Choosing an Image Editing Company: What is the Difference Between Image Editing and Post Production?

The quality of your images should be your primary consideration when promoting an online venture. To create a strong impression, it’s essential to use high-resolution images that truthfully depict your offerings, be they products or services.

Getting your product photos done by professional image editors can truly make a difference. It can be the deciding factor in whether a potential customer decides to purchase from you or not.

Imagine your customer is scrolling through a social media feed and they come across your product. If the image is low quality, blurry, or has poor lighting, they are likely to keep scrolling. However, if the image is high quality and catches their attention, they are more likely to stop and take a closer look, go to your website, and make a purchase.

There are many different ways to achieve this, but one of the most popular methods is hiring an image editing company. These companies enhance or manipulate images to make them look their best. They can also help with things like color correction, retouching, and adding effects—anything you need to make sure your product photos look their absolute best.

If you’re new around the block, hiring an image editing company can get a little intimidating. Since most of these experts offer a lot of services, one can easily get overwhelmed as to what they actually need. Do you just need someone to touch up your photos, or do you need someone to handle your entire post-production process?

This guide will run through the different procedures involved in image editing and post-production, so you’ll better understand what you need and who to hire.

In this Guide:

• Image Editing Services for eCommerce
• What is Image Editing?
  • When to Hire Image Editing Services?
• What is Image Post Production?
  • Why is Image Post Production Important?
• Image Editing vs Post Production: Which Service Do I Need?

Image Editing Services for eCommerce

In eCommerce, image editing makes product photos look as perfect and as realistic as possible. According to market research, 67% of customers say that the quality of a product image is “very important” in their decision to purchase. This means that if your product photos don’t look their best, you could lose out on many potential sales.

Humans are visual creatures. In fact, 90% of the information sent to the brain is visual. We buy with our eyes, and we need to see the product first before making a purchase, even if we’re doing transactions online. This is especially true for products we can’t touch or try on, like clothes or cosmetics. You will need multiple sets of images for your products that allow your customers to see the product from all angles.

Product photography is essential for online stores, but it’s not always easy to do on your own—especially if you don’t have the proper equipment or skills. This is where image editing services come in. A good image editor will ensure that each and every photo of your product meets your standards, so you can have the best chance of making a sale.

What is Image Editing?

Image editing is the process of improving digital photos or graphics. This can be done by correcting color, removing blemishes, adding effects, or any other technique that can make the image look better. Image editors usually work with raw files or unedited images to make them look their best before they are used for things like website banners, product listings, or social media posts.

During the editing stage, the images are cleared of any impurities or distractions. The goal is to create a clean canvas before the editors apply their creative vision. This is when the editors would remove any unwanted elements from the photos like a background, dirt, or stray hair. They might also fix any lighting issues or color imbalances.

For example, if your photo has a yellow tint, the editor would adjust the color balance to make it look more natural. If the photo is too dark, they might brighten it up. It’s all about correcting the photo, so it looks as realistic and as close to the original subject as possible.

There are many different techniques used in image editing, but some of the most common include:

• Color correction: This is the process of adjusting the colors in an image to make them more accurate or consistent. This is often done with photos that have been taken in poor lighting conditions or with a camera that doesn’t produce accurate colors.
• Retouching: This is the process of removing blemishes, wrinkles, or any other imperfections from an image. This is often done with product photos to make them look as perfect as possible.
• Effects: This involves adding special effects to an image to make it more eye-catching or unique. This could include things like adding a vignette, changing the colors, or adding filters.
• Cropping: This is the process of removing parts of an image that are unnecessary or not needed. This is often done to focus on a certain element in the image or to make the image a certain size.
• Resizing: This is the process of changing the dimensions or file size of an image. This is often done to make an image fit a certain space or to reduce the file size so it can be easily shared online.

When to Hire Image Editing Services?

Generally, image editing should be done whenever you use a digital photo to represent your product. If you want your business to look its best, it’s important to have high-quality images that accurately represent what you’re selling.

You need professional image editors if your product photos are:

• Blurry: If your photos are blurry, it will make your products look cheap and low-quality. Image editors can fix this by sharpening the image and improving the clarity.
• Poorly lit: If a photo is too dark or too bright, it can be hard to see the details of your product. This can be fixed by adjusting the brightness and contrast.
• The wrong color: If the colors in your photo are inaccurate, it can make your product look unappealing. Image editors can fix this by correcting the colors.
• Too small: If an image is too small, it can be hard to see the details of your product. Image editors can resize the image, so it’s the right size.

While you can technically edit your own photos, it’s usually best to leave it to the professionals. Image editing is a complex process that requires knowledge of color theory, design, and photo editing software. If you’re not familiar with these things, it’s easy to make mistakes that can ruin an otherwise good photo.

What is Image Post Production?

Why is Image Post Production Important?

Image Editing vs Post Production: Which service do I need?

The main difference between image editing and post-production is that image editing is concerned with improving the photo quality while post-production is focused on creating a certain look or feel. It is safe to say that image editing is about correcting and improving the photo, while post-production is about creative enhancement.

Image editing services usually include things like removing blemishes, adjusting colors, and correcting perspective. Basically, anything that makes the photo look better without changing the overall look or feel of the image.

Post-production, on the other hand, is all about creating a certain mood or style for the image. It can include anything from changing the color scheme to adding special effects.

So, which service do you need? If you’re not sure, it’s best to consult with a professional image editing company. They will be able to assess your needs and recommend the best course of action.

Here at Pixel by Hand, it is part of our client engagement process to do a consultation session first before proceeding to the image editing or post-production stage. During this session, we ask our clients for more information about how they plan to use the images and what look they want to achieve. From there, we will provide them with options for what services would best suit their needs. We always want to ensure that our clients are getting the most out of our services, so we recommend only what is necessary.

In general, businesses that are selling products online or need to create lookbooks will benefit from post-production services. However, if you just want to improve the quality of your photos, then image editing is probably all you need.

For example, if you only want to improve your product listings on Amazon, eBay, or your website, you can do away with hiring an image editing service. They should be able to provide you with a clean, crisp product photo that accurately represents your product.

However, if you need great images for marketing purposes like a Facebook ad campaign or email marketing, or even for print materials, you will need to hire post-production services as well. This is because you will need images that capture the attention of your target audience and communicate the message you’re trying to send—and post-production can do just that.

Pixel by Hand is a team of experienced and creative image editors who can help you with all your post-production needs. From color correction to complete makeovers, we have the skills and tools to turn your photos into stunning works of art. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

To learn more about our services, you can get started with your FREE TRIAL HERE or reach out to us through the chatbox below.