I am officially outsourcing!!!

[kathyt]

I can't physically or mentally edit one more image for at LEAST a Month! My brain is fried and can't handle sitting in front of a computer screen for another second. I have been editing non-stop for the last couple of weeks and it is not worth it for me. So, I am shipping the rest of my work load out the frickin' door! I have outsourced in the past when I couldn't keep up and they basically do all of my color corrections and then I just have to cull, crop and do any other final tweaks. Now I can get my sanity back and get the hell out of my office. Vent over. P.S. I outsource through Vital Edits and they are awesome. (just incase anyone was curious)

 

[JenR]

Good for you for taking charge of your business and your sanity.

 

[Tailgunner]

I can't physically or mentally edit one more image for at LEAST a Month! My brain is fried and can't handle sitting in front of a computer screen for another second. I have been editing non-stop for the last couple of weeks and it is not worth it for me. So, I am shipping the rest of my work load out the frickin' door! I have outsourced in the past when I couldn't keep up and they basically do all of my color corrections and then I just have to cull, crop and do any other final tweaks. Now I can get my sanity back and get the hell out of my office. Vent over. P.S. I outsource through Vital Edits and they are awesome. (just incase anyone was curious)

I was just wondering what the Pros did when it comes to editing, specially Wedding photographers who shoots 1,000's of shots per event. I've been editing 200-300 shots and it's driving me up the wall lol

 

[brian_f2.8]

Seems expensive but if you can build it into the price sure why not. Sanity is worth it. Cant you create actions that will get you close to where you want then go from there?

 

[cgipson1]

I can't physically or mentally edit one more image for at LEAST a Month! My brain is fried and can't handle sitting in front of a computer screen for another second. I have been editing non-stop for the last couple of weeks and it is not worth it for me. So, I am shipping the rest of my work load out the frickin' door! I have outsourced in the past when I couldn't keep up and they basically do all of my color corrections and then I just have to cull, crop and do any other final tweaks. Now I can get my sanity back and get the hell out of my office. Vent over. P.S. I outsource through Vital Edits and they are awesome. (just incase anyone was curious)

I was just wondering what the Pros did when it comes to editing, specially Wedding photographers who shoots 1,000's of shots per event. I've been editing 200-300 shots and it's driving me up the wall lol

You get a workflow down... and usually if you are good, most of the images generally only need a few minor tweaks (easily handled by a recorded action). But sometimes you get bogged down, and farm it out.

That was one of the nice things about film... you shot it, and if you had access to a good high volume commercial printer, you could knock out five or six rolls (36 exposure) really quick. And that was the other nice thing about film... you didn't end up with 1000's of images at a wedding... couple of hundred at the most.

 

[brian_f2.8]

No need to spray n prey, cameras can shoot single frame or multiple frames. Its the user not equipment.

 

[Tailgunner]

I can't physically or mentally edit one more image for at LEAST a Month! My brain is fried and can't handle sitting in front of a computer screen for another second. I have been editing non-stop for the last couple of weeks and it is not worth it for me. So, I am shipping the rest of my work load out the frickin' door! I have outsourced in the past when I couldn't keep up and they basically do all of my color corrections and then I just have to cull, crop and do any other final tweaks. Now I can get my sanity back and get the hell out of my office. Vent over. P.S. I outsource through Vital Edits and they are awesome. (just incase anyone was curious)

I was just wondering what the Pros did when it comes to editing, specially Wedding photographers who shoots 1,000's of shots per event. I've been editing 200-300 shots and it's driving me up the wall lol

You get a workflow down... and usually if you are good, most of the images generally only need a few minor tweaks (easily handled by a recorded action). But sometimes you get bogged down, and farm it out.

That was one of the nice things about film... you shot it, and if you had access to a good high volume commercial printer, you could knock out five or six rolls (36 exposure) really quick. And that was the other nice thing about film... you didn't end up with 1000's of images at a wedding... couple of hundred at the most.

