Is it realistic to think that I could...

thebheads · Jun 15, 2009

Hi guys, I am an amateur photographer that has kids in sports and was thinking about buying a fast lens and starting to take some pics of teams. I can hand out business cards with my hosting site and sell pics to parents. If I was determined enough I could hit all the local sports and maybe the drag strip taking pics and slinging business cards. Even the beach, doing tourist photo's (is that legal?)

Any feedback is appreciated greatly!

kundalini · Jun 15, 2009

Start out pro bono or no more than the cost of prints for your kid's team. Build a fan base, word of mouth. Expand from there if interest happens. It's the crawl, walk, run thing.

B Kennedy · Jun 15, 2009

^^ Agreed. But not so far as charging only for the cost of prints. Definitely put some mark-up on it because you don't work for free. Once you start putting your company name on your work you don't want to sell for only the cost of printing because then thats what your name will amount to (as I've read many a times in photo business books as well as on some of my own threads).

I do have to say that I photographed my cousin's cheer team for a whole 2 years before I started my business. And I never sold a picture to them, gave to them for their yearbooks, etc (I was really good friends with the coach as well.) Long story short, a great relationship there earned me countless paying jobs. Word of mouth usually starts slow, but before you know it you'll be getting more and more work. It's worked for me and I'll be in business a year come this November.

manaheim · Jun 15, 2009

I've heard this general system works really really well. My cousin does it and makes good money at it. He also burns through shutters on his cameras like they're going out of style. :lol:

Some tips I picked up from him...

- Shoot JPEG only.
- Don't correct your images until they are purchased.
- Try to get shots of each and every kid from a few angles.
- LOTS of extra memory cards.
- LOTS of business cards.
- Say hello to the parents and make a point to be friendly- they will invariably ask you what you're up to, and you can explain and give them your card.

Just a few pointers. I'm not a pro at this, but thought what info I could remember might be helpful.

B Kennedy · Jun 15, 2009

manaheim said:
I've heard this general system works really really well. My cousin does it and makes good money at it. He also burns through shutters on his cameras like they're going out of style.

Some tips I picked up from him...

- Shoot JPEG only.
- Don't correct your images until they are purchased.
- Try to get shots of each and every kid from a few angles.
- LOTS of extra memory cards.
- LOTS of business cards.
- Say hello to the parents and make a point to be friendly- they will invariably ask you what you're up to, and you can explain and give them your card.

Just a few pointers. I'm not a pro at this, but thought what info I could remember might be helpful.

YES YES AND MORE YESSES!!! The dance recital that I recently shot, as well as last years dances, 3-4000 pictures per event, broken down and organized into individual dances at least 10-20 pictures per kid so to speak. The parents absolutely loved them. I shoot JPEG only and post the pictures online. When I receive an order, I process the pic and then upload it. It's a lot of work when you hope to make the money after you spent the time, but usually, especially with children, the parents pay for those candid shots!!! and like manaheim said, they go absolutely nuts over them

manaheim · Jun 15, 2009

^^^^ oh you just reminded me of one more tip...

He has some sort of system where he writes a number of the event on the business card that he hands out, and then puts that up as a catalog of images up on his site. People can then go right to the event that they were at.

kundalini · Jun 15, 2009

B Kennedy said:
^^ Agreed. But not so far as charging only for the cost of prints. Definitely put some mark-up on it because you don't work for free.

I do have to say that I photographed my cousin's cheer team for a whole 2 years before I started my business. And I never sold a picture to them, gave to them for their yearbooks, etc (I was really good friends with the coach as well.)

thebheads · Jun 15, 2009

manaheim said:
I've heard this general system works really really well. My cousin does it and makes good money at it. He also burns through shutters on his cameras like they're going out of style.

Some tips I picked up from him...

- Shoot JPEG only.
- Don't correct your images until they are purchased.
- Try to get shots of each and every kid from a few angles.
- LOTS of extra memory cards.
- LOTS of business cards.
- Say hello to the parents and make a point to be friendly- they will invariably ask you what you're up to, and you can explain and give them your card.

Just a few pointers. I'm not a pro at this, but thought what info I could remember might be helpful.

WOW... I have posted in many forums and have never got support as great as this.... Thanks for all the tips! I have been stewing on this for months and I think I am finally going to take the plunge.

Are there any real concerns with stepping over boundaries on the ball field?

Can I just head out and start shooting, and throw my cards out? or do I have to worry about the photographers under contract with the little league?

What about at the track? Do you think I would have to give a cut to the owners?

Do any of you have the websites of your family members that do this type of work? I would love to check them out!

Thanks again

Oh yeah.... I am now in the market for a
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens if anyone has one to sell.

manaheim · Jun 15, 2009

Glad to help where I can. Other shooters on here have more experience with this than I do, though, so wait for them to weigh in.

I would think you would want to make a point to *not* be stepping onto the field. Keep to the sidelines, keep out of the way. (be sure to introduce yourself to the coaches, btw)

In my limited experience with shooting games, I found the 80-200 2.8 I had to be more than sufficient zoom range to cover my needs. Occasionally with baseball I found myself wanting a 300. The VR would certainly be handy and you'll likely be wanting a circular polarizer.

