Author Topic: Employing a photo retoucher (Read 9670 times)

Imabase · « **on:** May 26, 2009, 12:06 »

Hi Guys,

I was wondering how many of you employ or pays someone to retouch your images for you? Have you ever made use of these photo retouching services?
I have a large bulk of images that need to be retouched, and I have been working on them for a long time, and speed up I want to speed up this process by employing a photo retoucher.

What can I do to ensure my images wouldn't be stolen or used by the retoucher?

suwanneeredhead · « **Reply #1 on:** June 24, 2009, 11:45 »

Interesting lack of response here...

I've never used a retoucher because honestly I don't have the volume of images to justify that... I like doing the post-processing myself, Photoshop is half the fun for me. I would retouch for others if it was worth it but I can't imagine someone paying me enough.

Regarding "What an I do to ensure my images wouldn't be stolen or used by the retoucher?" You write a contract, maybe even have it drafted up by an attorney so it's air-tight, and make it very clear to the retoucher that it is very easy to get caught stealing images (Tin Eye, etc.) and that not only will you fire their dishonest self, but you will sue them for everything they're worth. If you still think they will do it, keep your images to yourself.

Good luck!

graficallyminded · « **Reply #2 on:** June 24, 2009, 15:43 »

With starting a photography business, stock or not, you're going to want to keep your costs super low. With the small amount of income you're going to earn in your first year, you'd be doing well if you are breaking even with what you are paying your retoucher. Try starting out yourself, and then move to hiring someone once you get the ball rolling and the money is coming in. Personally, I'm still trying to keep my overhead costs to a minimum, so that means I am a one man show. I plan to keep it that way as long as I can, and after 4 years it's working out just fine. Like Stacey said, it's a lot of fun to edit for most of us - if it's not fun for you, maybe you should consider a career in law enforcement or the dental field.

jk

If you're already pulling in some decent downloads, then why not try hiring a college or high school Photoshop wiz for a low hourly rate? You can even train them to your liking in a few days, depending on their existing skill level.

madelaide · « **Reply #3 on:** June 24, 2009, 16:17 »

Quote from: suwanneeredhead on June 24, 2009, 11:45

and make it very clear to the retoucher that it is very easy to get caught stealing images (Tin Eye, etc.)

I wouldn't say it is very easy. I have found a minor part of my images in use through TinEye. I am a bit disappointed in fact that it doesn't seem they have been updating their database lately. At least when I try a search, I only find what was already found months ago.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #4 on:** June 24, 2009, 16:50 »

I agree with Graphicallyminded. I can't imagine how the average contributor could possibly afford a retoucher on what you make in microstock.

Maybe if you are Yuri Arcurs or one of the other 5 or 10 top sellers...

graficallyminded · « **Reply #5 on:** June 25, 2009, 06:36 »

It probably wouldn't even be worth considering unless you were already making triple figures ($100k+/yr) or if you are too busy to do it yourself, and plan on barely breaking even for a while for the sake of building up a residual income in microstock. If you can find a retoucher for a really good rate, then of course it would be a different story. How do you put a pricetag on the value of it, though? Stock is such a crapshoot as it is when it comes to subject matter - whether what you are uploading is even going to sell very well, or not.

Inger Anne Hulbækdal · « **Reply #6 on:** June 25, 2009, 08:32 »

There are online services. I used "Lazymask" for some isolation, which I'm not very good at myself.
I was happy with the result, and I can't remember that it was very expensive.

Inger

photografix · « **Reply #7 on:** September 08, 2010, 13:37 »

I happen to run a humble studio that works with a microstock photographer since late 2008. It all depends on how many images you want to submit. If it's 60-100 or more per week, it's probably a good idea. If you don't plan to be doing that for the next few years, you might stick to doing it yourself. You'll need to negotiate a fair rate. You might also consider the location of the retoucher. The trend for retouching is going offshore (to India, eastern Europe, etc.). Getting personal attention from someone overseas can be difficult.

You'll need about 3-6 months of "calibration time" with the retoucher to nail down your style and volume. You'll still probably be tempted to work on some as they come back from the retoucher. So don't worry about giving up working in Photoshop

Regarding confidentiality, you'll need to get a "Non-Disclosure Agreement" (NDA) signed. Preferably, you should have a lawyer draft it. If not, do something. Anything is better than nothing

It is in the retoucher's best interest to keep your work confidential (especially if they are located in the United States or western Europe). We usually are quite poor and cannot market ourselves with anything but word-of-mouth. More folks will steal your images from the stock sites and "clone out" the watermarks. I've been doing this for 10 years and I am constantly getting proposals to remove watermarks (I refuse them).

Good luck!

Quote from: Imabase on May 26, 2009, 12:06

Hi Guys,

I was wondering how many of you employ or pays someone to retouch your images for you? Have you ever made use of these photo retouching services?
I have a large bulk of images that need to be retouched, and I have been working on them for a long time, and speed up I want to speed up this process by employing a photo retoucher.

What can I do to ensure my images wouldn't be stolen or used by the retoucher?

Punit Patel · « **Reply #8 on:** February 02, 2011, 10:08 »

It completely depend on the services you are searching in the market. The price varies according to the work required on the images.

Retouching is usually complex and has different levels and it depends on your requirements. (Basic, Medium, Extensive, Glamour).

Now, if you are a stock contributor, Where are you planning to upload the images? since the standards vary for different stock agencies.

For stock contributors the work flow would not stop at retouching. KEYWORDING is also an essential part of the process. " The best image in the world cannot be sold if no one can find it." I read this somewhere and is absolutely correct since there are great images but they aren't sold due to lack of appropriate keywords or in other cases the images are rejected during quality check and never seen on stock sites.

Kindly send your queries on [email protected].

Thanks
PM