robbthurmond Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Hey guys, I' am completely new here but I have a question that I haven't been able to fin in all of the reading I've done.
Here's some background. I have a friend that is helping start a small SF Bay Area sports news service and they asked me to shoot for them. They have credentials for, and cover, every bay area pro sports team. They are small and everyone involved, including the founder, are not being paid - everyone is working as volunteers. I was offered access to their credential and the ability to retain the rights to my images if I would send them the shots of the game first, but I was not offered monetary compensation. I asked my friend about getting any kind of compensation and that's when I learned that it's completely volunteer run for now. The service has been picked up by Fox Sports, but there has not been any revenue come in through that channel yet. It was suggested that I might try getting represented by Getty to try to monetize the access I was given (right).
I've only been shooting for a little over 2 years, and for the most part I shoot landscapes. I've never shot sports, and had no intention of ever shooting sports. I explained that and I was told that they just needed someone with a camera to be there. I decided to give it a shot, did LOTS of home work, rented some gear just to see if I could get anything worthwhile, and basically just went for the experience of going (and the free tickets with the best seats in the stadium). I didn't expect to enjoy it, but I really did and I would love to do more.
I am also a designer, and I understand that giving work away free devalues the industry as a whole, but I believe in the site, and want to help it grow, and it's not going to grow much without good photography (not that mine is good yet). If it were a small newspaper, it would be a completely different story, but this thing is no ones full time, or even part time job. It's a bunch of people throwing in whatever free time they have trying to get the site off the ground at their own expense.
They really liked my work, even though it's not up to industry standards, and I have been given access to their credential for any home game in the BA. I think my chances of getting accepted by Getty are slim to none, but are their other services I could sell to? Can I monetize this, even a little? Do wire services accept images from unaffiliated photographers? I understand that the only usage I get is editorial, and I have no intent to sell the images for any other purpose.
I've already heard "you don't have the experience or gear to be there, give your cred. to me", and honestly, I agree, but this is an incredible opportunity to learn and I'm taking it. My hat is off to sports photogs, this stuff is HARD, but that is part of why I like it so much.
My questions again:
Are their services I could sell to other than Getty?
Can I monetize this, even a little?
Do wire services accept images from unaffiliated photographers?
Some shots from the game (D90/70-200 2.8/1.7TC):
Edited on Jun 28, 2013 at 09:04 PM · View previous versions
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