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Archive 2009 · MaxPreps

Ralph Thompson
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p.2 #1 · MaxPreps

I've shot for MaxPreps for going on 5 seasons. Yep, their requirements are tough, the PP is a pain in the A$$, but it gets you recognized in the community. The Youth market likes to see the same guy on Saturdays youth game that was on the high school sideline on Friday night.

I've never made good money on a MP gallery( but your galleries are up for years, I've had sales two years later). But MP money adds up quicker than zeros. It has gotten me in the door where I wouldn't have before.

I know some of the really big dogs have no use for them but....

Aug 26, 2009 at 04:09 PM

msauk
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p.2 #2 · MaxPreps

Well I am going on 3 years now shooting for them and I like them.

I still get sales from a few years ago on their site believe it or not. To me their PP requirements are not that tough especially if you use LR2.

Simply select the crop tool and put in 16x21.6 and when you export just enter in both boxes, 2166x2166 and you will get the proper file for maxpreps. Very easy! lol I used to use the photoshop way and that took forever! LR2 is the way to go.

As for using flash for sports or strobes, it is what it is, it is their rule and you either go by it and submit shots or you don't and don't submit shots.

It is their company and their rules.

I strobe all basketball games and I love the way they look. I could not imagine shooting without it lol Low number of shots, my PP time is cut in half or more and I don't have to cull through 400 shots.

Another great thing, Maxpreps has always paid on time! If I sell stuff I get that check every month on time every month.

Aug 26, 2009 at 04:59 PM

Zamboni Dan
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p.2 #3 · MaxPreps

There is a misconception, especially amongst folks here, who think MaxPreps is just a photo-selling website. It's not. It's the high school arm of CBS Sports. They cover games, playoffs, all-star events, compile rankings -- it is primarily editorial and stat-driven. I've written for the site for several years -- it's largely news stories, columns and video features on high school athletes. People seem to think they just sell photos.

In terms of photos, I think it's an excellent opportunity for both those looking to shoot and gain experience as well as for vets who want to make some extra cash.

And as I said before, regarding flash, it's a matter of consistency and quality in terms of noise, that's it. What you consider to look OK at ISO 3200 or 6400 may not be what they or parents want.

-d

Aug 26, 2009 at 05:38 PM

Fish On
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p.2 #4 · MaxPreps

+1 on what Steve Ickes wrote:

"The problem I have with complaining, whinning, bitching, or criticizing Maxpreps or other media outlets is that everything is clearly spelled out (at least with Maxpreps it is). They tell you what their requirements are and you either accept those or you don't. If you don't, then fine, don't bitch just move along. It's your choice to shoot for them or anyone else for that matter. "

I also shoot for Maxpreps and out here in CA and it is a very recognized brand in high school sports. No need for a lot of advertising here in CA as when they see me on the sidelines with the Maxpreps shirt, that is all the advertising that I need. They also allow you to link your own website to their website, so that is an additional benefit. If you do a google on "high school sports", Maxpreps is at the top of the list or close to it. I've talked to the people at Maxpreps and last year, they were getting a million hits a day on their webpage.

I am also still getting sales from galleries that I posted 2+ years ago.

Aug 26, 2009 at 05:41 PM

gman1339
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p.2 #5 · MaxPreps

I fail to see how there is any misconception on what it is. It's pretty obvious when you go to the site. They pretty much smack you in the face with videos, rankings, and leaderboards on the front page.

This is a photography website. I thinks that's why people here only discuss the photography aspects.

Aug 26, 2009 at 06:51 PM

Steve Ickes
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p.2 #6 · MaxPreps

gman1339: We get it. You don't like Maxpreps. Great. So why bother to continue to respond in this thread?

I think the point being made is that Maxpreps is far from a fly-by-night high school preps photo web site. They are a well established company which has steadily grown their market presence in the 3 years I've shot for them. They not only provide those stats on the Maxpreps web site but often help supply stats for media outlets in local markets. Obviously you fail to see how those partnerships and increased market presence benefit photographers. Fortunately for me and a few other here we don't. All the content unrelated to their photos is what really drives the traffic to the web site.

Aug 26, 2009 at 09:33 PM

Tom D
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p.2 #7 · MaxPreps

Zamboni Dan wrote:
There is a misconception, especially amongst folks here, who think MaxPreps is just a photo-selling website. It's not. It's the high school arm of CBS Sports. They cover games, playoffs, all-star events, compile rankings -- it is primarily editorial and stat-driven. I've written for the site for several years -- it's largely news stories, columns and video features on high school athletes. People seem to think they just sell photos.

