As a photo editor, your job will entail supervising the photography to be published in magazines and newspapers. This means that your career in image editing is of great importance to the publications that you work for.
Photo editors also play the crucial role of hiring photographers. There is a common joke among photo editors implying that they failed as photographers. Although this is not entirely true, photo editors tend to have a history of working as photographers and as such, they have the knowhow, skills and the expertise that professional photographers have. The main difference between a career in image editing and that of a photographer is that the work of a photo edits is mainly based on published while the photographer is responsible for producing the work.
Besides the technical skills, every top image editor must be creative, equipped with business knowledge, organizations and people skills. To succeed in a career in image editing, you need to have an eye for narrative and talent. Before venturing in this field, one of the most important steps you must take is to be able to identify good photography. Here is how you can do that:
- Edit images: This should always start with you own portfolio. You have to decide the images to use, where to use them and in what order. This helps to demonstrate your skills in creating artistically appealing narratives. Create several portfolios with different themes to prove to your potential employers that you are skills in photography and in creating narratives with the help of the photographs.
- Network: Networking is key to succeeding in your career in image editing. Nurture connection with up and coming photographers near you and learn the names of the top photographers in and outside your city. Of course, if you read magazines, chances are you know a few top editors in the country. Consult with fellow editors on your story for recommendation on the best photographers with a style and tone that best fits your story.
- Improve your skills and knowledge of photography: This means keeping up with technological advancements as far as software and hardware is concerned.
Photo editing has significantly transformed into an extremely specialized skills with employment opportunities at magazines, newspapers and books. Today, there are photo editors who specialize with travel related projects within the travel section of magazines.
By choosing a career in image editing, you commit to strict work schedules. This is because as a photo editor, you are required to make sure that all work is done within the stipulated timeframe. Your will also be responsible for acquisitions. This means that you will be charge for contracting the work done by the photographers. It always helps to have a couple of names on your speed dial to choose from for different shoots especially when their work best fits the narrative.
As an image editor, you will be working with other editors to create a layout and a format of copy. Your will also be working with art directors to comes up with editorial calendars.
