This is Business 101, so for all you experts who like to spout off how much better you are than someone else (me) and how these are such simple questions that if I don't know these answers I shouldn't be selling photos, please hit the back button.
Okay...so here's the scoop: I'm a college sophomore/junior (depending on who you ask) and I have been shooting for the 5-day a week student newspaper and the yearbook as well as freelancing/Go to Guy for an independent, privately owned sports magazine/website focused on covering and reporting news of my school's sports teams (you can check it out at gopowercat.com if you'd like). Been doing this for the past 2 years.
Although I am not studying journalism/photography I'd really like to start making even more money (I pull in a pretty good chunk from just those three - more than $10,000 less than $20,000 per year) from photography and am really unsure where to go from here. I shoot mostly sports now after downgrading myself from a staff to freelance photographer because of my class load.
I go to school in a small town with only two newspapers the EVENING newspaper and our student newspaper. Our circulation is almost exactly what theirs is so stringing/working for them is sort of out of the question because it's so small and because they only have one shooter after laying off their second.
I have looked at stock agencies like CalSportsMedia, IconSMI, and USPresswire but am unsure of some of the legal crap and exactly how much I am giving back to them when they use my photos.
There is already a local Getty guy so that avenue is pretty much out and there are 3 AP staff photogs that regularly shoot games.
I also shoot a fair amount of stock/feature type photos and am wondering something similar as my sports: Where is the best way to market and get these for sale?
Thanks for all the help! Just a part-timer looking to make a little more dough! =)
Hi - I'd say $15,000 or so is pretty good considering what you are doing right now. Honestly, you're probably maxed out until you graduate, especially since you are in a small town. I'd say if you were in a larger metro area -- with more than 1 million people -- you'd be able to use your school newspaper connections to get other jobs (that's how I got a few jobs myself).
Have you tried looking for other photography services on campus, such as fraternity/sorority photography, official university event photography? Have you advertised your services in the school newspaper or elsewhere on campus?
Another idea is to check out Active.com in a 25 mile to 50 mile radius. Look ahead a month or two and see if any 'sports' events are coming up. Maybe find some events that don't always have an official photographer, like a cheerleading contest, Judo or Karate tournament, weightlifting. Check out local non-profits that have a fund-raiser and advertise it on Active, like a 5K/10K or bicycle tour. Then contact the organizers about covering it for them and sell prints to the participants.
Interesting suggestion Kent. I second Cheerleading ... I only shot one or two cheerleading events in college but I must say, the work was pretty easy, involved little or no investment (they gave us all the equipment and cards) and was decent money (I think about $300 for 8 hours of shooting, no post-process). You could make a decent supplemental income by shooting one of these every weekend if you could find a steady stream of competitions.
I'm not sure about the footraces or bike tours ... I've never shot these, but I run 10Ks often and they almost always have a photography company on hand. That's not to say you can't set up your own shop there, but you might run into some legal problems a la exclusivity between the official photographer and the race (I believe this is being discussed right now in the wedding photos thread).
