"Editing Fatigue" - Neurapix Study Reveals Negative Effects of Extended Image Editing on Photographers' Health

Goettingen, September 26, 2024 | German AI company Neurapix unveiled groundbreaking study results on “Editing Fatigue” at the Neurapix Conference in Frankfurt. An international survey of photographers investigated how time-intensive image editing can impact the mental and physical health of photographers ( directly to the full white paper).

The findings are clear: Extensive image editing negatively affects health. This was confirmed by more than 400 photographers in a quantitative online survey conducted by Neurapix between June and July 2024. 58.4 percent of respondents reported experiencing mental exhaustion after lengthy editing sessions “often” or “very often”. More than nine out of ten photographers even stated they “generally” experience psychological pressure, with the most common cause being time pressure, although the reasons vary by age and photography sector.

97.2 percent of all respondents indicated that this psychological pressure leads to health impairments. The most common symptom is tiredness (70.9 percent), followed by concentration problems (53.4 percent) and burning eyes (47.3 percent). Additionally, neck pain (44.2 percent), back pain (37.6 percent), and headaches (24.3 percent) are frequent issues for many photographers. Alarmingly, nearly one in five respondents has suffered from “burnout” in the past – particularly among full-time photographers and “Baby Boomers”.

One in Five Respondents Has Sought Medical Treatment

To address health problems resulting from image editing, one in five respondents (21.5 percent) has sought medical help. This rate is highest among business photographers (33.3 percent) and those in kindergarten and family photography (32.9 percent). Many respondents have already taken measures themselves to prevent negative health consequences, with largely “moderately effective” results.

A strategy to prevent “Editing Fatigue” is the use of artificial intelligence for image editing, as offered by Neurapix. Over 70 percent of respondents already rely on AI image editing. Particularly in younger generations “Gen Z” and “Millennials” (ages 22-43), only one in four now edits their photos entirely by themselves.

The Enjoyment Also Suffers

Image editing not only impacts the health of photographers but also their enjoyment of the work. One in four respondents (25.2 percent) feels a “strong” or even “very strong” impact on their job satisfaction. Business photographers experience the greatest negative impact from extended image editing sessions, while portrait and landscape photographers feel the least impact.

“Our goal with this study was to better understand and more concretely describe the phenomenon of ‘Editing Fatigue’. We have found that excessive image editing indeed often leads to health problems and that mental symptoms are more relevant than physical symptoms,” says Neurapix co-founder and CEO Nils Sauder. “With this knowledge, we aim to raise awareness for this problem among photographers and help them make the right decisions for their health.”