Omitinibu · Jun 15, 2009

All extremely good ideas.. but lets get to the question.. the LEGAL aspect of it... Mainly you will need to inquire at local city hall for more information simply because it varys from city to city.. so it may be legal with out a business license on one block and illegal to the next (depends on where you live and the type of business) you will also need to look into copyright for if your selling your pieces of work you dont want someone else claiming ownership and selling it for a profit as well... you will also have to consider taxes cause you dont want to get charged with tax evasion by the IRS after all that is technically a business.. you will be soliciting your work as a photographer..

overall just inquire within your city.. be sure to ask about zoning(commercial residential.. etc) if your going to have or eventually plan on having people go to your house for portrait photos as well.. hope that helpsl
Joe

farmerj · Jun 15, 2009

I am doing something similar for my daughter's marching band.

They put together all the pictures at the end of the year and sell it at the fall indoor concert.

All I asked for was 'credit" on the images. My contribution to the fund raising.

UUilliam · Jun 15, 2009

manheim
may i ask why you should only shoot Jpeg?

my Canon 450D Jpeg has a DPI of 72
where as RAW is 240 DPI
and raw is more versatile, and i have a 16 gb (15 gb true size) memory card + an 8GB + a 16.4 GB (not compatible with my camera as it is over the 16gb quota so use it for back up)

aside from the fact that shooting in RAW i can only get 6 continuous shots before lag kicks in where as with jpeg i can get about 30 before lag

thebheads · Jun 15, 2009

Omitinibu said:
All extremely good ideas.. but lets get to the question.. the LEGAL aspect of it... Mainly you will need to inquire at local city hall for more information simply because it varys from city to city.. so it may be legal with out a business license on one block and illegal to the next (depends on where you live and the type of business) you will also need to look into copyright for if your selling your pieces of work you dont want someone else claiming ownership and selling it for a profit as well... you will also have to consider taxes cause you dont want to get charged with tax evasion by the IRS after all that is technically a business.. you will be soliciting your work as a photographer..

overall just inquire within your city.. be sure to ask about zoning(commercial residential.. etc) if your going to have or eventually plan on having people go to your house for portrait photos as well.. hope that helpsl
Joe

Absolutely... If I do this, it would be on the up and up. I would register for a business license in all the county's I would shoot in. I wonder if you would be able to wander the beach and take tourists photo's, without getting wrote off as creepy :drool:

Blank · Jun 15, 2009

Very realistic. This is what I have learned after a few years of selling sporting images and prints compared to where you are right now.

- Attitude to potential clients is primary.

Football, Soccer and other close range field sports
Highly competitive for anyone wanting to sell images or prints. When it comes to these sports, most parents can capture similar images in automatic as you can with creative zone, on a sunny day. You really need to understand that they are not going to buy your 8 x 10 for $22 when they see a similar shot on their computer at home from their camera. You really have to be a standout, or every game will have to be at night or raining every game for your skills to step out from adverse conditions.

Long Range Sports and Indoor
Good potential. Even though parents and amateurs have the camera bodies, they dont have the lens'. Know what lens is required for the job. Shooting baseball with an 18-55 is not going to cut it. You will need a 200mm minimum, 300mm even better. Fast lens' for indoor is mandatory. If you want to sell, get the right equipment. You want people saying wow, instead of being dissapointed and having blurry or well underexposed shots. If you plan on shooting indoor, know how to shoot indoor. Don't even try to sell an image until you hone your skill. You mentioned drag races, know and understand how to pan. Stationary shots can be taken by anybody.

Try to find a sport that doesnt have 20 photographers already at it. The whole spool about learning from othes is BS. Your main concern is getting your name out in the community with minimal competition. Here's an example: When I made the transition several years ago, I went to a football game and stood on the sideline with every other yoyo. I handed out cards which directed people to an online gallery. I shot away, edited, uploaded and waited. I got about 6 hits over 4 weeks. Yeah, very rewarding. So I retought it. I went to the local MX people who had an indoor event and asked them if I could shoot the event. I was the only photographer there. I sold $700 worth of photos over a 2 day event. I look back on thos shots even today and they are no where near what I could shoot today, but again, I was the only one there. Several years later, I am still the only one there (on the inside of the track I mean). I now have exclusive rights and everyone knows who I am. I still make the same money for 2 days. Same thing at the 1/4 mile oval track for Modified Race Cars, no one there, I turn up, shoot about 12 events a year and make good money with exclusive rights.

Point is - exposure at these places for me will have recognition at events where there are other photographers. The real kicker is, people at these lesser spotlight events have other community interest. I had a guy from the stands at a oval track approach me on event photography. He was a promoter for bands. You just never know who you will meet. Thats why I said, attitude is primary.

I'm watching other replies hit as I'm typing this. If you intend on selling images or prints, make sure your are set to go legally. You can have a fully licensed business set up for about $1000 these days.

Competitively price your images. Look at what other photographers are selling for in your area. DO NOT underprice your work, you will be held to it eventually. I trade alot also. I got $600 worth of sandstone for my house in return for some race shots of a car he sponsored.

Protect your images. You will hear alot of "I hate watermark" replies on here but as someone selling images, you don't need the heartache of chasing people down with your legal threats of image infringement. Your customers will understand what you have to do to protect your work.

I also shoot RAW. Have spare memory cards!! simple. Manaheim got it pretty much right.

Be patient. Don't expect tons of money to flow in straight away. Network where you can. Really know what makes a good sports shot. Visit Sports Illustrated for a ton of good exapmles.