The COVID-19 pandemic continues to terrorize enterprises everywhere and threaten corporate growth simultaneously. Businesses looking to stabilize and scale are gravitating towards tools that promote profitability amidst the Coronavirus-fueled chaos. Photo editing services are amidst such opportunities that organizations must capitalize on at present.
While there have always been good reasons to outsource image editing services, it has become necessary in most domains.
- 75% of online shoppers decide to buy or abandon a product based on the product photos
- Brand-related photo engagement has grown by 65%
- Content with high-quality visuals have 40% higher chances of being shared on social media
- 360-degree shots can lead to a 22% higher conversion rate
However, image enhancement is a critical business activity. Its complexity differs by domain. It requires prompt processing, demands quick delivery, and leaves little scope for errors. On top of that, businesses like to control the process and constantly worry about their images, i.e., intellectual property prone to thefts and piracy.
That is why choosing a photo editing company for the job presents unique challenges. If done in haste or without careful consideration, it might even put you off the idea altogether.
This guide will discuss the three critical questions every business must answer before hiring any professional image editing service provider.
- How important is a well-edited image to your domain and niche, now that COVID-19 has taken over?
- Can you DIY and still produce compelling results with efficiency?
- How will outsourcing directly benefit your business?
We will begin with a reality check.
Impact of COVID on Different Industry Domains (And On Their Need for Photo Editing Services)
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. In these times of significant transition, every organization is trying to navigate change without denting their bottom line any more than is unavoidable.
Across almost all major industries, the movement of people and resources has ceased to an extent. Companies are trying to wedge that gap by leveraging the unobstructed flow of information through digital workarounds. This momentary solution has presented new challenges.
- More pressure on limited personnel
- Growing need for quicker turnaround
- A need to go completely digital ASAP
- A need to adopt steep learning curves quickly
If we map these changes to the general niche of photo editing, here’s what we get.
- Industries and companies that regularly require freshly processed photos have seen a surge in that demand in recent times
- Most marketing efforts now rely heavily on photographs
- Social media has taken center stage, and multimedia (photos and videos) play an essential part on such platforms
- Major announcements (personal and business-related) are happening via digital means
In such times, it is critical to ponder over the criticality of well-edited images in enhancing your business process efficiency.
1. Real Estate
The Real Estate industry has used photos since the advent of online listings to attract more traffic to their listings and engage more people in the sale. Now that in-person house tours have dwindled due to COVID-19, multimedia elements like virtual tours, 360-degree property videos, and exhaustive property photographs have gained more importance.
So has real estate image editing services.
In this domain, image processing services revolve around 360-degree virtual tours, real estate color cast removal services, panorama photo stitching services, aerial photo editing, floor plan conversion services, HDR blending, etc.
2. eCommerce
Product photos play an integral part in online retail. 75% of buyers rely on photos to make purchase decisions. Visual marketing strategies are the most used tools to increase user engagement. Higher the number of images on a listing, the better the sell-through rate.
Plus, the impact of COVID-19 on eCommerce has been phenomenal- from transformed consumer behavior to accelerated buying patterns and increasing demands. eCommerce in 2020 made up 19% of the global retail sales, amounting to $26.7 trillion.
Therefore, this industry has prompted an increasing demand for professional image editing services. This includes 360-degree photos, ghost mannequin product image enhancement services, image background removal services, or basic HSL retouching.
3. Fashion
Fashion photo editors have always been in demand since this domain revolves around flawless photographs and aesthetics. Be it glamour photography editing, photo cutout services, apparel/clothing photo editing, light and shadow retouching, color correction, spot removal, image masking, jewelry enhancement, or background editing; this industry frequently requires high-end, creative, and professional image editing services.
4. Photography
Photography is an asset for businesses. But, now that in-person events have taken a backseat, their importance in marketing and advertising or even documenting an event has grown ten-fold.
Now more than ever, professional photographers outsource image editing services to lighten their workload while churning exceptional outcomes and ensuring fast deliveries.
From real estate photo retouching services to wedding photo editing services, for professional photographers, outsourcing the editing saves time and offers the potential for better ROI. They can spend their time covering events, and the photos can be edited in their downtime by a remote/offshore photo editing service provider in India, for instance.
5. Media
Visual content is heavily consumed in digital media at present. Images, animations, videos, etc., are crucial elements in digital publications and critical market differentiators for brands.
- Videos sway more than 50% of consumers
- Images and videos are the most important content created by marketers
- On social media, content with decent visuals achieve better organic reach
The figures clarify the need for photo editing for media companies, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled cut-throat competition in this niche.
6. Marketing
Digital marketing was already reaching new heights when this pandemic happened. It barely accelerated the growth a few years in advance. There have already been numerous studies on the significance of photos in online marketing and advertising.
- Marketers call images and videos the most valuable content types
- Images are used as much as 80% and videos 63% in marketing campaigns
- Instagram videos get 21.1% more user interactions
- Infographics drive more content engagement than images or videos
- YouTube and Facebook are the biggest image propagation channels for marketing purposes
Considering the requirement and frequency, it is not a surprise why marketers choose to outsource photo retouching and video editing services.
Essential Image Editing Techniques That Every Photo Needs (And Every Service Provider Should Provide)
Photo editing is the goal-oriented modification of photographs to enhance their appeal and ensure a stunning, meaningful outlook. It requires a systemic approach and identification of the tools that are best suited for the intended outcome.
Can You Do Photo Editing by Yourself?
