How to Get Estimating Retouching Work Right
Working out how long a retouching job will take before agreeing to it.
Imogen Clarke
The key figures
- Complexity
- cut-outs, reflections and hair drive time
- Capture quality
- good photography reduces retouching time
- Consistency
- matching an existing set adds work
- Revisions
- review rounds add to the total
Why this is worth getting right
Retouching time varies enormously by image, and estimates based on counts alone go badly wrong.
Do this, not that
Do
- Review sample images before estimating
- Categorize images by complexity
- Estimate revisions as part of the work
- State assumptions about capture quality
- Track actual time to improve estimates
Don’t
- Flat per-image estimates across mixed complexity
- Estimates without seeing images
- Revisions excluded from the estimate
- No record of actual time spent
When to bring in help
Our advice Bring in help when retouching estimates keep slipping.
Where this comes from
- Adobe Help Center — Photoshop User Guide
- U.S. Small Business Administration — Write your business plan
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on Image Editing & Retouching work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
Spotted something wrong? Report an error on this page. We correct on the page and say what changed.
