Frank Lauri Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Rob…based on your questions….I'll give my why's.
Although I don't do this as my main job….I do make some $$….but I didn't start that way. I don't remember how I learned about FM but I did and I joined and it was one of the best moves I made in my quest to "find myself" in the field of photography.
It's been a resource of valuable information that I don't think one could get in an institution of higher learning. It's also been a place where I've made some valuable contacts and friendships….and some who I've had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting, shooting with and sharing stories with over adult beverages.
I first started with taking pics of my kids which was a hobby and for pleasure. When I joined FM…I saw the caliber of images that people were posting and I wanted to get to that level. But the gear I had wouldn't get me there.
So I invested in a little better gear that was a little more expensive and my images got a little better and then I started to get the calls from parents, other coaches and booster clubs.
So I thought….hey there might be something to this. Since I was then involved in youth sports (Little League President)…I thought I would see where it went.
Well I quickly found out it wasn't as easy as I thought and there was things I needed to do in order to push this. Website, business cards, advertising, customers, business plan, etc. But I needed to start investing in other gear. Lenses, lighting, backup gear, insurance etc.
So the plan went into effect and several years later I now have a second job that…at times I put as much time into in a week as my day job….not to mention the investment of $$$$ into the gear and accessories.
But why sports….for me it's because I really like sports with baseball as my favorite. But shooting sports Ive been exposed to others I have grown to like a lot that I never really watched at all. It has allotted me the opportunity to see some really neat events, meet some really great people….but there is also the thrill of capturing that moment in time of something that no one else got. Some other photogs may have gotten something similar….but that exact image….PLUS….for the golfers and I've dabbled there too….it is the one shot that keep you coming back. You may have shot a 105….but there was one shot in that round that was amazing. Same thing for me with sports photography. I may have had a crappy day…or every a good day….but there usually is one shot that I took that day that keep me coming back for more.
About 6 years ago I was shooting one of my son's HS baseball games when the chief photographer from the local newspaper (Circ. approx. 35K) approached me and asked if I would be interested in shooting freelance sports for them. Although it's not a high paying gig….I accepted and I love it. I'm exposed to all levels of local sports and I am always shooting something……regular season stuff to playoffs to championship games. And here again…it afforded me to meet some great people, make more friends and some additional opportunities that led to more paid gigs.
What do I do with the images? I have numerous hard drives, CD’s, etc….plus I post to my website for sales, some go to Facebook and I also have clients that will get CD’s.
With my pending retirement from the day job HOPEFULLY at the end of this year….my plans will be to spend more time to do this and become a student again. I say student because I've started to get into "high school senior" portraits. So I'm dabbling quite a bit in this area now and I like it a lot. Since I don't have a studio…it is more location type and it keeps me outdoors during some nice seasonal weather in Northeast PA. And again it's meeting nice and interesting people and so far I've had some fun shoots with the seniors I've shot so far.
So that's my story and how joining FM and posting my sports images here has opened some doors for me that probably wouldn't have opened otherwise.
Good Luck with your info gathering. Start shooting and posting and also get involved in critiques here and you will see how much things will improve for you.
Frank
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