What skills needed for a Retouch shop?

[Mike Needham]

Sorry for the poor phrasing of the thread

I recently saw that a local but well established photographic retouch shop in my home town were applying for positions to be filled. Initially I found myself drawn to applying, but with a sober head I have backed away from finding anything more out about the position.

As far as I am aware they want only someone within the retouching side of the business as all the processing is dealt with by others. This then leads me to my question. What skills, track record and so forth do you think/are pretty certain that such an establishment require?

I would be interested to hear about the experiences and or thoughts of others here.

I didnt like to make my initial approach for fear of immediate rejection as I have been a web designer by trade (aren't we all )

[G. Couch]

Speed, speed and efficiency...and make sure you are not color blind! That's not a joke either. At one place I worked at, the employee who ran the inkjet and Scotchprint production turned out to be partially color blind...which explained why so much of his work got thrown into the trash!

[Jakaleena]

Oh, man.... Fear of rejection - I know that ugly monster well...

Greg's right. Speed counts. A lot.

But so does doing a good job.

Do you have a portfolio of retouching/restoraton work? If not, make one. It will speak for itself...

[G. Couch]

I'll add one more thing related to speed...know your Photoshop shortcuts!!

[Ed_L]

Mike,

I think the business would be looking for someone who can go a good job in a short time. But that really depends on the position. If they are paying you by the hour, speed will count more. If they want someone who will work from home to do retouching or restorations, they might pay you by the job. Then, the speed is less of a factor (for them anyway). In most cases, the quality of work will be expected to be high because this reflects on them. I say check it out. What do you have to lose?

Ed

[Aric]

One thing to consided is that perhapse they do not want some one who is overqualified. maybee they want to hire some one with no experience at all that they can train in order to get a new employee at a lower rate of pay.

[rondon]

Hi Ed... now you speak of what I wish..

Are many people contracted to work from their homes ? If so any leads in that direction ?

RonDon

[Ed_L]

Ron,

If that's what you're looking for, I'd suggest that you contact some of the portrait studios and local labs in your area to see if you could work something out with them. Make sure you have samples to offer on your first visit.

Ed