Looking out for a photo editor? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best photo editors. Read on!
How to hire a photo editor?
In the present digital and highly competitive world, the concept of digital photography has gained prominence. No matter which business you are involved in, it is important to get properly edited photographs to represent your brand and business. Thus, every business needs Photo editors.
Photoediting is one of the essential parts of any marketing, communication, and branding activity. This is one of the biggest reasons that professional photo editing is one of the most outsourced processes in the industry. With the rise of image-centric social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, photos are becoming a universal marketing language.
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Hiring market for Photo editors
A look at the present technology and need for business prove a gleam of hope for picture editors. Photography and photo editing are embraced by a wide variety of industries and sectors. Even government, agriculture, and real estate sectors are hiring digital photo editors. This is because every business needs websites and every website needs well-edited photos.
Thus, candidates who have freelance photo editing skills will remain marketable. Between the years 2018 to 2018, the career in photo editing is expected to grow by almost 3%. In addition to this, it will produce a minimum of 3400 job opportunities in the United States alone.
Thus, candidates with good editing skills and a passion for the job may have ample opportunities in the photo editor portfolio. No doubt photo editor professionals won’t be able to stand out among other professionals, but they will get lots of opportunities as the digital marketplace will stand out.
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Top 15 Recent Job titles for Photo Editors
Following are some of the recent job titles for photo editors,
1. Associate Photo Editor
The main task of an associate photo editor is to assist photo editors with all types of editorial and administrative work. An associate photo editor do tasks related to research, interface with photographers, licensing, monitoring, and maintenance of budget.
2. Visuals Editor
A visuals professional photo editor has the main task of editing photos on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. They create content for different editorial initiatives. When you hire photo editor, you will be able to maintain colorful and modern aesthetics for your brand.
3. Group Creative Photo Editor
The main task of a group creative photo editor is to maintain the task of professional picture editing within a group. Thus, they have the main task of overseeing all types of graphic execution for brand standard implementation.
4. Social Media Editor
With every business having its own social media platform, it is important to hire someone to photoshop a picture and other social media work. A social media editor can create pictures, graphics, and videos as per the brand standard.
5. Digital Editorial Intern
Most often, a digital editorial intern works closely with the digital editors across all platforms. They get hands-on experience to work with CMS framework so that they can edit digital photos and content as per the need of the brand.
6. Creative Director
A creative director is a senior-level position in an organization. The main task of a creative director is to develop, lead, and collaborate with designers so that proper photos are taken for the brand endorsement.
7. Digital Editor
When you hire a freelance photo editor for the post of digital editor, he/she will help you to get branded shooting titles. A digital editor works in close collaboration with shooting publishers, print editors, and the director of digital editorial to develop content strategies that can align with short-term and long-term goals.
8. Executive Photo Editor
An executive photo editor works in close collaboration with publishers to make sure that the portfolio can reflect the brand identity and standards.
9. Illustrator
When you hire a photoshop editor, they can also work as an illustrator. The main task of an illustrator is to coordinate custom design work, and run and manage the corporate as well as retail document service center. Most often an illustrator spends most of the time in designing multi page-layout designs and cover designs.
10. Graphic Design Assistant
Most often, graphic designers have skills that are helpful in photo editing. Although they can’t work as an extreme photo editor, they offer pretty great photo editing work.
11. Lead Graphic Designer
With the growing trend of promotion through social media platforms, every organization needs a good graphic designer who can help them in improving the brand identity. The main task of a graphic designer is to edit photos and add elements that can improve the brand identity and standards.
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Qualifications to look for in a photo editor
If you need a professional picture editor for your organization, you need to check the qualifications as well as the skills of the candidate. Most often you need to look for a candidate who has completed a bachelor’s degree in photography, visual arts, or digital media.
This way, they will get to know basic details about photo editing, studio design, and digital imaging. In addition to this, many candidates also complete master’s degrees in photography and photo editing. Make sure to look for a candidate who has some background in photography and art history.