In terms of photos, I think it's an excellent opportunity for both those looking to shoot and gain experience as well as for vets who want to make some...Show more →

Dan's on the money here-- and actually, the photo aspect of Maxpreps really doesn't register with most parents around here (So Calif). For them (and that includes me), the site is most important as a giant repository of stats of all the area prep athletes. In an instant, and providing a team is current with reporting their players' numbers, you can see just how everyone is stacking up. The leaderboards is actually a killer little tool. And it's common knowledge that college coaches (D1's included) visit the site to stay current with their prospects' performances. All in all, a pretty cool service at no charge...

Aug 27, 2009 at 08:08 AM

gman1339
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p.2 #8 · MaxPreps

Aug 27, 2009 at 09:09 AM

WmPat
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p.2 #9 · MaxPreps

I shoot in a region where MaxPreps has minimal presence. You never see anyone shooting on a sideline wearing their shirt, they don't have stats for any team within the 3 states I work in, and no editorial content about anything here. I see one or two galleries per season of area teams, mostly when we play in another part of the country. Apparently we are the exact opposite of the southern California area.

I have been watching the growth of MaxPreps for several years with the idea that perhaps I could use them as another (profitable) outlet. I think that many photographers in my area would like to work with MaxPreps but my attempts to open relations with them so far have met with little more than automatic replys to my e-mails.

I have seen several threads, both here and at other sports photography websites, regarding shooting for MaxPreps. There are always some voices that say MP is a pretty good deal. There is, however, very little info available about how much a photog can expect to earn from shooting what MaxPreps wants and posting galleries on their website. And when you do find a nugget about your potential earnings it always seems to be less than generous. I was disappointed that they didn't expand more rapidly when they made the deal with CBS Sports. Most of the photogs I talk to about MP seem to think that their forays into editorial content are more for the purpose of making a credible claim to access than for serious journalism.

I don't think that the requirements to shoot with flash & strobes are unreasonable, but they do mean an additional investment of time in learning the techniques involved, and in equipment.

I will continue to watch the progress of MaxPreps, I'm sure they will eventually get to my part of the country. But my fear is that when they do, and when I have satisfied all their requirements to post galleries, I will feel the the return does not justify the investment. I hope I'm wrong but with the current economic situation, and with the trends in professional sports photography, it may be that I am trying to swim upstream.

Aug 27, 2009 at 09:20 AM

Fish On
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p.2 #10 · MaxPreps

WmPat wrote:

"There is, however, very little info available about how much a photog can expect to earn from shooting what MaxPreps wants and posting galleries on their website. And when you do find a nugget about your potential earnings it always seems to be less than generous."

Here is a brief info from the Maxpreps website. More info can be found by clicking on the "Maxpreps Photographers Agreement" found at the bottom of the page.

You get to keep 80% of profits from all prints sold. IMO, the 20% they keep for having a server for the galleries, billing, printing, shipping, and customer service is worth the hassle.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/photo_join.mxp

Aug 27, 2009 at 11:32 PM

timgangloff
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p.2 #11 · MaxPreps

I've never sold anything for maxpreps, but am curious about how they set prices and what net really means to the photographer. I gleaned this from their website. And for the record, I am not anti-MP.

"Standard Royalty Compensation. Upon the sale and delivery of photographic prints and/or digital files to consumers, Member shall earn a royalty of eighty (80) percent of the net proceeds.

Net proceeds are defined as the total sale price (not including shipping and handling charges or sales tax, if applicable) of a product sold, minus the cost of production, order processing and marketing. Generally, the production, processing and marketing expense represent approximately ten (10) percent of the sale price."

Aug 28, 2009 at 08:17 AM

indyjones
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p.2 #12 · MaxPreps

Most of the photogs I talk to about MP seem to think that their forays into editorial content are more for the purpose of making a credible claim to access than for serious journalism.

Huh?

Aug 28, 2009 at 08:53 AM

clarence3
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p.2 #13 · MaxPreps

timgangloff wrote:
curious about how they set prices and what net really means to the photographer. I gleaned this from their website.

"Standard Royalty Compensation. Upon the sale and delivery of photographic prints and/or digital files to consumers, Member shall earn a royalty of eighty (80) percent of the net proceeds.

Net proceeds are defined as the total sale price (not including shipping and handling charges or sales tax, if applicable) of a product sold, minus the cost of production, order processing and marketing. Generally, the production, processing and marketing expense represent approximately ten (10) percent of the sale price."

