How to Make Money With Your Photoshop Editing Skills

How to Make Money with Your Photoshop Editing Skills

2 | How to Make Money with Your Photoshop Editing Skills

The gig economy is a wonderful thing. It functions so well because it’s largely made up of individuals making money by doing what they love, from editing, to graphic design and even photography. A subset of these last two creative professions is the art of Photoshop. Photoshop is a designer or photographer’s best friend. It allows them to take their work from great to perfect by making images clearer, more vibrant, and highly evocative. Trust that when we refer to “the art of Photoshop,” we aren’t exaggerating – it really is an art form.

How to Make Money withYour Photoshop Editing Skills


Because it takes a certain amount of talent and skill to be great at Photoshop and Photoshop editing, it’s not very diffi cult to make money with your Photoshop skills. In fact there are plenty of categories on Fiverr where skilled Photoshop editors can post their Gigs in the hopes of connecting with the right customer. It’s all about fi nding something that you love to do and that speaks to your talents. This eBook explores some of the categories you may be interested in.

How to Make Money with Your Photoshop Editing Skills


It’s rare that a picture looks perfect without any retouching. The things we snap in our everyday lives and put up on social media are fi ne without retouching (although sometimes a fi lter or some tweaks in the Camera+ app can really take that selfi e to the next level), the larger, more important and lasting moments of our lives often require a bit of help. After all, who doesn’t want their wedding photos or professional headshots need to be perfect?

Wedding andProfessional Photos

B E F O R E A F T E R


Many Photoshop editors earn money on the side by working with professional photographers on making photos for big events looks stunning. Depending on the event, these photos are meant to last a while.A professional headshot ought to last a few years, while wedding photos will be adored for a lifetime.

Wedding and Professional Photos


More and more, small businesses are relying on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with customers and serve as promotional platforms for their work. Because of this, they have to churn out content on a regular basis, making sure their online presence is always active and that their content is always relevant.

Many business owners will need help creating this content. They might need a design expert to fi x some fl aws in a photograph, or they might need someone who can create custom graphics from scratch on a weekly basis.

If you do help a brand out with their social media creative, be sure you know the best

Social Media


practices for each platform. For instance, Facebook will only let you promote images if less than 20 percent of the image surface has text on it. Meanwhile, Instagram creative needs to look like it belongs on the platform, meaning pristine images of a beautiful beach at dawn would work well for a surf brand, while a big brightly colored graphic advertising a sale on wetsuits would not.

When working with someone on their social media presence, be sure the business owner tracks which of the content performs the best on their platforms. This is a great way to get clear feedback from the community. It will also help you create better assets as you move forward.

Social Media


Nike’s swoosh. Apple’s apple. McDonald’s golden arches. The logo is a very powerful thing, conveying tons of information and emotions in just a few seconds. In fact, the three brands mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph don’t even need to have their name printed near their iconic images for people to immediately know what they are.

But logos aren’t just for huge corporations. The fl ower shop down the street and the small law fi rm your neighbor works for also could use logos to help convey their value and be easily identifi able. These logos will live in many places – email signatures, business cards, corporate stationary, banners at conventions. It’s not just for storefronts and the ends of TV commercials.

Logo Design


Becoming a logo designer takes a bit of skill, but if you have a knack for it, you can make a lot of money on the side coming up with logos for brands and businesses. Keep in mind that logo creation is usually a process. It will most likely start out with a conversation with the business owner about what their business is all about. Then, you’ll probably need to create a handful of logos that help you and the client get on the same page. Then, from there, you may need to come up with more alternates or tweak a version to line up with the client’s needs. On top of that, you’ll want to give them the logo in a few different high-resolution fi le types that can easily be use for a variety of needs, from t-shirts to Facebook profi le pictures.

Logo Design


Like it or not, there are a lot of advertisements on the web. And someone needs to make those advertisements.

If you’re skilled at Photoshop editing, you can make a lot of money designing these banner ads, or cleaning up the work that someone else has already done. Like social media graphics, banner ads have their own best practices for getting the attention of people on the web. You’ll also probably need to collaborate with others – the business owner, the original designer – to ensure you’re creating an asset that accomplishes their goals.

Banner Ads


Looking for Gigs can be diffi cult. That’s why there are sites such as Fiverr, which brings creators and businesses together to accomplish a common goal. However, there are other routes you can take instead of, or in addition to, selling your Photoshop skills on Fiverr.

Some digital creatives fi nd success working with marketing and advertising agencies on a freelance basis. This can be a benefi t for a variety of reasons. One, it’s usually up to the agency to fi nd the work,

Working with an Agencyvs Doing it on Your Own


meaning all you have to focus on is delivering the fi nal product. Second, depending on the agency, this can be an opportunity to work with some big brands that you wouldn’t be able to work with if you were a solo freelancer looking for work. Also, agency engagements are often ongoing, meaning that you can have somewhat regular work without the drawbacks of a full time position.

However, freelancing on your own, working with Fiverr, or similar websites have plenty of their own benefi ts. For instance, not freelancing at an agency allows you to work from just about anywhere in the world, from a cabin in the woods to a fl ight heading to Asia,

Working with an Agency vs Doing it on Your Own


and never worry about needing to come into an offi ce for a meeting or presentation.

Freelancing on your own also allows you to pick and choose the projects you want to work on. There is no guarantee that your client roster will ever change. If you work with the agency for seven months, you may work on the same client or two for that entire time without any chance of getting to do something new. However, when you freelance on your own, you set your own course. You decide the clients you want to work with and how heavy your workload will be.

Working with an Agency vs Doing it on Your Own


One last word of advance: if you’re talented at Photoshop editing and want to make extra money doing anything we’ve described above, seriously consider fi nding a copywriter to work with on a regular basis.

The relationship between copywriter and designer is an important one. There’s a good chance that your designs will need some copy, whether it’s a logo for a local café or the slogan of a fashion website you’re helping design.

Sometimes the client will hand over copy and expect it to be incorporated into a design. Obviously you don’t have to come up with any original copy in this

Find a Copywriting Partner


situation, but it can be good to have a copywriter partner who can check your designs for typos, or look for ways to subtly improve the copy.

If you have a copywriter that you work with regularly, you may be able into incorporate them into your freelance work. If you bill your self as a team, you can win bigger business, helping budding brands and small businesses create their visual and tonal aesthetic. In essence, you become an agency of one.

Find a Copywriting Partner


Using your Photoshop editing skills to make money isn’t an easy task by any means. For every stretch of regular work, there may be periods of time when it’s hard to make money doing what you’ve set out to do. However, once you get experience and a good reputation, you’ll almost certainly see more business, more money, and more enjoyment doing what you love.

Be in It For the Long Haul

All images are subject to copyright.

Art & Photos

How to Make Money With Your Photoshop Editing Skills