It is also important to hire candidates depending upon their skills and knowledge about digital editing, studio lighting, computer editing, and color photography. You can hire candidates who have completed their degree and education from any of these colleges and universities,
College | Location |
Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI |
School of visual arts | Seattle |
School of Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, IL |
Yale University | New Haven, CT |
California Institute of the Arts | Santa Clarita |
University of New Mexico | Albuquerque, NM |
University of California, LA | Los Angeles |
Maryland Institute College of Art | Baltimore |
New York University | New York |
Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester |
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Skills to look for in a photo editor
It is important for pic editors to have a passion for photography and the ability to tell stories through stories. In addition to this, they should also know about the technical aspect of photo edting. Look for the following skills when you want to hire good photoeditors,
- Leadership skills: The person should have the proven experience of managing a large group of people, since photo editors have to work within groups, leadership skills will prove to be fruitful.
- Negotiation skills: It is important for the editor to have proper negotiation skills so that they can assign tasks to their juniors and they can get better projects from clients.
- Technical skills: Professional photo editors should also be comfortable with major editing software like Photoshop, InDesign, Bridge, Lightroom, and many more. This is the main skill that you need to check in a photo editor.
- Team spirit: Since photography editors have to work with creative, digital marketing, and social media teams in an organization team spirit quality is essential for a candidate who is available for a catchy photo editor job.
- Decision-making skills: Photographer editing is not all about creativity. Sometimes a candidate may have to make strong decisions. Thus, in addition to editing skills, the person needs to take decisions that can tell a brand story through photographs.
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Certifications to look for in a photo editor
Following are some of the major certifications that you can check when you are hiring professional photo maker.
- Movavi Photo editor complete course – The course will enable a candidate to learn all about photo editing from beginning to end. The Movavi Photo editing course consists of different tools that are loaded with different effects. The competition of this course will enable a professional photo maker to edit pictures, create collages, and share photos on social media platforms.
- Photo editing master course by Graphic design institute – This is a 3-month certification course that can help a candidate to understand the fundamentals of image editing. Most photoshop professional editor try to complete this course so that they can have knowledge about creative picture editing.
- Adobe Photoshop course by Skillshare – This is an online course offered for virtual photo editor. Adobe Photoshop is a must certification for any candidate who wants to enter the world of photo editing.
- Lightroom certification by Adobe – Lightroom is a club-based service that offers candidates everything they need to create, edit, organize, store, and share photos across any device. The certification will enable you to understand easy to use tools like sliders and presets. For candidates who want to become pro image editor, lightroom certification is a must.
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Rate per hour of photo editor
If you are looking to hire a photo editor, it is important to know about the freelance photo editor rates. As per the statistics by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average photo editing rates in the US is $30 per hour.
In the year 2018, the average photo editor price was $42,770 per annum. The cost for hiring photographer editor can depend on different factors like the experience and the expertise of the candidate. But, on average, the cost to get professional photo edit can range between $25-$55 per hour in the United States.
If you want to hire an expert photo editor from European nations, you may have to pay a minimum pay of 24 € per hour. Professional image editor from Asian regions can demand a pay of $27 per hour on average. The average median salary demanded by professional pic editor from Asian regions is $56,000 per annum.
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Top 10 job boards to find the best photo editors
Following are some of the major job boards where you can get in touch with people who can offer you professional photography editing.
- Thumbtack – This is a pay-to-bid job board where you have to make an advance payment to get in touch with the best profile photo editor. You are charged for each bid only when the candidate accepts your job offer.
- unremot.com – This is one of the best platforms where you can get in touch with creative people from all genres of work. You can also look for freelance photo editing rates at this platform.
- Upwork – If you are looking for freelance gigs, no place can be as good as Upwork to get in touch with a photo editor professional.
- Guru – Guru works in the same way as Upwork. The basic account for job posting is free. So, you can contact a professional photography editor at almost zero charges.
- Freelancer – Freelancer job boards are specially designed for people who are on a look for a pro editor photo who can work as a freelancer.
- People per hour – Just like its name, you can pay someone to photoshop or any other editing task by paying them on an hourly basis. If you have a short-term project for custom photo editing, People Per Hour is the best platform to choose.
