✂️ Free SOP: how to hire your first editor and stop editing at 1am
Free Download · Standard Operating Procedure

Stop editing at midnight. Hire your first real estate photo editor without getting burned.

The exact 5-step system to find, test, and onboard an editor for $0.50–$1.50 per image — with the test job brief, the 12-point QC checklist, the kickoff email template, and the “fire criteria” most photographers wish they’d had on day one. Free PDF.

If you’re still editing your own photos after 10 shoots a month, you’re not running a business — you’re buying yourself a $17/hour job. The only way out is an editor. Here’s how to hire one without wasting 3 months on bad tests.

What’s inside the SOP

A fill-in-the-blanks playbook, not a theory essay.

Editor Rate Sheet preview (from inside the PDF)
Editor tier Experience Per image
Entry (offshore)0–6 months$0.25 – $0.50
Standard (offshore)6–24 months$0.50 – $1.00
Senior / lead (offshore)2+ years, QC role$1.00 – $1.50
US-based (specialty)flambient / twilight$3.00 – $8.00
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Written by operators who’ve hired, fired, and rebuilt editing teams

“The first editor I hired without this SOP took 3 months and cost me $600 in wasted test jobs. The second editor — same process, with the rubric — was onboarded in 10 days and still edits my work today, 3 years later.”

— Full Time REP team

Common questions

I’m not ready to hire yet. Is this still useful?
Yes. Read the SOP now so you know what “ready” looks like. Most photographers stay in self-editing 6–12 months longer than they should because they don’t know the system. Knowing the system tells you exactly when to pull the trigger.
Where do you find editors?
The SOP covers 4 sources: OnlineJobs.ph (Philippines-based, most cost-effective), Upwork (faster to test but pricier), industry Discord communities (high quality, harder to find), and referrals from other photographers (best overall but slowest). Each has a full breakdown with pros and cons.
What if my editing style is really specific?
Good — that’s what the test job is for. You send the candidate 3 RAW files and your reference edits. The rubric is about whether they can match YOUR style, not some universal “good editing.” The SOP shows you how to build the test brief.
Is this PDF going to upsell me on something?
No paywall, no “buy the real version,” no stripped-down freemium. The SOP is the complete process we use ourselves. If you decide later you want live help running it, we’ll send you info on the community. Until then, the PDF is the thing.