Ya, back in my film days, I dropped everything off at commercial printers which was about 5-10 rolls. Digital space is so much cheaper, especially now days and I guess why we take hundreds if not thousands of photos. That and we like tweaking and customizing things.

 

[brian_f2.8]

yep very cheap these days. when i shoot pro sports(racing/golf) im good for 5k frames from a weekend. who cares about a keep rate? show me your 10 best photos whether its 10/11 or 10/5000 who cares. your 10 best are your 10 best.

 

[ShooterJ]

I'm confused.. should you be conservative and not spray and pray or be ok with selecting the 10 best out of 5,000 frames?

I'm new to all this .. so just curious. The contradiction was rather strange..

 

[Trever1t]

Good for you Kathy, I don't have quite enough to worry about that yet but I know many many photographers who don't have time to edit and outsource.

ShooterJ, weddings and sports are very different but both can bulk you down with large numbers of files, especially if you are working 3 or 4 times a month.

 

[ShooterJ]

Absolutely.. I understand it's quite common to fire off a lot of frames at events. It was also commented that there was no need to "Spray 'N Pray"... to my thinking, it isn't both. It's one or the other.. either you're shooting single frames and being conservative or you're firing off a LOT of shots to sort through in post later (which was what I understood to be the common practice in digital). I suppose two DIFFERENT photographers could do it in the two different ways... but my confusion at one Photographer advocating both at the same time. *shrugs*

 

[hirejn]

I've heard of outsourcing working but none of the photographers I know, including myself, have had success with it. I already know I can do better than most labs, right down to head swaps. And if there's a few images I can't do, I can send them to a specialty lab that takes small orders. If you're booked 10 hours a day every day, then yes outsourcing is worth it. But if you actually have time to edit and just don't want to, then it's not worth it. The reason most people struggle is because their captures aren't perfect and they have no system for editing. Those are fixable problems. One, become a better photographer. Two, get a system for processing.

I used to think weddings had to take weeks, until I learned the secrets. First, shoot with the final product in mind. Get the best capture in camera to minimize the work in post. This is the one fewest photographers do, and it's easier said than done. Then, I have presets and actions set up to help me. And there's a very important tool that can cut your editing in half: a shortcut keyboard. They're about $400, but once you have it set up, you can just punch buttons and edit images in seconds. Many pros get their weddings done in a day this way. Most pros won't spend more than five minutes on an image. If you're taking longer, look at ways to cut time. The key is having a vision, perfect captures, and using the right tools in post.

 

[12sndsgood]

Absolutely.. I understand it's quite common to fire off a lot of frames at events. It was also commented that there was no need to "Spray 'N Pray"... to my thinking, it isn't both. It's one or the other.. either you're shooting single frames and being conservative or you're firing off a LOT of shots to sort through in post later (which was what I understood to be the common practice in digital). I suppose two DIFFERENT photographers could do it in the two different ways... but my confusion at one Photographer advocating both at the same time. *shrugs*

It can be both to an extent. While doing a wedding I will take several shots of the main events, (first look, ring exhcange, first kiss etc.) those shots that you have to get. but that doesn't mean I shoot that way the entire day. for other shots i'll just go slow take my time and get one or two shots of what i'm looking for. so it can be a mix of the two.

 

[hirejn]

I'm confused.. should you be conservative and not spray and pray or be ok with selecting the 10 best out of 5,000 frames?

I'm new to all this .. so just curious. The contradiction was rather strange..

Spray and pray is an amateur technique. Pros are more selective with their shots as they take them, eliminating the need to go through long sequences of the same thing. This ties into a faster workflow.

 

[12sndsgood]

Spray and pray is used when a person doesn't have a clue what there doing so there only option is to shoot a ton and hope they get something. but there are still areas where very competant pro's will shoot a lot (sport's for instance) where they are looking for that perfect split second moment. Fast shooting isn't just for the amateur.