Yes. Absolutely. In fact, the internet has numerous guidelines and tutorials that you can seek help from. But, that would involve a learning curve and lots of time. Also, producing high-end results requires either sophisticated software support or a deep-seated understanding of the mechanics of a digital photograph.
Therefore, enterprises that want to deliver premium results in minimal time should go for professional image editing services.
When choosing a photo editing company to help you with this task, you must examine their service offerings and ensure that they provide the following, at least.
1. Image Enhancement
Image enhancement is the basic process of information control in an image, designed to remove imperfections and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the image simultaneously. Most popular image enhancement service offerings include color and contrast correction, glamor retouching, spot and blemish removal, noise reduction, density correction, image cleaning, shadow effect, HDR blending, photo resizing services, and filter addition, etc.
2. Photo Restoration
Photo restoration is mainly concerned with cleaning, patching, and enhancing old or damaged photographs. Healing, cloning, patching, and retouching are the most common techniques used for restoration. Types of damages that professional photo restoration services can fix include:
- Pollution (Dirt, Dust, Stains)
- Water Damage (At Different Stages)
- Paper Loss (Insects, Rodents, or Micro-Organisms)
- Film/Negative Damage Before Development
- Development Damages
- Metal/Glass Corrosion Reflecting on the Photo
- Acetate Decay
- Cracks, Tears, or Fractures
3. Photo Clipping
Photo clipping is an effective photo editing service used primarily for image background removal and several other types of image enhancements. It can be performed using a few tools (Clipping path, masking, etc.), depending on the complexity of the subject.
4. Background Removal
Background removal is a necessary part of image processing services for eCommerce and fashion. It is also helpful for professional portrait retouching services & wedding photo editing.
For professional photographers, background removal remains a critical part of post-processing but a cumbersome job nonetheless. It requires patience, careful tracing, and attentiveness to preserve the image’s quality. Therefore, any vendor you choose must offer at least the following background removal services.
- Complete Background Alteration
- Background Cleaning
- Color Correction
- Objects & People Removal
- Background Color Change
- Product Background Editing
- Color Conversion
- Rotation and Cropping
- Background Replacement
- Shadow and Reflection Editing
5. Perspective Correction
Perspective correction is a critical part of real estate photo retouching services. This defect is introduced in photographs when the shot is taken at sharp angles. Such irregularities and distortions create a tilted appearance in the image’s vertical and horizontal planes.
Perspective image correction services correct camera tilts, out-of-context planes, rotation defects, and leaning appearances while maintaining the original pixel dimensions.
6. HSL
Hue, saturation, and luminance (HSL) are tools of color correction used to adjust, fix, and enhance the vibrancy in any image. Image colorization services often use HSL for fine-tuned adjustments in tonal range, sharpness, color strength, brightness, exposure, vignette, grain, etc.
7. Lens Correction
Lenses work differently, depending on their design, paired equipment, and surroundings where they are used. Lens correction is used to fix the offset and imperfections caused because of varying lens behavior.
The best lens correction services include physical and internal vignetting, correction for barrel, pincushion, and perspective distortion, chromatic aberrations, and sensor blooming corrections.
Top Benefits of Outsourcing Photo Editing Services
The immediate advantage of outsourcing to a good photo editing company is time efficiency. By delegating this task to a dedicated vendor, you can increase delivery frequency, create a streak of perfect outcomes, and do it without losing any additional time or burdening your in-house staff with the excess workload.
Additionally, outsourcing can offer the following advantages.
1. Higher Incoming Traffic
Images are more critical than content when it comes to directing organic traffic via search queries.
- Image results on Google offer 0.21% CTR
- Photos are the most-used marketing content on social media for increasing user engagement
Context-appropriate photo editing can help direct more and better traffic towards your website, social media, and overall digital presence. Outsourcing image processing services gives you access to professional support, which is even more likely to improve your traffic statistics.
2. Multi-Purpose Utilization
Typically, edited images are delivered in various templates for different eCommerce marketplaces, social channels, etc. Enterprises can use those templates across multiple platforms and get many usages from one outsourced project.
3. Enhanced Brand Reputation
Professional image editing services modify photos in line with a brand’s central message, creating unique dialogues through photos meaningful to the brand’s intended audience. It also helps establish better overall customer recollection, instill more confidence in your user base, and stabilize your brand’s reputation across the market.
4. Higher Customer Acquisition & Better Sales
Customization is a prime offering of photo editing services. On-demand image editing solutions respond to your particular business requirements, audience base, and user expectations. Employing such services can help you appeal more fruitfully to the customers and establish credibility that can lead to higher traffic, conversion rates, and improved sales.
5. Robust Social Marketing Strategy
Social media offers an opportunity to reach, persuade, and convert millions of users online. Images play an essential part in that campaign.
With the right image editing support partner, it becomes easier for companies to appeal to the audience they want to target for different projects and inspire conversions while maintaining brand reputation, credibility, and trust.
Why Choose SunTec India’s Image Editing Services
We are a globally positioned photo editing services company with 25+ years of experience, a pool of professional talent, and a portfolio of hundreds of successfully executed projects. Our image editing services can be molded to fit Photographers, eCommerce enterprises, Real Estate realtors, Fashion companies, and a wide range of other domains.
We are trusted by some of the world’s best brands. Our service suite ensures consistent client experience, follows leading IT practices and supports perfect results with an advanced technical infrastructure.
To know more about just how our photo editing services can help you, or for any other query related to image processing outsourcing, reach out at info@suntecindia.com.
