I decided to fill out an application and send in some sample images to Maxpreps to try and get approved as a photographer. I received an email reply today saying I have been accepted. Thanks to everyone here for commenting on my images - most everything I know about sports photography I learned here. Any advice from experienced Maxpreps shooters is appreciated and I am posting my 6 sample images below.
Rick, I am about 45 minutes East of you near Bradley (Gun Lake Casino) area. Let me know how it goes for you. No one I have talked to around here knows about MP, so I would be curious to hear how it goes.
I've been shooting for them for quite some time now(2005) and what I really like is that you can shoot on your own schedule. No pressure from deadlines. I know this sounds simple but quality and quantity is the key to having good sales especially during football season. Don't limit your shooting just the starters but the whole squad, be it in warmups or just standing on the sidelines. Get yourself established also with the athletic directors and coaches for the schools and it pays big dividends.
Don't also limit yourself to just the mainstream sports.
Rick -- congrats! Just finished my first season with them. Besides getting in with AD's and coaches I try to make a quick run through parents/students hanging out just outside the field and pass out some info during half-time. MaxPreps is not as big here in MO yet, so a little marketing goes a long way.
Like Fish, I have been shooting for them for a while. 122 games covered for them this school year. It is a lot more work than any other photo job I have had, and expect to give 110% to make money.
Tips -
Market yourself. When you get your cards from MP, take a hand full with you on every shoot. Sometimes you can get announcers to mention that a MaxPreps photographer is there. After the game, one your galleries are posted, see if the teams have facebook pages and post a link to the galleries.
Get use to flash for football, and work at getting your flash off camera. Do not use HSS or high speed sync. Practice a lot this summer so when football hits this fall. When I shoot at a school for the first time, like for basketball or volleyball, I try to go in a day or two before to meed with the athletic director to introduce myself, check on where I can install and power strobes, so I know what I need to bring. This way you are not walking in blind.
Be very critical on your own shots. It does not matter to MP if you shoot RAW of JPG. Crop in camera, then crop to MP standards during post. They are very firm on the 2166x1600. Watch for red eye and correct if there is any. I view my original selects at 50% in PhotoMechanic before I start my final edits in Lightroom to ensure everything is sharp. Anything marginal, reject it. Galleries tend to range between 80 and 250 images. Start small. Focus on quality before quantity.
Finally, be professional, respectful, and accommodating. If a coach asks you not to point strobes, try bouncing them, check with football officials to ensure you are not going beyond where your designated areas are, and if a parent asks you to remove or delete a photo, just do it.
It will take you a while to get use to the processing, and after a short time, everything will start to flow.
Carl, I didn't list football or basketball on the application in the list of sports I was interested in covering. Not that I won't, but I haven't before and I planned on starting out with soccer, hockey, volleyball and baseball/softball in the spring. I am curious if experienced MP shooters find football to be the leader in photo sales or not. Some of the suggestions have been to make sure to include some of the other sports and non-star players but I am wondering if football is the biggest?
I don't know about the other shooters but for me football is my best seller since parents really allowed down on the field and it's more of a challenge shooting night games. However, once you get it dialed in, it's a breeze and it also makes you a better shooter.
Since you're already approved as a MP shooter, go on Facebook and join the Maxpreps Photographers Network page. Lots of info being shared in there amongst the MP shooters.
My sports are all pretty even. I covered everything at one high school except track, and Football did lead the way, but that is because varsity had 72 players on the team. But for this school, football made the state semifinal, basketball went two rounds into the state tournament, girls basketball went to the elite 8 for state, hockey won the state championship, girls soccer went to the 3rd round of the state playoffs....and the other sports did really well too, so parents wanted the playoff photos...Also, for me, with MaxPreps being in Colorado for so long, there had really been no one shooting in the school district I am in, so parents were excited to have MP there. Plus, covering state championships for small schools have really been good for me.
The more you cover, the more opportunity to make money. Plus you can start figuring out what schools/sports sell and base your shooting on what makes money. Also, I have found requests pay. If you get a request to shoot a school or sport you do not normally shoot, accept it. I have seen sales around $50-100 from parents who make requests through MP.
Lots of great advice here and not much that I can add. My football sales are higher but that could be because that's what I shoot most of. Welcome to the MP network.
Thanks guys for all the advice, it is very much appreciated. I didn't know about the MP Facebook page before so I will make sure to check that out as well.
Congrats Rick. I wish there was something like that in Toronto that i could try to be a part of to make a few extra bucks on the side and grow into more of a profession.
You're work is very good.
Welcome to the gang! Been shooting for MP for awhile, just joined here. I just found out we now have 4 MP shooters in KY. It was just 2 of us for the past several seasons. Slowly getting recognized in the state, but more coverage will definitely help that.
dhyravy wrote:
Welcome to the gang! Been shooting for MP for awhile, just joined here. I just found out we now have 4 MP shooters in KY. It was just 2 of us for the past several seasons. Slowly getting recognized in the state, but more coverage will definitely help that.
I started shooting for MaxPreps in 2006 here in New Jersey. Football is and always has been my biggest seller. Probably because as someone mentioned above, parents are not allowed on the field, and it is very challenging shooting night HS football..."the MaxPreps way"
I have been considering applying to MaxPreps since the first of the year. After reading this thread and others, and speaking with a few MaxPrep photogs I got off the pot and sent in my application in on Wednesday. I received an email back this morning.... I have been accepted