Tim, I read the same info. My interpretation... MP sells a 4x6 for $7.99... subtract 10% for production/processing/marketing...

$7.99 - 10% = $7.19

Then subtract 20% for their share of the net.

$7.19 - 20% = $5.75

So the photographer ends up with $5.75 for each photo that is sold.

Aug 28, 2009 at 09:01 AM

Steve Ickes
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p.2 #14 · MaxPreps

indyjones wrote:
Huh?

I second that "Huh?"

Are you saying that MP hides behind the veil of editorial content so that they might gain access for their photographers? Have you actually looked at the web site? It is full of insightful and detailed editorial content. The sale of images is definitely secondary. In many cases MP will post images clearly marked "Not for Resale" because that particular event may already have an agreement with an official photographer that prohibits the sale of images for anything other than editorial use. So while the MP photographer does have access to said event, MP does not usurp the other photographer's agreement to sell images. I know that's hard to believe especially since undermining existing agreements by other photographers seems to happen all the time these days.

Aug 28, 2009 at 09:33 AM

WmPat
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p.2 #15 · MaxPreps

Fish On wrote:
Here is a brief info from the Maxpreps website. More info can be found by clicking on the "Maxpreps Photographers Agreement" found at the bottom of the page.

You get to keep 80% of profits from all prints sold. IMO, the 20% they keep for having a server for the galleries, billing, printing, shipping, and customer service is worth the hassle.

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/photo_join.mxp

Thanks for the reply Fish On. I have read just about everything on their website regarding the terms, most of it more than once. That info doesn't give me any clue as to how much I could earn by posting galleries or for shooting assignments for them.

Aug 28, 2009 at 10:44 PM

WmPat
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p.2 #16 · MaxPreps

Steve Ickes wrote:
Are you saying that MP hides behind the veil of editorial content so that they might gain access for their photographers? Have you actually looked at the web site? It is full of insightful and detailed editorial content. The sale of images is definitely secondary. In many cases MP will post images clearly marked "Not for Resale" because that particular event may already have an agreement with an official photographer that prohibits the sale of images for anything other than editorial use. So while the MP photographer does have access to said event, MP does not usurp the other...Show more →

Yes I have looked at the MaxPreps website, in some depth over several years. My impression is that MP started as a photo sales site on the west coast and is trying to grow into a national one. They have branched out into what they call editorial content and therefore can stake a claim to access anywhere. What I see on their website reminds me more of promotion than it does journalism. However, I have not dug into what they do for southern California, am not familiar with the stats they post or the leaderboards for that region. In my area MP has not bothered to correct misspellings in school names even after repeated e-mails from some photogs and parents of players. Last year they listed an area team high in their national rankings that wasn't even ranked in it's home state. That became a sort of standing joke on the sidelines every friday night.

I am not trying to disagree with what you say about MP. But I would also ask that you pay equal respect to the honest impressions I am telling you about from people in another part of the country which is not as well served by MP.

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:04 PM

Steve Ickes
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p.2 #17 · MaxPreps

I will agree that there are many typos and inconsistencies with some of the information. For instance, I never rely on MP for the game schedules, I usually just go directly to each school's web site. However, as I understand it the majority of information is submitted by the coaches, staff, or someone who volunteers to upload information. Therefore, I would assume mistakes should be corrected by those individuals. That's merely speculation on my part as I really have no working knowledge of that part of the process.

While I certainly respect your difference of opinion as I do anyone's I also think that many people have the wrong impression of MP in general. I still stand by my statement that of all the prep sports web sites they seem to be the most comprehensive and well run. There is a group here that tried to launch the same type of concept but they wanted to grow from the bottom up. Meaning, start with one local region and then slowly expand out. In their case, they had absolutely no standards with respect to photos. As a result it appears that everything is uploaded including OOF shots. So essentially parents have to wade through 500 photos in some cases just to find one or two of their son/daughter. And many times the photographers would submit a 10-15 shot sequence of one run or play which is just ridiculous in my viewpoint.

I appreciate the standards that MP has sent and have no problems adhering to those in the name of consistency and clarity.

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:44 PM

Patrick Lanius
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p.2 #18 · MaxPreps

I am a MP shooter although I was accepted in December and didn�t submit too much material through the spring season earlier this year. I plan to be more active this year.

My impression is that MP is driven mostly by a desire for content. Their content includes high quality photography and excellent editorial and reportage content. I believe they want the content mostly to drive traffic for ads - not photo sales.

