Turnaround has two parts: the time spent editing, and the time spent on everything around the editing. The second part is usually where a job slows down.
The editing itself takes from a few minutes per frame for cleanup to several hours for a composite, and BeEdits lists 24-hour delivery on its photo retouching packages, with 20 hours for the Creative Essential package. What usually slows an outsourced job is not the editing but the logistics: links that need permission, sets sent in pieces and revision notes that arrive over several days.
"How long does retouching take?" has two answers that often get mixed up: how long the editing takes, and how long the whole job takes from the moment you send it. The first is a craft question. The second is logistics.
How long the editing takes
Rough working times per frame, for someone who does this professionally:
- Entry cleanup: 2 to 5 minutes. A skin pass, the obvious distractions, colour brought into line. It batches well, which is why it costs least.
- Standard portrait retouching: 10 to 20 minutes. Skin with frequency separation, under-eyes, teeth, eyes, clothing and minor background work.
- Beauty retouching: 30 to 90 minutes. Frequency separation, hand-painted dodge and burn, hair cleaned strand by strand, then a checking pass.
- High-end and campaign work: 1 to 4 hours. All of the above plus grading, product and garment refinement, and background work.
- Creative compositing: 2 to 8 hours or more, depending on how much of the picture is being built rather than corrected.
These are working hours, not calendar time, and they vary with the file. A well-lit frame with one blemish finishes quickly whatever tier it is in.
BeEdits' listed delivery times
Every photo retouching package — Basic, Standard, Beauty and the three High-End packages — lists a delivery time of 24 hours. So do Basic Creative Editing and the two larger Advanced Creative packages. The Creative Essential package lists 20 hours. You can see each one on the pricing page.
Video Editing and Advertisement Design have no fixed delivery time. Both are quoted per project, and the timeline is agreed once the brief has been reviewed, because a thirty-second social cut and a full wedding film are not the same job.
What delays an outsourced job
Files that cannot be opened. A shared link with restricted permissions, an upload that failed halfway, or a set sent in three parts over two days. This is the most common delay, and it is entirely on the sending side.
An unclear brief. A retoucher unsure whether to remove a tattoo either asks, which costs a round trip, or guesses, which may cost a revision.
Revision notes in pieces. Three messages over two days means three passes. One message means one.
Busy periods. Every studio has a queue, and wedding season is busier than February.
Your own review. Finished work often waits for the photographer to look at it. That is not the studio's delay, but it still counts toward your delivery date.
How to get work back sooner
Send everything at once, in one link, with permissions checked from a logged-out browser.
Put the brief in the same message: what to keep, what to remove, what the frames are for, and a reference or two from your own delivered work. How to send photos to a retoucher covers this in detail.
Give the real deadline. "As soon as possible" is not information. "I need these by Thursday morning" is, and it lets a studio tell you whether that is realistic.
Batch your revision notes. Go through the whole set, write everything down and send it once.
Run a test job before you need one urgently. Getting used to a studio is much cheaper when nothing depends on the result.
When speed is the wrong priority
For a portfolio image, a campaign hero or a frame going to print at size, the difference between 24 and 48 hours rarely matters, while the difference between careful and rushed work does. Ask for the deadline you actually have. The extra day usually costs nothing.
Plan the deadline backwards
Start from the date the client needs the gallery and work back.
Allow time for your own review at 100% — for a large set, that is rarely less than an evening. Allow for one revision round, since the first job with any studio usually needs one, and allow the listed delivery time again for that round. Then add a margin for sending: checking permissions, writing the brief and answering any question the studio sends back.
The date that leaves you with is when the files need to be sent, not when the shoot ends. If that date is already behind you, ask whether the deadline can move before asking whether the studio can go faster.
Common questions
How long does BeEdits take to deliver retouched photos? Each photo package lists a delivery time of 24 hours, except the Creative Essential package of Advanced Creative Editing, which lists 20 hours. Video Editing and Advertisement Design have no fixed delivery time; it is estimated per project once the brief has been reviewed.
Why do jobs take longer than expected? Usually logistics rather than editing: a shared link that needs permission, a set arriving in several batches, or revision notes sent over two days. Each adds a round trip.
How do I get work back faster? Send every file in one link with access already checked, put the brief in the same message, state your real deadline, and send all revision notes together.
Why is video not quoted in hours? A thirty-second social cut and a full-length film are different jobs. Video and advertising work is scoped per project after the footage or brief has been reviewed.
Is faster always better? No. For a portfolio frame or a campaign image, a day's difference rarely matters, while the difference between careful and rushed work does. Ask for the deadline you actually have.
Related reading: How Much Does Professional Photo Retouching Cost? and The Best Photo Editing Workflow for High-Volume Photographers.
BeEdits Editorial Team
Post-production studio
A photography post-production company: high-end retouching, creative editing and scalable production support for photographers, studios and brands.