How do I repair my arrangement with this car club?

[gsgary]

Hmm I'm assuming then that they track don't currently have pro photography on their payroll shooting for them already?

Correct.

Maybe if you feel you can push or get them to make a market for you in that capacity, you could instead try selling and pitching to the drivers, mechanics, fans themselves direct? Course chances are you'd need a 2 person team to carry this off (since you'd need someone to pitch, print and sell on site whilst you're still trackside shooting the next race/lap/event). That might be a little easier to swing in letting you cover your costs of the day by pitching to them direct whilst the track still gets your services for almost free (of course if they are also pitching their sales to the drivers they might hate this idea even more so).

Selling on-site is not realistic for me, but I like the idea of pitching more to the participants.

Why is printing on site out of the question ? you can pick up a Hiti 730ps up dirt cheap and the print quality is up with the best
Hi-Touch HiTi 730PS Dye Sublimation Photo Printer - Product Description Details - DIMA 2005 Award Winner

 

[epp_b]

Why is printing on site out of the question ? you can pick up a Hiti 730ps up dirt cheap and the print quality is up with the best

Because I don't do run-of-the-mill boring crap that are just plain recordings, I create art that requires careful time and consideration in post.

When I am shooting on the track, I am on the track for 8 hours straight and there is certainly no time for me to sit down at a computer.

 

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

Why is printing on site out of the question ? you can pick up a Hiti 730ps up dirt cheap and the print quality is up with the best

Because I don't do run-of-the-mill boring crap, I create art that requires careful time and consideration in post.

When I am shooting on the track, I am on the track for 8 hours straight and there is certainly no time for me to sit down at a computer.

You sound like an arteeeeest that prefers to stay broke. Which, by the way, was the likely reason for the initial arrangement. Lessons learned, lesson yet to be learned. Which one weighs more?

 

[Overread]

Why is printing on site out of the question ? you can pick up a Hiti 730ps up dirt cheap and the print quality is up with the best

Because I don't do run-of-the-mill boring crap that are just plain recordings, I create art that requires careful time and consideration in post.

When I am shooting on the track, I am on the track for 8 hours straight and there is certainly no time for me to sit down at a computer.

Then you'll have to inter-space your art with your work. Take your arty shots, but also take the record shots - the stuff that will sell on the day. An assistant (wife/friend/coworker - make sure you make a contract with them for paid work!) can then take the general work shots- quickly process them on a laptop and prepare them for print on the day (wireless communication is ideal between camera and laptop, but a few more cards and regular handing of them over should work).

That lets you pitch and sell on the day - whilst also leaving the field open to selling your more arty work later on.

 

[GeneralBenson]

Sorry to say it, but this is exactly why the whole mentality of "I'll just give it away for free to 'gain experience', then I'll try to convince that it's worth money later" doesn't work at all. You've built your whole relationship with this bike club on the premise that your good photography isn't worth anything. I would say the only thing you can do is convince them of something that is significantly different than it was, like my photo are much better now and at a professional standard, or I've made significant gear upgrades since then, or I no longer have the time to just do this for free. Something that makes them see how they are now receiving something of more value than they used to be. But if your photos, gear and time constraints aren't any different than before, I don't know how you expect them to see that something that was previously free should now be worth money. Ultimately, if you're not willing to walk away from this, then you have no leverage. If I were you, I would decide how much the job should be to make it worth it for you, tell them that number, then they either accept or you walk. It's that simple.

Too many photographers these days negotiate like this:

"That'll be $500."
"We don't have $500."
"Ok, I'll do it for free. Thanks for your business."

Harsh ... but fair.

I have invested considerably more time, effort and money in my photography and my quality certainly has improved from 2-3 years ago.

If that is true then you are giving them something of more value, and a revisiting of the agreement is in order. Problem solved.

 

[GeneralBenson]

^^^^^ :thumbup:


General I sure hope to meet you some day. In the meantime, let's hope people don't get any brighter. That is certainly the main reason I will help newbies with their work. They have no business sense and it matters little if they can take better pictures than mine.

I just moved to W. Simpson Street. Where do you live? We should hang out.

 

[epp_b]

You sound like an arteeeeest that prefers to stay broke. Which, by the way, was the likely reason for the initial arrangement. Lessons learned, lesson yet to be learned. Which one weighs more?

Thaaaaaaaaat's probably a fair assessment

Then you'll have to inter-space your art with your work. Take your arty shots, but also take the record shots - the stuff that will sell on the day. An assistant (wife/friend/coworker - make sure you make a contract with them for paid work!) can then take the general work shots- quickly process them on a laptop and prepare them for print on the day (wireless communication is ideal between camera and laptop, but a few more cards and regular handing of them over should work).

That lets you pitch and sell on the day - whilst also leaving the field open to selling your more arty work later on.

Well, yes and no. It takes a lot of time and concentration to make the great ones and I don't think I'm willing to give that up.

 

[gsgary]

Why is printing on site out of the question ? you can pick up a Hiti 730ps up dirt cheap and the print quality is up with the best

Because I don't do run-of-the-mill boring crap that are just plain recordings, I create art that requires careful time and consideration in post.

When I am shooting on the track, I am on the track for 8 hours straight and there is certainly no time for me to sit down at a computer.

Most people do artsy **** to a shot to cover up crap, lets see one of your shots before and after

 

[epp_b]

If you're referring to obvious, cheesy-looking vignettes and so on, then, no, I don't do that (at least not for a long time, anyway). What I'm talking about is the small adjustments that make a big difference for each image. If you just let your camera set the picture control defaults, your work is all going to end up looking the same, and not in a good way.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I just moved to W. Simpson Street. Where do you live? We should hang out.

:lmao:

I'm just around the corner, in the country about 45 minutes outside of Paris.

 

[gsgary]

If you're referring to obvious, cheesy-looking vignettes and so on, then, no, I don't do that (at least not for a long time, anyway). What I'm talking about is the small adjustments that make a big difference for each image. If you just let your camera set the picture control defaults, your work is all going to end up looking the same, and not in a good way.

Nothing artsy about that, i can do that at an event and print on site, my camera does not adjust anything and the shots don't need much doing to them