To keep the quality of the content high, they screen shooters then review and accept only acceptable shots. Once a shooter gets a bit of experience in their system, they relax their supervision a bit and rely more on the shooter. Here in Denver, they use the former prep sports editor for the Rocky Mountain News for much of their reportage and editorial content - high quality stuff there too.

Overall, I think they are a good outfit. All of us photogs are just freelance contractors who provide content. It�s a symbiotic relationship that works well for both parties IMO. They pass 80% of the revenue from photo sales to their photographers. And the photog keeps the photo copyright. I think it�s quite reasonable for MP to keep the other 20% for their part in this. And you can post a link to your personal photography site in your online MP profile.

As a photog, you can push your MP work as hard as you want - or not at all. It�s up to you. The more content you post, the more likely you are to get some sales and perhaps other opportunities.

MP may have started out as a photo sales site in CA, but after they were purchased by CBS Sports, they morphed into the bonifide prep sports news outlet they are now. If MP seems a bit unprofessional in a certain area, I�ll bet it�s because they have not yet made significant inroads there and don�t yet have quality people in that area. In such an area, there might actually be an opportunity for you.

Aug 28, 2009 at 11:58 PM

jaybean
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p.2 #19 · MaxPreps

I shot for them for a while but the return wasn't worth the time investment. They require everything you upload be print ready or else they reject it. They require that you use flash or they reject it. If there's even a glimmer of flash reflection in the player's eyes, they reject it. If the white balance it even a tad off, they reject it. If there's a hint of blur, they reject it. If there's any noise at all, they reject it. If it's above ISO 800 they reject it. etc. etc. After getting through all of the above, I found I was lucky if I sold more than one or two photos from each game I shot. The return wasn't worth the amount of time that had to be invested compared to other outlets.

I doubt anyone shooting for them is even earning minimum wage, based on the time spent shooting and preparing every single photo to be acceptable and print ready. If they would accept proofs then it would be a completely different story, but they don't

Nov 05, 2009 at 02:59 PM

Carl Auer
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p.2 #20 · MaxPreps

I have been shooting for MaxPreps for, jeeze, 4 years now. The recruited me, mainly because I am in Alaska and a SportsShooter member. I can answer some of the questions brought up here.

First of all, MaxPreps started out as a independent company in California and grew from there. They were slowly infiltrating other states and had some pretty strict rules on photos. One of the rules now gone was, you can post images for sale on your own website, but only 14 days after they are posted on MaxPreps. That has changed. You can now post your images for sale on your personal site at the same time. If you shoot anything ambient for them, it is fine up to ISO 400. If you have to shoot at a higher ISO, then they require you to use strobes or flashes to keep the ISO at 400 or lower. They do this because they hold themselves at a higher standard. Yes, I have shot at ISO 1600 on an original 1D and printed at 16x20 and it looked just fine with a little noise reduction, but if there is any noise at all, they usually reject the images. They want to product the highest possible quality images for various reasons. One is that they sell prints to parents (not for all events) and while it might look great on screen, it may not look as good in print, so the lower the ISO the better. Another reason is they are a media outlet. They have had ties with USA Today in the past, and currently have an agreement with Sports Illustrated. So, if SI or another media entity asks for a image of a specific player, they want to send them the best possible image because you never know how big it will be, or what the use will be. So better to be safe than sorry. Since CBS acquired MaxPreps, it has not really changed much, except that I do see them offering more media use of images. At least for Alaska, my images are on the state pages with schedules, rankings and stats. I have had recruiters call me asking for me to cover games through MaxPreps so college coaches could take a look, and I know that a couple kids from the high school got calls from colleges about them because of MaxPreps.

MaxPreps could really be looked at as a Photo sales site, a photo media outlet, a college recruiter site, and a high school sports news site. The states that have had their high school sports association sign contracts with MaxPreps is a great thing. I feel it is better for the kids to have sports photographers taking the action shots for them rather than Lifetouch. (Lifetouch has the contract up here for high school sports, so when it comes to state championships, I shoot for MaxPreps, but for editorial only, whether it be on MaxPreps, SI.com or CBSSports websites).

Can you make a living shooting for Maxpreps? Not unless you are a employee. But when I shoot for the school I cover, and also take shots of the opponent, the bulk of my sales and how I make my living comes from my personal site, but for each game I shoot, I may get some sales through MaxPreps from the opposing teams and to me it is just extra money.

Nov 05, 2009 at 04:06 PM

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