Breaking in: Being there vs working remote

[Doug Nelson]

I suspect I know the answer from my many conversations with pro retouchers, but my sample set is admittedly limited and likely biased.

Is it possible/likely to break into the high-end retouching industry if you live far away from the major hubs (ie: New York, LA, London, etc.)?

Does the quality of your portfolio trump everything else, or even in 2015 is your presence required? Will Skype or similar suffice? Or are there variables I'm not even considering?

[Benny Profane]

Re: Breaking in: Being there vs working remote

Doubtful. I'm guessing the only retouchers who succeed at that have been around a while and have established a network and reputation. Even then, once one moves to the dream hideaway, the business probably erodes from lack of face to face. Of course, we're talking high end here. The low end is functioning quite well from outposts like India and Hong Kong.