- Virtual Vocations – This site lists only remote jobs. You can look for pro image editors who can work remotely.
- Flexjobs – Creative job profiles like event photography, photo editing, and photojournalism jobs are posted on this platform.
- Fiverr – Fiverr is another amazing platform where you can post jobs to hire photo editors.
- Craigslist – This platform works like a classified. You can find photo editors locally as well as internationally on this platform.
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Top 10 companies hiring photo editor and salaries offered
Following is the list of companies that are hiring photo editors. You can check any of these companies to get a professional editing photo.
Company | Salary offered |
Target CW | $30K-$72K |
Peter Miller | $21K-$46K |
Gannett | $24K-$49K |
Spotlight Media Group | $8-$19 per hour |
The Gazette | $21k-$40K |
Meredith Corporation | $14-$34 per hour |
Home City Inc | $52K-$86K |
Mashable | $16-$39 per hour |
Godfrey Dadich Partners | $12-$21 per hour |
McKinsey & Company | $45K-$92K |
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Top 10 interview questions for photo editors
Following are some of the major questions that you can ask to a candidate who has arrived for a Photo editing job interview,
1. Is there any specific image editing software you use?
Rationale: This question will enable you to know if the candidate has proficiency in using different image editing tools.
Sample Answer: Yes, I am proficient in using softwares like Adobe photoshop, PTGui Pro CC, and Paintshop Pro
2. What are the basic editing techniques that you use?
Rationale: This is a bit of a technical question that will enable you to know if the candidate will be able to fulfill the photo editing requirement of your organization or not.
Sample Answer: Following are the basic photo editing technique that I use,
- Jumpcut: This cut pushes forward the time
- Montage: This editing technique also signifies the passage of time.
- Cross dissolve
- Wipe
- Cutting on action
- Cross cut
- Parallel editing
- Smash Cut
3. Can you name some of the digital editing terms that every photo editor must know.
Rationale: This is a basic level question that you can ask a candidate who is available for an internship or beginner-level job for photo editing.
Sample Answer: Some of the basic digital editing term that every photo editor should be aware of includes – Cut, Continuity editing, continuity errors, cross-cutting, cutaway, editing, establishing shot, and eye-line match.
4. What does FN mean in reference to editing?
Rationale: This is another beginner-level question that you can ask to a beginner photo editor.
Sample Answer: The abbreviation FN stands for Footnote.
5. Can you let me know about the software that is suitable for creating schematic abstract or photo editing in the manuscript?
Rationale: This is a technical question that you need to ask a photo editor. This question can be asked to a senior-level photo editor.
Sample Answer: For vector graphics, Inkscape is a good photo editing software.
6. How long does it take to complete a project?
Rationale: This is a work-related question that you can ask a candidate who has arrived for a photo editing task.
Sample Answer: The usual turnaround time for editing service is almost 24-48 hours. But, the project completion time can vary depending on the complexity of the project. It also depends on the format, image, and size of the project.
7. What are the major skills needed to become a photo editor?
Rationale: This is one of the most important questions that you can ask to a photo editor. The answer to this question will enable you to determine if the candidate has knowledge and skills about photo editing or not.
Sample Answer: Photo editing is a dynamic job. Thus, it demands excellent visual, communication, and organizational skills. In addition to this, candidates also need to adhere to the deadlines.
8. What are the most used photo editing apps that you use?
Rationale: This is a technical question that will help you to know if the candidate can work as per the resources and apps available in your organization.
Sample Answer: Some of the photo editing apps that I use include, Snapseed, VSCO, Prisma Photo Editor, and Adobe Photoshop express.
9. Can you name the types of photo editing?
Rationale: This is another basic level question that you can ask a photo editor.
Sample Answer: Some of the important types of photo editing techniques include,
- Developmental editing
- Evaluation editing
- Content editing
- Image cropping
- Resizing of image
10. Is Lightroom better than Photoshop?
Rationale: The question will enable you to know if the candidate has the technical capabilities to complete the editing task or not.
Sample Answer: For a higher level, Lightroom is the best tool that can be helpful in management as well as the processing of thousands of photos on a single device.