📷 Editing Fatigue Is Real: New Study Reveals

October 2024 newsletter

Autumn is here! It's the colorful time of the year, ideal for wandering in forests with a camera in hand and enjoying nature. According to a recent study, this is definitely healthier than sitting at a computer editing photos. But more on that later.

At the end of this newsletter, I'm sharing some of my favs from Madrid.

Friendly reminders

• My 2025 calendar pre-orders close very soon. Hurry up!
• I'm officially announcing the Peru Photo Tour (Aug 3-15, 2025) very soon. Join this list to get the trip information sooner than anybody else.

Editing fatigue is real

The "Editing Fatigue" study was conducted by Neurapix, with authors Timo Pape and Niclas Harrer. It was published on September 26, 2024, and involved a survey of 423 international photographers to investigate the impacts and causes of mental and physical exhaustion resulting from prolonged image editing.

I think that the results are quite alarming. To save you time, I extracted the essential information.

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Key findings and takeaways

1. Time Commitment: 62% of photographers spend over 10 hours per week editing photos, with wedding photographers often dedicating 10-20+ hours weekly.
2. Mental Health Impact:58.4% experience mental exhaustion "frequently" or "very frequently" after long editing sessions.91.3% feel general psychological pressure, primarily due to deadlines and time constraints.18.7% have experienced burnout, highlighting the severity of the issue.
3. Physical Health Concerns: 97.2% report general health problems related to editing, with top symptoms including fatigue (70.9%), concentration difficulties (53.4%), eye strain (47.3%), and neck pain (44.2%).
4. Awareness and Action:Photographers are recognizing the issue, with 21.5% seeking medical help.Many are adopting strategies to combat Editing Fatigue, though the effectiveness varies.
5. AI as a Solution: 61.7% of photographers now use AI image editing services, with higher adoption rates among younger generations, suggesting a potential path to reduce editing time and associated fatigue.
6. Impact on Career Satisfaction: Most photographers (34.8%) report a "moderate" impact on job satisfaction due to editing, indicating a need for balance.
7. Desired Time Allocation: If given more free time, photographers would prioritize family/friends, hobbies, and enhancing creativity, highlighting the importance of work-life balance.
8. Industry Implications: The photography industry should consider strategies to mitigate Editing Fatigue, such as promoting efficient workflows, encouraging the use of AI tools, and raising awareness about the importance of work-life balance.

• 58.4% experience mental exhaustion "frequently" or "very frequently" after long editing sessions.
• 91.3% feel general psychological pressure, primarily due to deadlines and time constraints.
• 18.7% have experienced burnout, highlighting the severity of the issue.
• Photographers are recognizing the issue, with 21.5% seeking medical help.
• Many are adopting strategies to combat Editing Fatigue, though the effectiveness varies.

Editing fatigue and I

I can relate to some of the key findings, especially with the feeling of having an editing backlog of thousands of photos that should be online making money and that have not been edited yet. I have been using AI-powered editing with Imagen for a year, which greatly helps.

However, the finishing touches, like removing dust spots, still must be done manually and this mundane task takes time and is boring as hell.

So, I started to look for companies to outsource this “last mile” editing, as I call it. I started with five trials, and I’m down to two providers.

Company A seems to be pretty good but costs 3x as much as Company B. Because travel stock photography is not a golden mine, ROI is a genuine concern.

I'm currently trying to train the Company B to deliver better results, but my patience with repeated mistakes only goes that far… Let's see; I’ll keep you posted.

Even if I decide to use the Company A and get rid of the backlog, it will cost me more, but I’ll feel a significant relief, and that will make it worth it. Health is our most important asset.

Key takeaway: If you are starting to feel editing fatigue, consider getting AI-powered help and/or human help for the finishing touches.

New covers

One of my travel photography goals is to be featured on the cover of the Lonely Planet country travel guide. I got closer, and I was featured in the French edition of the Amsterdam Guide.

And last month, my photo from Cappadocia (taken during the photo tour) appeared on National Geographic Traveller UK.

Many of you DMed me about how I did it. The truth is less impressive. They selected my photos from the stock library which I contributed to. I didn't do anything other than submitting the photo to the library at the first place.

Inspiration from Madrid

Two weeks ago, I took a four-day photo trip to Madrid. The weather wasn’t on my side for the majority of my time there, but I took several photos I really like and want to share with you.

Metro sign, 90 mm, f/7.1, 1/640 sec, ISO 100

Royal Palace, 53 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec, ISO 200

Almudena Cathedral, 34 mm, f/9, 1 sec, ISO 100

Puerta del Sol, 16 mm, f/11, 3.2 sec, ISO 100

Butcher shop with hams, 64 mm, f/7.1, 1/250 sec, ISO 2500

Long line at Prado Museum, 26 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec, ISO 100

Almudena Cathedral, 192 mm, f/9, 1/100 sec, ISO 200

Plaza Mayor, 26 mm, f/9, 8 sec, ISO 100

Art aficionados admiring Guernica by Pablo Picasso at Reina Sofía Museum, 20 mm, f/6.3, 1/25 sec, ISO 2500

The four towers, 35 mm, f/13, 8 sec, ISO 50

That's a wrap

Try going out at least once while the fall colors are out there. Plan it for a sunny day, the golden hour, and sunset if it's more convenient. Process your one favorite photo and send it to me. Ask me for feedback if you want :-)