7D question

Sweet, is there actually paying customers for sports photography besides the obvious college and pro sports?

Not really. I work for a multitude of payers. Like fjrabon said there are a few schools who do pay for coverage, there are parents and sports booster groups who pay for coverage, if you work for the local papers you'll get some gigs for that. Mostly I get paid here and there for the main coverage which doesn't come anywhere near covering costs. Then I sell to the parents which makes it up.
It started as a marketing thing for me. I wanted to get more visible and more into the senior market, so I started shooting more than just my kid's sports. Then I ended up with a few paying contracts and parents buying from me, so I kept it up. I got picked up for some staff work on various different things for the local papers (we have 2 in the county-north and south-both owned and operated by the same company.)
At this point this part of my marketing plan pays for itself. I am covering my minimal costs and making some peanuts on the side. So, in the end I am making out. I love the sports, I love shooting the sports. I break even, but I get SEEN and in contact with the parents, seniors, administrators, etc. Those are the people who I want to book me for something that REALLY pays-and they do, so my marketing piece is working with 0 out of pocket expense.
 
fjrabon said:
ah, TPF, where people repeatedly talk about how they think cameras they've never used perform. Of all the things that go on here, this is the one that drives me up the wall every time.

I personally don't love the 60D, but only in comparison to the 7D. Sure, the 7D is a better camera. But to say something like '[the 60D] is out of the question for fast moving objects' either means you're a terribly inept photographer or you are talking out of your rear end, or most likely both. It's a perfectly fine camera to shoot action. MLeek is one of the best action shooters on this forum, she knows what she speaks of.

Sorry if that came out too high strong. That's really not what I meant. If you want a persistently consistent camera with sports, I believe the 7D would be the better option over the 60D because of the dual DIGIC processors and 19 AF points (FPS aside). You can freeze action with any camera, but when it comes to more focused shots (assuming you aren't blazingly fast with 1 AF point) and keeping up with the subject in focus the 7D seems like the better choice for the extra money. Lenses do matter, but really it's a personal preference thing
 
fjrabon said:
ah, TPF, where people repeatedly talk about how they think cameras they've never used perform. Of all the things that go on here, this is the one that drives me up the wall every time.

I personally don't love the 60D, but only in comparison to the 7D. Sure, the 7D is a better camera. But to say something like '[the 60D] is out of the question for fast moving objects' either means you're a terribly inept photographer or you are talking out of your rear end, or most likely both. It's a perfectly fine camera to shoot action. MLeek is one of the best action shooters on this forum, she knows what she speaks of.

Sorry if that came out too high strong. That's really not what I meant. If you want a persistently consistent camera with sports, I believe the 7D would be the better option over the 60D because of the dual DIGIC processors and 19 AF points (FPS aside). You can freeze action with any camera, but when it comes to more focused shots (assuming you aren't blazingly fast with 1 AF point) and keeping up with the subject in focus the 7D seems like the better choice for the extra money. Lenses do matter, but really it's a personal preference thing
You've blown any credibility you ever had-which wasn't much to begin with. A swift about face isn't going to fix it. Go outside and play or something.
 
MLeeK said:
You've blown any credibility you ever had-which wasn't much to begin with. A swift about face isn't going to fix it. Go outside and play or something.

I'm always playing. I'm on my shift
 
You've blown any credibility you ever had-which wasn't much to begin with. A swift about face isn't going to fix it. Go outside and play or something.

If he stopped talking he'd sound smarter.
 
Sweet, is there actually paying customers for sports photography besides the obvious college and pro sports?

Not really. I work for a multitude of payers. Like fjrabon said there are a few schools who do pay for coverage, there are parents and sports booster groups who pay for coverage, if you work for the local papers you'll get some gigs for that. Mostly I get paid here and there for the main coverage which doesn't come anywhere near covering costs. Then I sell to the parents which makes it up.
It started as a marketing thing for me. I wanted to get more visible and more into the senior market, so I started shooting more than just my kid's sports. Then I ended up with a few paying contracts and parents buying from me, so I kept it up. I got picked up for some staff work on various different things for the local papers (we have 2 in the county-north and south-both owned and operated by the same company.)
At this point this part of my marketing plan pays for itself. I am covering my minimal costs and making some peanuts on the side. So, in the end I am making out. I love the sports, I love shooting the sports. I break even, but I get SEEN and in contact with the parents, seniors, administrators, etc. Those are the people who I want to book me for something that REALLY pays-and they do, so my marketing piece is working with 0 out of pocket expense.

Yep, if the school pays at all for it, it pays so little that it is only worth the time and shutter actuations if you're doing it to get portrait contracts or advertise to get portraits done. It's completely unviable as a paying entity unto itself. You could perhaps break even or make a bit of cash, but nowhere near enough to be worth the time and effort. And gear. Shooting sports is freaking expensive. And because of how awful many high school stadiums' lighting is, in a lot of ways high school sports are harder than pro or college sports.
 

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