leewoolery
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Upload & Sell: On
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 Re: Youth Sports Photography Business Start Up | |
TX-Photog wrote:
Hello everyone!
I have been in photography for the last 34 years and have been a photojournalist and commercial photographer in my younger years. Currently photography has been a hobby and strictly for personal enjoyment for the last 20 years and my primary focus has been around wildlife and nature photography.
With that out of the way I’m considering doing some youth photography as a side business to provide high quality professional level work for those who wouldn’t be able to affordable obtain such images of their kids. To set the stage I have a very good corporate job so not looking to replace my income but wouldn’t mind a tax right off and a little profit for my efforts.
I live in the Dallas TX area so there is plenty of customer base and as many know high school football is a rather big thing here. I also have access to shoot for a college soccer team and some baseball to build up a modern portfolio to get me going. I’ve also shot some rodeos for fun and have had parents calling me asking if I’d come out and shoot their nationally ranked kids. So it appears as their is a need, I have the capability and equipment to deliver results and I think I’d have some fun along the way doing what I want when I want.
I’m curious as to how any of you are managing the business side. How do you charge, is it by image or event, how do you deliver images to clients, how do you market to gain clients? Are you hosting on your website, drop box etc? Are you affiliated with someone like GF Crew or on your own? If associated with someone like GF Crew how do you get paid?
I appreciate any feedback as how you are running your business and any issues to overcome etc.
I’m sure some are curious as to the gear but I have several Sony a1’s, Lenses: Sony 14GM, 24GM, 35GM, 50GM, 90 macro, 70-200GM MKII, 200-600, 400GM, 600GM, 1.4 & 2x tele, and Tamron 70-180. So yes the gear is covered :-).
I appreciate your feedback!
Well...I have owned my photo company for 18 years now and so much has changed over the years that the business is not the same as it was when I started.
In 2004, everybody wanted action photos and I photographed horse shows, pro and youth rodeos, baseball, soccer, softball, football...everything.
I would finish an all-day of youth football on a Saturday and the phone would be ringing with people wanting to know when game action would be up on the website that night.
We had onsite viewing and ordering with a nice trailer and business was rolling but things started to change around 2010 and sales rapidly and steadily fell off to where it was no longer profitable to rely on action sales...alone.
All of my photographic brethren saw this coming and moved onto marketing other forms of sports-related photography.
One developed a web sports magazine that makes a ton off of advertising, another does web design and youth sports photography, some just stuck with their newspaper jobs and I still do youth, high school, college and pro sports action photos with team and league photo contracts...and that is where the money is at today.
The problem then lies with how do you convince an AD or youth board to give you the contract instead of somebody already been there for many years?
And just starting out...you have no work history of providing the services necessary to these potential clients?
Lifetouch wants every youth sport and high school photo contract they can get their hands on these days because they know that is where the largest profits are. They will send out somebody to cover some action if yearbook advisor needs images as part of contract but that is it for game coverage.
Papers and online magazines pay little now for game action and parents just do not buy action photos like they once did to justify the time and money involved in photographing games, editing and uploading images to a website for viewing/purchasing as a standalone business.
A large high school photo contract with team photos, exclusive action coverage and access to booster clubs and parent groups is a good start to keep your name in front of your potential clients and increase your chances of action photo sales.
Several team photo contracts with youth sports organizations is also another way to market and sell action photos but having both is much better.
With team photos, nearly everybody buys T Ball to seniors in high school...makes no difference and I offer action coverage for all of my contracts and maybe 5 took me up on it.
The leagues and booster clubs pay for action collages so parents don't feel it necessary to buy their own.
This is the reality that all youth sports photography business owners wrestle with every year.
Just showing up with a pro mirrorless camera and a 400 f/2.8 to a local youth or high school sporting event with no marketing in place will end up with few if any sales and lots of wasted frames.
There is always the parent with a nice camera and lens that gives away free downloads from games and you can't compete with that. We talk about this all the time in our meetings and for most potential clients, it boils down to if it's free it's for me and image quality makes no difference.
Don't get me wrong, there are still clients who expect "quality" game-action photos but the percentage is so low, you couldn't rely on a steady stream of income.
Marketing action photos is best achieved with order forms passed out to schools or youth leagues or from event coordinators, youth sports boards or coaches and athletic directors sending out mass e-mails about your services.
And even with all of that exposure and marketing, individual action sales are a very small percentage of yearly income for all of my associates.
Team photos, banners, action collages and custom, specialty products with text and unique designs will set you apart from any competition and create enough income to justify the time.
It's not about images anymore.
I wish you well but I must be honest about the business climate you ask about. It can be done but so much harder to break into the business these days.
Some examples:
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