How to hire a Photo Editor

How to hire a photo editor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step photo editor hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a photo editor job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new photo editor
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Photo Editor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your photo editor job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a photo editor for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A photo editor's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, photo editors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of photo editor salaries for various roles:

   Type Of Photo Editor	Description	Hourly Rate
   Photo Editor	Editors plan, review, and revise content for publication.	$18-50
   Videographer	A videographer specializes in shooting and editing high-definition videos of different events, making them presentable to clients. They are primarily responsible for having their video equipment, coordinating with clients to learn any preferences or particular requests, capturing and recording from the best angle, and producing results quickly and accurately... Show More	$14-29
   Video Producer	Generally, a video producer manages and coordinates different aspects of the video production process. Video producers establish and develop multimedia content for internal corporate announcement videos, customer stories, and any other business projects... Show More	$16-47

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Stock Photography
   • Photo Shoots
   • Instagram
   • FTP
   • Facebook
   • Art Direction
   • Twitter
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Color Correction
   • Edit Photos
   • Adobe Lightroom
   • News Stories
   • Mac

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage SEO tags for photo base articles.
   • Lead teams of multimedia writers to creating short documentaries.
   • Manage metadata and implement SEO practices that increase page views!
   • Manage international man-made fiber market research/publishing company and supervise editorial content and sales of industry statistical journal.
   • Experience with HTML and CSS coding to build a web-base interface to display training modules.
   • Maintain the image database, caption placements, color correction, image archive and ftp images to clients and agencies.

   More Photo Editor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your photo editor job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A photo editor can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, photo editors' average salary in alaska is 60% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level photo editors 63% less than senior-level photo editors.
   • Certifications. A photo editor with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a photo editor's salary.

   Average photo editor salary

   $63,168yearly

   $30.37 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level photo editor salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 17, 2025

   Average photo editor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	New York	$92,753	$45
   2	Connecticut	$82,630	$40
   3	District of Columbia	$75,671	$36
   4	Virginia	$74,236	$36
   5	Pennsylvania	$65,320	$31
   6	Rhode Island	$63,929	$31
   7	California	$63,503	$31
   8	Colorado	$58,804	$28
   9	Arizona	$58,026	$28
   10	Wyoming	$54,358	$26
   11	Texas	$49,454	$24
   12	Florida	$46,189	$22

   Average photo editor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Apple	$134,665	$64.74	66
   2	Earthjustice	$124,117	$59.67
   3	Vox Media	$115,233	$55.40	8
   4	Altice USA	$112,161	$53.92	8
   5	Yale University	$110,156	$52.96	1
   6	The New York Times Company	$103,734	$49.87	13
   7	Intel	$100,755	$48.44
   8	THINX	$94,188	$45.28
   9	Travelzoo	$84,982	$40.86
   10	Dow Jones	$82,562	$39.69	18
   11	NBCUniversal	$82,400	$39.62	56
   12	Alcon	$77,081	$37.06
   13	WWE	$76,968	$37.00	2
   14	Warner Bros.	$75,646	$36.37	62
   15	Art Media Holdings	$69,745	$33.53
   16	BDG Media	$66,296	$31.87	1
   17	GoodRx	$64,615	$31.06
   18	WarnerMedia	$63,956	$30.75
   19	U.S. News	$62,903	$30.24	1
   20	Upper Deck	$60,143	$28.91	1

4. Writing a Photo Editor Job Description

   A photo editor job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a photo editor job description:

   Photo Editor job description example

   Join the largest manufacturer of tile and natural stone in the United States and watch your career stand out with Dal-Tile, a subsidiary of Mohawk Industries.
   
   Our close-knit team of dedicated professionals has made us the success we are today. In exchange for their hard work, we support our people with a family-friendly work environment, a commitment to promoting from within, unique benefits that go beyond just medical and dental, and a belief that every employee deserves a productive life outside of work. If this sounds outstanding to you, take the first step forward and explore a career with Dal-Tile.
   
   Dal-Tile is currently seeking an exceptional Photo Studio Editor to join our TEAM! This is a temporary position for 30-60 days. Position timing is subject to vary based on business needs. Quality photography is critical to the Dal-Tile user experience. Whether it's lifestyle photography or studio product photography, the images need to be beautiful and the products need to look perfect. Retouching, color adjusting, clone stamping, distorting, and other forms of photoshop artistry are an essential part of the process.
   Primary Objective
   
   Handles the post-production of scan photography. Retouches imagery for our editorial, marketing, and print material. This is a temporary position for 30-60 days. Position timing is subject to vary based on business needs.
   
   Major Function and Scope
   
   Properly evaluate images to make necessary enhancements and adjustments
   
   Retouch as directed including masking, compositing, and color correcting
   
   Maintain precise post-production consistency in everything from file-naming to uploading
   
   Assist in file archiving and metadata maintenance within our digital asset management system
   
   Communicate with relevant stakeholders on the status of assignments
   
   Stay current with industry tech knowledge
   
   Color adjust photos to be consistent across multiple resources.
   
   Retouch photographs from Live Sets, Scans, etc.
   
   Retouch product flat images to ensure color accuracy and balance.
   
   Produce web-ready crops and organize files carefully.
   
   Prepare images for print.
   
   Experience and Knowledge Required
   
   High School Diploma or GED equivalency required.
   
   At least 3 years' experience as a photo editor and professional retouching e-commerce photography.
   
   Experience in color management for digital output and print (in both correction and matching).
   
   An expert in Photoshop and Capture One.
   
   Knowledge of digital photography systems.
   
   Willingness to individually adjust all requested images on an as-needed basis.
   
   Preferred Experience
   
   Experience within the entire Adobe Suite
   
   After Effects, Premiere, Illustrator, InDesign
   
   Competencies
   
   Honest and humble and can give and take critique productively.
   
   Ability to express yourself thoughtfully and collaboratively, with an interest in improving process and procedures.
   
   Ability to juggle multiple projects with meticulous attention to detail.
   
   Have a positive, optimistic, can-do attitude and are committed to becoming the absolute best you can be.
   
   Ability to prioritize and adhere to fast deadlines.
   
   Other Pertinent Job Information
   
   While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, use hands and reach with hands and arms. The employee is required to walk, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee may sit, climb, balance, talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this position includes close vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.
   
   We offer competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, career opportunities, and an environment of creativity and growth. Examples include: Company Match on 401k, Employee Purchase Discount, and Tuition Reimbursement.
   
   Dal-Tile is a proud supporter of our U.S. military, veterans and their families - Thank You for Your Service!
   
   Active military, transitioning service members and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.
   
   Mohawk Industries, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability/veteran committed to an inclusive workplace and a proud Drugs Don't Work participant.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right photo editor for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with photo editors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit photo editors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your photo editor job on Zippia to find and attract quality photo editor candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as problogger, media bistro, journalismjobs.com, content writing jobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit photo editors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new photo editor

   Once you have selected a candidate for the photo editor position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a photo editor?