experiences and knowledge around niche topics.

I don't want to upset the client but I also don't feel right to agree to the request based on what I've said above. Am I looking at this in the right way? Is there a compromise?

 

[Kwillmorth]

In a word, No. Simply state that there is no standard process to be easily defined, that every photographer uses their own workflow to reach the desired end result, that is proprietary to the individual. Offer that you also adjust and modify the process to suit the work in hand, so cannot commit to setting a standard that you cannot guarantee adherence to in future assignments. Finally, explain that photography is a deeply personal profession, where each photographer has his/her own secret sauce formulas and processes to realize a desired result, using the gear they accumulate, and the experience they have.

That all said, you can offer a generic explanation of process steps that are not specific, such as what file format you use from the camera, what MP is captured, what software is used to download images, what software is used to edit and finalize images, and what settings are used to export the final images for the client's use. These produce the finished image for the client, and impact the files provided directly.

Beyond these, they have no need, or right, to ask for more. They have the right to use of images produced for their use, within agreed upon output specifications, not your process or workflow approach. Those are yours alone.

In my experience, customers that ask for these things are considering bringing the work in house or hiring a cheaper outside photographer to do future work but want to maintain the quality you are providing by copying or having someone else use your process. I have never had a legitimate customer demand detailed workflow process definition, while those who have hinted that they would like to create a "standard workflow" did not last long as customers.

 

[AlanKlein]

They want something for free. I doubt if you'll ever hear from them again whether you give it to them or not. They made a decision to change to another finisher since you;re not available regularly and they can;t count on that due to their scheduling. You could offer to provide it for a fee. That's up to you.

 

[cgw]

Only if you enjoy self-injury...Pros don't work for free.

 

[webestang64]

Asking me to put that experience on paper so that their other contractors or employees can take advantage of that feels wrong to me.

There's your answer.

 

[AlanKlein]

Reminds me of the old expression. "Does Macy's tell Gimbels?"

 

[dstreetphoto]

Definitely not no, they just want you to neatly package your knowledge and experience so they can exploit it.

 

[Rickbb]

Ditto on no.

 

[cgw]

Where's the OP???

 

[Ralfus]

Thanks for the input everyone. So it's a resounding no then!

It's what I felt in my gut, but I was second guessing it and needed to hear it from others. I have been a little isolated from the community since photography and editing are no longer my main line of work (and hasn't been for several years). This is more of a side hustle these days. So the sense check here has been very helpful. They did offer to compensate me to put that knowledge together and they have generally been a good client in other ways, so that added to the second guessing.

"Simply state that there is no standard process to be easily defined, that every photographer uses their own workflow to reach the desired end result, that is proprietary to the individual."

Thanks @Kwillmorth for your advice in particular — that is the perfect response. Not only is it absolutely true but it perfectly sums up the value of the work and shuts down further negotiation on the matter.

 

[PhotoHobbyist]

I'd tell him you can't bottle intuition and experience, but offer to edit pics for him for a price, but not to expect the same results as you are not the one taking the pictures. That requires experience too and determines the final outcome.

 

[RacePhoto]

The best answer is in the first answer: "there is no standard process to be easily defined, that every photographer uses their own workflow to reach the desired end result," and leave it at that. You don't have to go into why you won't or anything else. Just say that the process is different for every image, and the editing is based on what you see that needs to be done.

It's not a system, it's a visual processing and personal, based on experience.

Lets see, just for people here, I shoot JPG (which just left many of you uninterested in the rest?) Levels, shadows, highlights, maybe white balance, Unsharpen mask. DONE! Of course that's not true, it's just the bare minimum, depending on what else needs adjusting or fixing.

ps I shoot mostly editorial sports, there are some ethical limits to what amount of alteration is allowed for News Editorial images. So, like the start of this, there's no system that I could tell anyone and no way I could say, how I look at each image, and decide what I want to change or how much. Even if I was shooting hamburgers on a grill, there's no fixed way to determine what to do or how.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

The truth is you cannot really document your process. You can say I receive my assignment; I think of the best way to the go accomplishing it, contact upon the people who I think can help or provide more information.

The fact is even repetitive jobs require a mental decision-making process based on experience and intuition. The people who fill in for you most likely have their own mental approach to the problem at hand, based on the same resources you have. You can discuss a couple of your solutions to past projects, but you cannot share your intuition or future thought processes. That is the subtle point you have to get across.