There is a debate in the wedding photography world over whether you should edit your own work or farm it out. By farm it out I mean hiring an in studio assistant or having an editing company do it. I have done it myself for years and have not farmed it out. This is because I actually love doing it. Yes, there are a few things that are not so great, but all in all the post production stage is fun for me. I also have huge issues with control. I like things done my way or no way, so finding just the right person could prove tricky. My only issue at this point is time, as is true with every photog. Especially now that I have a kid who is pretty demanding. I am now looking to half produce and farm the rest out on jobs that I do not have the time to do. I will let you know in the coming months how this goes. There are several companies out there. Here is one I am going to give a try: Photography Post-Production Services. Another good one is Photofix. I would not hire an in-studio assistant unless you have a bung of other stuff to give them to do. There is nothing more frustrating than paying someone to do unnecessary busy work.
Side Note Story: About two years ago I was bidding on a wedding. The bride was also looking at a fellow LA wedding shooter who has a similar style however her prices were almost double mine. The client asked me why my prices were so low compared to this other shooter and I really did not have a good answer for her. I honestly had no idea why she charged so much more for basically the same services (artistically we are right on par with each other and I actually have more experience and training.) The bride ended up going with the other shooter because she felt that if she was paying more, the other shooter should be obviously the better choice. Recently in chatting with this fellow photog I found out that she has a full blown studio and several assistants that do all her post production including her album designs. It dawned on me that her overhead is 100% greater than mine, so of course she charges more. Note to bride: find this out as you can always get a better deal on a great photographer who does not have a lot of overhead. The same is true with any vendor who keeps things simple.
I will always be true to my artform and passionate about my clients and I never know where the future will lead me. Who knows, maybe someday I will be brave enough to let someone else edit and enhance my imagery. Until then, I love my Mac.
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