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Archive 2013 · Freelance wanna-be

  
 
cater007
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Freelance wanna-be


After reading posts from other forum areas you have me struggling with what direction to take. For the last couple years I've been the photog for our basketball teams. While I don't have any AB's, I do have a D90 with 85/1.8, 70-200/2.8, etc and used only available gym\dungeon lite. I did it just for fun and put the pics on Fbook as a freebie service to the team. For an amature, I thought some turned out pretty sweet. Got a lot of great tips on the FM forums. Parents were very appreciative. I saw pics of others shooting the same games who were trying to sell and IMO, they were garbage! Shot from the top of the bleachers, backs of heads, blur, etc and he's trying to sell them. We no longer have a child playing so ramped up my goal to be freelance for the local paper, etc. I believe I can do hoops but need to expand my portfolio with other sports - rugby, skateboard, etc After reading these comments, am I dreaming too big? When I was a teen, I dreamt of shooting for SI, but now I'd be happy just making a little side cash to support my Nikon addiction. Any comments and advice on how to have this hobby pay for itself are appreciated.

Jeff



Jan 21, 2013 at 03:09 PM
BenV
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Freelance wanna-be


Well first off, its probably not a good idea to criticize other peoples work. While you might think its garbage, hes the one making money, not you. So who's really in the better position?

To make a living (or extra income) in photography, its A LOT about being a salesmen. I don't usually do high school events, but when I do, parents usually come up to me from word of mouth and ask what I charge. From that point, I then go into salesmen mode and offer them the best I can for a price we both think is fair.



Jan 21, 2013 at 04:10 PM
cater007
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Freelance wanna-be


BenV, my bad on the criticism. Point taken. Said out of frustration but still no excuse. Anyway, in the case you describe what sort of package would you offer? In my limited view, I'm thinking I'd just sell in-game shots but are you thinking more of a photo session? The other posts I read suggested parents are not willing to pay for the in-game stuff. Again, thanks for the advice.


Jan 21, 2013 at 04:24 PM
BenV
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Freelance wanna-be


cater007 wrote:
BenV, my bad on the criticism. Point taken. Said out of frustration but still no excuse. Anyway, in the case you describe what sort of package would you offer? In my limited view, I'm thinking I'd just sell in-game shots but are you thinking more of a photo session? The other posts I read suggested parents are not willing to pay for the in-game stuff. Again, thanks for the advice.


I'm definitely not a full time pro in said line of work. What I found works well if communication with the parents and self advertising. I use my tablet during the game/half-time/breaks/whenever to show some of the photos I captured to the parents. Occasionally a parent will see a photo they love. This is where being good at sales comes in. You already have their interest, now you just have to close the deal. The big question to ask yourself is how much money do you really think you can extract from them? I don't expect much to be honest and I'm not trying to get rich off one photo (it would be nice though). I tell them I can email them the photo and allow them to print it out at home right from my tablet for $xxx. If the price is right and your sales pitch is decent enough, you have yourself a sale. You can take cash, and if they want a receipt you could keep some carbon copy papers with you. What I prefer though is Square payments via Card Reader. Makes my life easier. I typically like to use the line "my normal going rate is XX dollars, but since your friends with so-and-so, I can knock off XX dollars." Makes them feel like they are getting a good deal.

However, one thing I've noticed. Once they walk away, they rarely ever buy. So its kind of trying to catch them in the moment of the excitement of the game.

Another thing to keep in mind for pricing, is how big of a game is it? Did you capture their son hitting the game winning home run, or is it an exhibition game and he's just standing in the outfield.

On a side note, it always helps if you know people in the stands watching the game. What I've found out is displaying photos to someone on a tablet, other people tend to look and get curious.

I'm sure others can chime in and help out. I don't do it very often, but these are just from my personal adventures. Your milage may vary.



Jan 21, 2013 at 05:27 PM





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