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Photo editor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Antonio Martinez,

Antonio Martinez

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical photo editor skills. We ranked the top skills for photo editors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 22.6% of photo editor resumes contained adobe photoshop as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a photo editor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 photo editor skills for your resume and career

1. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how photo editors use adobe photoshop:

Edited photos received from photographers using Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Specialized in digital photo manipulation using Adobe Photoshop.

2. Stock Photography

Here's how photo editors use stock photography:

Edited rights-managed stock photography from world-renowned National Geographic Society photographers, in submissions of approximately 200 frames each.
Recruited news, sports and entertainment photographers for emerging stock photography collection.

3. Photo Shoots

A photoshoot is a series of photographs that a photographer takes of someone, usually of a model or a famous person, to be used in a newspaper or a magazine. The goal of a photoshoot is to achieve a predetermined visual objective. Later, these images can be used for editing or post-production..

Here's how photo editors use photo shoots:

Conceptualized and produced gallery photo shoots both domestically and internationally with broadcast network for advertising, publicity and online promotion.
Communicated photographic terms and techniques to editors and managers regarding photo shoots and requisitioned and maintained equipment inventory.

4. Instagram

Here's how photo editors use instagram:

Directed and ran our Instagram account and successfully increased our following by 200% from Fall 2015 to Spring 2017.
Maintain social media through company Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

5. FTP

Here's how photo editors use ftp:

Executed distribution of client assets and coordinated, organized and maintained job databases, FTP accounts and archives of projects.
Assisted other staff members with uploading photos to online FTP and entering client information for online ordering.

6. Facebook

Here's how photo editors use facebook:

Developed social media marketing strategies, including a Facebook contest.
Engage readers through social media such as Facebook, text alerts and Twitter.

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7. Art Direction

Art direction is an essential job in the activities related to theatre, advertising, fashion, publishing as well the film industry. All of these fields have a direct or indirect connection with art and therefore require direction and supervision regarding this very aspect of the job. The art director is responsible for how a product turns out visually..

Here's how photo editors use art direction:

Worked alongside photographers to provide art direction and creative production support.
Worked with photographers agents, did on-set art direction and coordination, fee negotiation.

8. Twitter

Here's how photo editors use twitter:

Operate The Spectator sports section Twitter account.
Manage Twitter presence including writing and scheduling sponsored Tweets and interacting with the community by answering questions and offering encouragement.

9. Adobe Creative Suite

Here's how photo editors use adobe creative suite:

Process and digitally enhance professional photography with Adobe Creative Suite.
Edited, toned, and directed 20 to 30 photos a day for print and online publication using Adobe Creative Suite.

10. Color Correction

Color correction is a technical process that solves color problems and makes the footage look as natural as possible. Color correction helps adjust black and white levels, exposure, contrast, and white balance. The idea is essential to correct the underlying problems in the image by balancing the colors, making the white appear as white and the black as black, and making sure that everything is real as the human eye would see it in the real world.

Here's how photo editors use color correction:

Color correction, image editing, photographing and selecting photographs for publication.
Prepare photos for catalog including blemish removal and color correction.

11. Edit Photos

Here's how photo editors use edit photos:

Edit photos and videos with quick turn around -Write creative captions & headlines -Remain constantly updated and knowledgeable with popular culture
Manage and assign projects to staff photographers, review images, edit photos and approve images for publication.

12. Adobe Lightroom

Here's how photo editors use adobe lightroom:

Used Adobe Lightroom 2 to creatively complete independent photo editing & design.
Edited and managed large volumes of RAW photo files with Adobe Lightroom Designed modern and minimalist style wedding albums with Adobe InDesign

13. News Stories

News Story is a term that is quite self-explanatory as it refers to all the information that is recorded either in writing or as an interview and aims to inform the public about any particular matter, event, idea or mishap. A news story can be very short as well lengthy depending on the type and quantity of content and consist of relevant facts and figures.

Here's how photo editors use news stories:

Commissioned reportage photographers for national news stories
Reported news stories for publication, interviewed, edited content, grammar, punctuation and photographs or videotaped news events

14. Mac

A media access control or simply MAC is a network policy that identifies or determines how the data is being transferred in two particular servers through a network cable. The purpose of a MAC protocol is to prevent network or technical issues and simplify transferring the information or data.

Here's how photo editors use mac:

Use of photography editing software such as Kodak DP2, Photoshop, and Lighroom4 all used on PC and MAC.
Organized and experienced with Mac and various computer applications.

