DollarDesk

Course 03

Video & Photo Editing

Edit for creators and businesses: YouTube videos, Shorts and reels, ads and product photos, with Premiere Pro, CapCut, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop and Lightroom, plus AI tools that speed it all up.

Who it’s for

For people who love video and photos and want to edit for YouTubers, brands and businesses. No experience needed: a laptop (or a good phone to start) and practice every day.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Cut a YouTube video with a strong hook, clean pacing and B-roll
  • Edit reels and Shorts with captions, music and transitions that hold attention
  • Fix sound and colour so videos look and sound professional
  • Retouch portraits and product photos in Photoshop and Lightroom
  • Speed up every edit with AI captions, clean-up and background tools
  • Export the right file for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and print

Course outline

8 modules
  1. 01

    Module 1

    Editing foundations

    • How editing works: story, pacing and the hook
    • Frame rates, resolution and aspect ratios
    • Organising footage, folders and backups
    • Choosing your editor: Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or CapCut
  2. 02

    Module 2

    YouTube video editing

    • From rough cut to final cut on the timeline
    • Jump cuts, B-roll and zooms that keep viewers watching
    • Text, lower thirds and simple motion
    • Thumbnails that get clicks
  3. 03

    Module 3

    Reels, Shorts and TikTok

    • Hooks in the first two seconds
    • Captions and on-screen text
    • Trends, music and sound effects
    • Editing fast in CapCut on desktop and phone
  4. 04

    Module 4

    Sound and colour

    • Cleaning dialogue and balancing levels
    • Music, licensing and sound effects
    • Colour correction versus colour grading
    • Using LUTs and matching shots
  5. 05

    Module 5

    Photo editing in Lightroom

    • Exposure, white balance and tone
    • Presets for a consistent look
    • Batch editing hundreds of photos
    • Exporting for web, social media and print
  6. 06

    Module 6

    Photo retouching in Photoshop

    • Natural-looking portrait retouching
    • Product photos: clean backgrounds and shadows
    • Removing objects and fixing details
    • Compositing and photo manipulation
  7. 07

    Module 7

    AI editing tools

    • Auto captions and transcripts
    • AI clean-up: noise, voice enhancement and object removal
    • Generative Fill and AI backgrounds
    • Using AI ethically, with the client's permission
  8. 08

    Module 8

    Getting editing clients

    • A showreel and a before-and-after portfolio
    • Finding YouTubers and brands that need editors
    • Gigs on Fiverr and Upwork
    • Pricing per video, per photo and monthly packages

Read a free sample

From the guidebook

The first section of the Video & Photo Editing guidebook, exactly as buyers get it.

From the guidebookSection: Start here

Start here: your first $500 as an editor

Your first $500 comes from creators and small businesses who post every week and need someone to edit for them. That is steady, repeat work: the same client sends you new footage every few days.

Route What you do Typical starter price To reach $500
Short-form editing (best) Reels, Shorts and TikToks for a creator or business $10–40 per short 15–40 shorts (a few clients)
YouTube video editing 8–15 minute videos with B-roll, captions and music $40–120 per video 5–12 videos
Photo editing Product photos, portraits, real estate and event photos $1–5 per photo, or $50+ per batch 2–5 batches

Starter prices are lower than what experienced editors charge. They buy you your first reviews and portfolio pieces. Raise them after every 3–5 happy clients.

The 5 steps

  1. Learn the foundations (days 1–10). Read sections 1–3 and edit one short video every day, even from your own phone footage.
  2. Build a portfolio (days 8–20). A 60–90 second showreel, three before-and-after reels, one full YouTube edit and a before-and-after photo set.
  3. Set up profiles (days 18–21). Fiverr, Upwork, a portfolio on Behance or Google Drive, and an Instagram account for your edits. Headline: "Video Editor · YouTube, Reels & Shorts · Fast turnaround".
  4. Pitch every day (days 21–30). 10 proposals and 10 direct messages to creators and businesses. Send a free re-edit of one of their existing videos as proof.
  5. Deliver, then offer a monthly package (month 2). Creators post every week, so a monthly package (for example 12 shorts a month) turns one client into steady income.

Get paid

Open a Payoneer account before your first client pays. It receives US dollars and sends them to your Pakistani bank account. Fiverr and Upwork both pay out to Payoneer or directly to your bank.

$500 is about PKR 140,000 at roughly PKR 280 per dollar (approximate, check today's rate). That is your first goal.

Templates and scripts

  • Editing workflow & export checklist
  • Client brief & revision templates
  • Thumbnail & caption templates

Tools you’ll use

  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • DaVinci Resolve
  • CapCut
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • Descript
  • Canva
  • Frame.io

Roles you can apply for

  • Video Editor
  • YouTube Video Editor
  • Short-form Content Editor
  • Photo Editor & Retoucher
What comes with every course
Portrait of Qandeel Zahra

Your instructor

Qandeel Zahra

Content Creator & Editor

Qandeel is a content creator who edits everything she publishes, with more than 400 posts on her Instagram under one motto: creating magic through pixels. She teaches the editing that makes content stand out, from tight cuts and clean captions to colour that pops and photos that look polished, so students can edit for creators and brands with confidence.

Strengths in Video & Photo Editing

  • Creates and edits her own content, with 400+ posts published on Instagram
  • Edits reels and photos with a creator's eye for hooks, trends and aesthetics
  • Teaches captions, colour and pacing that hold attention on social media
  • Shows students how to build a portfolio from their own content before the first client
More about QandeelInstagram