TOP 7 PHOTOGRAPHY POST PRODUCTION SERVICES OF 2020
If we are talking about photography post production services, then we’d better take into account the fact that such companies provide a wide range of services such as skin retouching, color correction, editing subject photographs, interiors, the possibility of ordering photo manipulations, as well as restoration of old photographs, not just carry out basic social media retouching.
Below, you can read about the main pros and cons of top 7 photography post production services, as well as see what price category they are in, how they cope with tasks, learn about the details of the ordering process, how long the work takes on average and what exactly the companies offer in addition to standard image post production.
To do this, we sent the same photo to 7 different companies and compared the outcomes.
1. FixThePhoto
Pros:
• Low prices
• Individual approach to each photo
• Fast work
• A large list of services provided
• Discounts for large orders
Cons:
• Not found
Website: The FixThePhoto website is intuitive, colorful and most importantly not overloaded with unnecessary information or advertising. On the main page you can read about the ordering procedure, see information about the services provided and also see the photography post production examples.
Price: The cost of FixThePhoto services starts at $2 for basic processing and reaches $25 for the restoration of old photographs or creative photo manipulations.
Services: In addition to the usual coverage of portrait or wedding photography, they also do High-End, baby, interior, product and jewelry photo editing, including altering the background or doing corrections to the face and figure.
Work process and result: The ordering process is very simple and fast. You need to create an account and then select one of the packages for applying it to the images you will be able to upload there.
If you have special requirements, you can indicate which photography post production services you need by marking the image segments in the upload window. For example, that can be making the eyes brighter or eliminating the creasing of clothes.
We placed FixThePhoto in the first place for a reason. They were the best at our little task and made deep color correction. The facial improvement was on the edge and the skin tone was perfect. They removed excess wrinkles, removed bags under the eyes and removed excess strands of hair. The job was completed in less than 40 hours for $5.
2. WeEdit.Photos
Pros:
• Fast work
• Professional retouching
• Affordable prices
• Qualified support
Cons:
• None
Website: The WeEditPhotos website is not overloaded with unnecessary elements either, it is fast and easy to use. From the start it lets you see all the service packages and their visual representations in retouched images.
Price: This is the most affordable image processing service because the price list starts at $0.2 for basic light and color correction and tops at $10 with complete photo retouching performing any changes you specify. That might include changing the color of clothes, accessories, eyes, deleting objects, and so on.
Batch processing is also quite accessible, with prices ranging from $99 to $159. This amount covers a 700-pictures post production photography pack (with color correction, basic and additional editing).
Services: In addition to processing portrait and wedding photography, you can order works in almost any genre, as well as use the culling service to select high-quality photos at a price of 5 cents per image.
Work process and result: You will find the simplest possible registration form on the site required to provide you with the opportunity to upload photos for processing and receive discounts. Plus, the managers are always available online in order to answer any question.
There were no complaints considering the job done either. The skin smoothing was carried out realistically, the eyebrows were professionally contoured and all wrinkles disappeared. The color correction charmingly enhanced the atmosphere. The background has also been touched up and became attractive.
3. High-End Beauty Retouching
Pros:
• Friendly support service
• Professional high-level retouching
• Moderate prices
• Fast order fulfillment
Cons:
• Only high-end processing
Website: The High-End Beauty Retouching interface is very easy to use and with just one click you can look though the portfolio, estimate the cost, learn about available photography post production services and read the answers to frequently asked questions.
Price: Considering the narrow specialization of the company concentrated on the high-end retouching, the prices here are slightly higher than on other sites. Namely, from $10 for professional high-end processing and up to $150 for Ultra Magazine.
Services: The company is employed purely for the high-end retouching you can expect to find on a magazine cover or a large advertising billboard. Among the noteworthy services are the deep skin retouching, correction of the body shape, replacing the background, recoloring accessories, hair, clothes, as well as removing any unnecessary elements.
Work process and result: To place an order, you first need a personal account where to upload the necessary photos. The managers contacted us within the next 15 minutes to discuss all the processing details and learn all the requirements for the finished photo.
HighEndBeautyRetouching did a great job. They applied perfect correction to both colors and skin tones, removed undesirable hair, enhanced the face and worked with the background for the finest outcome. They also improved the appearance and alignment of the teeth. The edited photo was turned in within 48 hours and the service itself was deservedly placed in our top 3.
4. Evolve Edits
Pros:
• Services of various complexity levels
• The clients can suggest their presets
Cons:
• Expensive
• You can’t add notes to each image separately
• Price lists are difficult to understand
• They work only with wedding pictures
• Takes too much time to complete your order
Website: In general, we liked the Evolve Edits’ website. However, sometimes annoying banners appear and you cannot close them immediately. Such banners distract from content viewing. Navigation is convenient. You can see examples of their work, a list of photography post production services provided and answers to frequently asked questions.