15. Graphic Design

Graphic design is the art of making visual content to communicate messages. Designers apply different page layout methods and visual hierarchy by using letters and pictures to meet the need of end-users. Most companies use graphic design to sell their product or services and to convey complicated information by using infographics.

Here's how photo editors use graphic design:

Worked with other graphic designers to update existing ads that appeared in the yearly directory that was published by DavCo.
Worked as graphic designer and layout artist and created camera-ready layouts for the printer.

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What skills help Photo Editors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on photo editor resumes?

Antonio Martinez

Associate Professor of Photography/Intermedia Arts, Faculty Advisor, Movie Camera Movement (MCM) and Photogenesis, Editor, Lux Magazine, Southern Illinois University

When looking for a photo editor, I am looking for someone who is proficient in either Adobe Lightroom or Capture One software for bulk editing and file management purposes and equally proficient in Adobe Photoshop for more refined editing tasks such as compositing, advanced masking, and fine-tune color corrections.

What soft skills should all photo editors possess?

Antonio Martinez

Associate Professor of Photography/Intermedia Arts, Faculty Advisor, Movie Camera Movement (MCM) and Photogenesis, Editor, Lux Magazine, Southern Illinois University

Having strong organizational skills is essential, from organizing files and folders to properly identifying and locating exported assets and keywords. With the high volume and variety of photos, from subject matter to stylistic approaches and genre, it's imperative that a photo editor can easily locate, share, and publish photos in a timely manner.

Knowing how to receive and give feedback in a respectful tone and with sincerity. The attitude in our group and individual critique sessions at SIU is unique. I ask our students to imagine themselves as medical surgeons who are about to operate on a "patient, "and in our situation, the "patient" is the photo that they evaluate. Judgment is sidelined during this imagined role-playing game, while the desire to offer helpful guidance and assessment to improve a photo is increased. It helps students sharpen their interpersonal skills and to communicate more sharply and effectively, versus just being nice with feedback.

What hard/technical skills are most important for photo editors?

Antonio Martinez

Associate Professor of Photography/Intermedia Arts, Faculty Advisor, Movie Camera Movement (MCM) and Photogenesis, Editor, Lux Magazine, Southern Illinois University

A good photo editor must have been a well-trained photographer with a critical eye, one who has a strongly developed sensibility to lighting, color, and composition. Being able to easily recognize weak and strong compositions and use of color and tones allows a photo editor to use editing software with guided purpose versus randomly tinkering with settings and property sliders. An experienced photo editor will be able to assess and execute the most efficient and effective technique to improve an image in a timely manner. I consider color correcting (especially skin tones of all ethnicities), tonal placement editing (burn and dodging), and masking the three most important photo editing techniques.

What photo editor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Thomas Reynolds

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Minnesota

Technical writing and communication can span many fields. However, there are specific fields that are especially open to technical communication, such as information technology and computer software (technical documentation, for example), as well as medical and health fields. Many of our graduates work for companies that involve computer technology, such as software companies and content management for web consulting firms. In addition, many of our graduates work in biomedical companies that require technical and global documentation of medical devices.

I can't say that I know of a sure bet, but places that deal with medical technology, healthcare, and related fields are probably going to need people well-trained to communicate specialized knowledge to a variety of audiences and in a variety of ways. Telemedicine seems to have gained a more permanent stronghold in the healthcare system, and I imagine that the various communication channels involved in this new way of practicing medicine will open opportunities for well-trained graduates, such as ours who are willing to be pioneers in this area.

What type of skills will young photo editors need?

Dr. Christina Fisanick

Associate Professor of English, California University of Pennsylvania

College graduates in 2021 and beyond, need all of the skills that English programs have to offer: critical thinking, effective communication, creativity, and flexibility. New hires need to be able to adapt to workplace changes quickly and with aplomb, which requires critical thinking and problem solving and the ability to communicate those solutions to a diverse audience clearly and effectively. Those skills are refined and practiced regularly in English programs.

Do you want to know more?

List of photo editor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a photo editor resume and required skills for a photo editor to have include:

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

Feature Stories
Adobe Indesign
SEO
Photo Assignments
Adobe Illustrator
Image Selection
Photo Content
Clips
Visual Content
Digital Images
Product Photography
Editorial Content
Editor-In-Chief
Photo Agencies
Content Management System
Product Images

Fiction
Photo Essays
Digital Photography
Stock Images
Photo Galleries
Photojournalism
Stock Agencies
Digital Publishing
HTML
Photo Coverage
Adobe Bridge
Photo Archive
PowerPoint
Usage Rights
Windows
Digital Assets

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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