The Editing Shouldn't Be What Burns You Out

Both packages include full individual editing of every image in your gallery by your dedicated Senior Editor. The difference is in the advanced tools. The Advanced package includes up to 3 syncable masks per image, AI Denoise, and object removal for images that need it. If your sessions have mixed lighting that benefits from localized adjustments or you want distractions cleaned up in backgrounds, Advanced gives your editor those tools. If your editing is primarily color correction, exposure, white balance, and cropping across the full image, Basic has you covered. You can use the pricing calculator above to compare costs for your typical gallery size.

It's a process and it starts before you ever send us a gallery. After you sign our contract, you'll fill out a detailed style questionnaire. It walks through how you use Lightroom, which panels and sliders matter most to your look, and your preferences on things like skin tones, warmth, and contrast. From there, you'll meet your Senior Editor on a Google Meet style consult where you screen share and walk them through your editing in real time. Words like "warm" and "neutral" mean different things to different photographers, so seeing it live is how we get specific. After that, every gallery you submit includes anchor images (about 10% of the session) that you've already edited. Your editor uses those as the reference point for the rest of the gallery. And when you get your images back, you can always send screen recordings with feedback on anything you'd like adjusted moving forward. The more you communicate with your editor, the better this gets over time.

No. Every image is edited individually by your dedicated editor in Lightroom Classic. We do not use AI editing tools, batch processing, or copy-and-paste settings across your gallery. Each image gets its own attention based on the light, the moment, and your style.

Anchor images are images that you edit yourself before sending your gallery to us. They make up about 10% of your gallery and serve as the visual guide your editor follows for the rest of the session. We ask that every part of the day is represented in your anchors so your editor can see your vision across different lighting scenarios, from getting ready to ceremony to reception to portraits. Most photographers already edit a handful of images as sneak peeks for their clients, so this usually fits naturally into your existing workflow. Anchor images are required for the Private Photo Editor package. If you'd prefer not to provide anchors, check out the Creative Director package where they aren't required.

If you use an AI tool like Imagen or Aftershoot as part of your workflow for sneak peeks, you can absolutely do that. Your editor will match your look across the rest of the gallery using those as a guide. Keep in mind that if you use one of these tools, we won't have access to your AI preset, so we'll use the closest anchor image as our base for each scene. It's important that you include anchor images for every part of the day so your editor has a clear reference point throughout the gallery.

Yes. Standard turnaround is 10-12 business days for weddings and 5-7 business days for portraits. If you need a gallery back faster, rush delivery is available upon request and subject to your editor's availability. A 50% rush fee applies for 1-3 business day delivery and a 25% rush fee applies for 5-7 business day delivery. Rush fees are only added when you specifically request expedited turnaround. If your editor happens to finish ahead of schedule on their own, no rush fee is applied.

We work exclusively in Lightroom Classic. We do not edit in Photoshop, Lightroom Creative Cloud, Capture One, or any other software. If Lightroom Classic is part of your current workflow, we're a great fit. If you're working in a different editing platform, we wouldn't be the right fit at this time.

You don't need to worry about figuring this out on your own. We have a complete system in place with a step-by-step guide that walks you through exactly how to export and send your session to your editor. If you're not sure your Lightroom catalog is set up the right way or you've never worked with Smart Previews before, we'll walk you through it during onboarding. When you get your edited images back, you're not getting JPGs. You'll import our edits directly into your Lightroom catalog, which means you still have full control to tweak anything, add black and whites, apply denoise, or make any final adjustments before you deliver to your client.

We customize this to however you work. If you want an all-color gallery and prefer to handle your own black and whites after you get the images back, we can absolutely do that and many of our photographers choose this option. If you'd like us to create black and white virtual copies for a curated selection of images using your B&W presets, we can do that as well. Your editor will use their creative and artistic judgment to select images that work best in black and white. Virtual copies are counted as an additional image in your per-image rate. During onboarding we'll learn your black and white preferences, including which preset you use and what you look for in a B&W conversion. We also color code all black and white images in the catalog so you can easily filter and find them when you get your gallery back.

You can submit a session of any size. Galleries of 120 images or fewer are billed at a flat rate of $50 for Basic editing or $60 for Advanced editing instead of the per-image rate. This is common with portrait sessions, newborn sessions, and smaller galleries. Anything above 120 images is billed at the per-image rate. For mini sessions that take place at one location in one day, the images are grouped together as one session and billed at the per-image rate for the total count. You are not billed per family.

Yes, we work on an annual contract basis that runs January through December. We're looking for photographers who value a long-term relationship with their editor, not a one-off transaction. That said, we understand that life and business change. If it's not the right fit or your season shifts, we'll work with you to off-board thoughtfully and make sure the transition is smooth. We'll walk through the full terms together during your consultation call.

Private editing is a good fit if you're a wedding or portrait photographer who shoots in Lightroom Classic and values having one person who truly knows your editing style. Whether you're shooting 10 weddings a year or 40, if editing is taking time away from the things that matter to you and you want someone who handles it with the same care you would, that's exactly what we do. If you're not sure, the best next step is to fill out an inquiry and we'll talk through whether it's the right fit together.