Prices: There is no separate page with general information on prices. We had to visit the pages of each service provided to find out their prices. Evolve Edits offers a $199 per month subscription that gives you unlimited access to Color Correction services. Without a monthly subscription, color correction costs $0.3 per shot and deeper photo enhancing starts from $3 for one shot up to $150 per hour of work!
Services: The company provides basic photo processing, professional retouching, as well as album design and SMM services.
Work process and result: Registration on the site is quite simple. The managers contacted us rather quickly. Unfortunately, Evolve Edits has only a division into levels. Their prices are very high and we think the quality could be better for this money. Besides, we received the finished work only on the third day after we’d made our order.
By looking at the samples of work on the site, you can ensure their professionalism. However, we believe that their post production photography services can be more specific and detailed.
The work did not turn out to be professional, the color correction was not bad but the company did not handle the retouching very well. Let’s take a closer look at this. The hair contour is neat enough but they did not remove the wrinkles near the eyes. Correction of teeth is also not professional and bags under the eyes were not completely removed.
5. Photographers Edit
Pros:
• Lr presets can be easily adjusted
• They follow your style
Cons:
• They edit RAW files for extra money
• Unclear turnaround time
• The number of photos influence the cost
Website: The website is minimalistic and user-friendly. You can see examples of photo processing right on the main page.
Prices: The cost varies from $3 to $40 depending on your requirements.
Services: Photographers Edit offers photo culling, basic color correction in Lightroom, full retouching of portraits, removing spots and unnecessary objects, replacing the background and other manipulations that can be done using Photoshop.
Work process and result: They will contact you pretty quickly after ordering photography post production. The finished work can be delivered within 36 hours. We note right away that Culling is the main service offered by Photographers Edit but it is impossible to order it separately without additional editing services.
You also cannot specify which photos you want to receive in the end. By the way, if you send images in RAW format, image post-processing services will be slightly more expensive. The limited wedding photo editing package and the lack of discounts during the wedding season are among the disadvantages.
As for the finished work, it is immediately clear that there is no tooth correction and the extra strands of hair were not removed. Therefore, by and large, the portrait has changed only due to color correction.
6. Essential Edit
Pros:
• Easy to use website
• Cheap image editing in Lightroom
Cons:
• It is not clear how much you will have to pay for photo retouching in the end
Negligent image editing for the price
Website: They have a pleasant and informative website with easy navigation. You can immediately see examples of work and prices for photo post production services.
Prices: Essential Edit offers Culling at $0.09 per photo, Lightroom enhancing at $0.3 per shot and album design at $4 per page. Prices for retouching start at $6 for the basic level. For fast photo retouching within 1-2 days, you will have to pay $20.
Services: The main post production photography services provided by Essential Edit are culling, album design, Lightroom color correction and Photoshop work. Photoshop services include the possibility of removing objects, skin defects, body correction, teeth whitening and skin color improvement.
Work process and result: There is no need to register on the website to send your photos for editing. You can simply go to the order section, fill in the necessary data and choose which service you need. Besides, you should mention special wishes, if any.
Note that if the editors believe that it is necessary to apply additional changes and accordingly increase the amount of work, they will contact you to discuss the details. But such mailing will make the turnaround longer.
After placing the order, the managers contacted us within an hour to confirm all the points and discuss everything in detail. The finished work came to our mail after 4 days.
It seems to us that in the finished photograph the skin has become too retouched. Additionally, note that the eyes and teeth have become too light which shows their unnaturalness.
7. Picsera
Pros:
• Low prices for e-Commerce
• Discounts
Cons:
• Image editing is average
• Long way to find out the exact cost
• Slow turnaround
Website: Their website is a little overloaded and you can get lost in it. Although in general, it is quite informative and you can find out what services Picsera provides, view the finished works and prices.
Prices: Prices start at $2.5 for basic fine art photography and $1.2 for e-Commerce photography. You can see their price lists on the website but if you gave some special requests, the managers usually ask to send sample images before the order is accepted.
Services: They offer photography post production for e-Commerce and photographers. You can order product photography editing (clothing, shoes, electronics, jewelry and more), there are also background replacement services and Amazon Photo Editing Bundle for online sellers.
For photographers the company provides 3 levels of services: essential, artistic and extensive. Besides, you can order color correction of photos and a special “Wedding Bundle”. The last option costs only $169.99 for 1000 photos and you can order culling, cropping and color correction.
Also the service allows you to order editing of family and children photos, pictures of animals, images of graduation or corporate events, as well as architectural and interior shots.
Work process and result: Initially, they work as event managers but then they became involved in photography post production services. You need to register on the website and then upload the photos you want to be edited.
After placing our order, the managers contacted us the next day. However, all details and information about the cost were sent only in a week. Even with a 25% discount (provided on the first order), editing of our photos cost $14. The final result was not worth the money we had paid.
For such a long processing time we were very disappointed with the photo. The skin became very washed out, dark and the excess hair was removed very poorly. Another disadvantage is the lack of improvement in the appearance of her teeth.
