Recently, I had an opportunity to work with one of the two people who do my editing and image enhancement. I was pleased to see how good she had become. She is much better than I am at enhancing images because she does more of it than I do. I still need to work with her to understand what she can do and for her to understand what I want. But having her do this part of our operation serves our customers better. They get better pictures at a lower cost to me.
Some photographers are aghast at the title of this post and the preceding paragraph. For them, creative control means doing everything. Some even make their own prints. But you have to stop somewhere. Should you make your own paper? Build your own printers? Ever tried to make a camera? Or even paint backgrounds?
Over the years I have done all of the above except for paper. Yes, I, or people working for me, have even modified printers and cameras beyond what the original manufacturer intended. There are sometimes when the only way to get something done the way you want is to do it yourself, but it may be better to pay someone else to do it.
I chose the title for this post because image manipulation is one of the most time consuming activities that bogs down photographers. As a photographer, I like to spend my time working with subjects, taking pictures. It is my core competency. This is what defines my business, the way I work with the subjects.
I outsource (or hire others to do) everything that I can without adversely affecting quality or service. If I tried to do everything myself, I wouldn’t get much done and what I did get done would be done less well.
The first reason this is true is called opportunity cost. My cost to do it myself is the value of the highest value thing I could be doing instead.
Next is comparative advantage. My time is better spent doing what I do best and hiring others to do the rest, even if I am better at it than they are.
Then there is division of labor. Many complex operations can be done more efficiently by splitting them up into separate tasks.
Finally, there is specialization. If you do a lot of something you get better at it. The two people who do all of my editing were not always as good at it or as fast as I am. Now, there is no comparison. They have gotten much, much better and I, for lack of practice, thanks to them, have gotten worse.
The five bold face terms are basic concepts of business and economics. If you have completed a business course recently, they are probably familiar. This is how I apply it to my business. Everyone will not and should not do it the same way. But the five basic concepts are still true.
Identify what it is that makes you special, your core competencies, and out source everything else. Out sourcing may mean hiring and training someone to do it in house as an employee or contractor. It may mean sending it out to another business half way around the world. The goal is to get better results, faster and at lower cost.
It is not easy or even simple. I spend a large amount of time selecting and working with those who help me serve my customers. If I do it right my customers are better served and I get to spend more time doing what truly defines my work, actually photographing the subjects.
I currently have two editors. They select the poses to be printed, do any enhancements that are necessary or requested by the customer and order the prints. When the prints arrive from the lab, they inspect and package the pictures and send them to the schools, stores or direct to the customer. I never see most of what I or the other photographers shoot.
I still have all of the creative control that I need. I get better work delivered to the customer more quickly at a lower cost.
It may be so difficult to find someone or a supplier that serves your needs well that it may seem to be simpler to do it yourself. Or, maybe you just need to spend more time and effort finding the right person or supplier and communicating with them well.
That will allow you more time to do what you do best. It will make you a better photographer.