*This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the full disclosure here.
Want to become a freelance photo editor and make money from home?
Did you know you can make up to $75,000 a year with freelance photo editing jobs?
And that’s not a random number I just pulled up. Katie Rivera, a former photographer turned photo editor earns just that with her own photo editing business.
This is a lesser-known side hustle that pays extremely well and can be done online as it is not location dependent.
It is not necessary to have any photo editing background to get into this business, because as a photo editor you will be dealing with basic editing and retouching – no extreme photo editing skills needed!
To give you a bit more information on this, I had the privilege to interview Katie to shed some light on this online side hustle.
1. Hi Katie, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m Katie: Former successful wedding photographer turned full-time professional photo editor.
I decided to quit my photography business and take a leap into private photo editing when I became burnt out from the demands of running a wedding photography business.
In the most successful stage of my business, I was stressed, overworked, and tired of travelling alone for work on the weekends.
With photography, I got to add stamps to my passport and visit cities I never thought I’d see. However, I quickly learned that saying yes to more wedding photography, meant saying no to my weekends at home with little personal travel since photography events are always location dependent.
I knew that editing full-time would give me the freedom to travel with my family and live life more intentionally, on my own terms. So, I pushed through the difficulties of starting a new business and finding my footing with many mistakes and trials and errors.
Now, being on the other side of my editing business, I am thriving in a career that serves my life exactly the way I intended it to AND I’m able to fund full-time travelling adventures for my family, on our own terms!
2. What made you decide you wanted to become a photo editor?
When I first had the realization that photo editing was a possible full-time escape from wedding photography, I went all in.
Despite how scary it was making the change, I decided to completely quit my previous photography business to focus solely on photo editing.
Because my household depended on me as the main source of income, I needed to do everything I could to bring in editing income and FAST.
And I did just that — After my first six months, I reached full-time income with online photo editing while working about 4-6 hours per day, around 3-5 days per week (depending on the season).
3. How much can a photo editor charge?
Although this number will depend on the photo editor and how much they choose to work, in the niche of wedding and portrait editing, photo editors can make anywhere from $40-$100+ per hour.
This can vary based on their service rate and speed.
Editors commonly charge a per image rate, so the hourly rate mentioned previously is based on the varying ranges that editors charge and how much time is spent on an average batch of editing.
Every editing job is different in quantity and speed. Some may take a little bit longer or shorter.
On average, I make $275-$375 per edit job and I edit anywhere from 10-40 editing jobs per month.
4. How do you find clients?
That’s a great question!
First, it’s crucial that potential clients can see that you’ve learned and refined your editing skills. It’s extremely important that a photo editor has the training they need to provide good, consistent editing before they can market themselves to potential clients.
There’s an entire module in my course dedicated to attracting and KEEPING clients.
I have a simple yet effective marketing method that attracts photographers and converts their inquiries to a paid editing job. This method is covered extensively in the course modules available to members of the Photo Editor’s Guide.
5. Is this job suitable for a beginner with no editing experience?
Like any other learned skill that requires training, I believe anyone can learn the skills to become a successful photo editor, but it may not be the best fit for everyone.
If you can figure out how to take a photo on your phone, slap a filter on it, and upload it to Facebook… you can learn the skills you need to execute a good edit.
Photo editing may not be a good fit for you if you are partially color blind, or if you have health issues that prevent you from sitting at a desk or table for an extended period of time.
6. Can you please tell us about your course?
Of course! The Photo Editor’s Guide is a step-by-step, complete online course + community that teaches you the skills + business foundations you need to become a profitable photo editor, so you can work from home (or anywhere you want!)
The Photo Editor’s Guide includes everything you need to become a skilled photo editor with a profitable photo editing business — guiding you through every single step of your learning and business-building journey.
This is an online training program designed for busy people to learn at their own pace. The training program is broken down into organized, bite-sized videos so you can squeeze in 15 minutes of training throughout your busy schedule.
You can learn more about The Photo Editor’s Guide and how to become a successful photo editor by signing up for our free training!
7. Is this job suitable for stay-at-home moms – in terms of flexibility and being able to work along with kids at home?
Absolutely!
Because you can edit anywhere you can take your laptop, it is easy to do from anywhere, and you can choose how much work you’d like to take on.
This is a great business to have if you want to be able to work in the mornings before picking the kiddos up in the afternoon, or if you need to limit work to a couple of days per week.
Many of our students run their businesses from home alongside their kids, and work in between their families daily life!
This is also a great fit for stay at home moms and dads that have limited time to spend working but want to earn a little supplemental income.
I know editors that choose to edit just 5-10 jobs per month — which could be great supplemental income grossing around $1,200-$2,500 per month (this could vary by season depending on the niche they choose).
Make extra money by browsing the web, watching videos, playing online games and testing new products - clothing, food, cosmetics and more! Its free to join. Sign up for your chance to get a $5 Swagbucks bonus.
8. Any final words for those still deciding about becoming a photo editor?
I personally believe becoming a photo editor can be a great supplemental or full-time income for just about anyone, and would love to show you how!
