What to charge for sporting event photography

reesesphotography · May 15, 2009

I've been shooting my kid's sporting events for quite some time and just recently this year have taken on "the photographer" role of my son's events and my daughter's. But, I am just shooting action and fun stuff... they actually hire a company to do the individual and team "posed" shots. You know, the ones where you pay like $40 for a package? Well... now I'm being asked to take on fall and spring this year and next.

Finally... my question is:
How do I go about charging for this? Why would I bother with making an order form, charging the parents, processing, then placing the order myself, then delivering the packages? Why not just charge a sitting fee, gather some basic info to know who paid, process, and send an email saying they're ready and available to order as many, any shape and size, merchandise, as you like? And viola, they have all the freedom and control in their hands... including letting grandma and grandpa worry about their own prints by simply sending them a link.

That seems so easy and everybody I spoken with seems relieved this is possible. Yet, I've never seen this method before... I still only see order forms and mailing.

Any ideas?:scratch

woody · May 15, 2009

I'm Doing it...
I'm doing exactly what you described and it works like a champ. I promote my site, push all the ordering and payment BS to the good folks at Smuggy and it's been great.
I did the team and player pictures for several winter sports teams. For each player photo, I added a custom border with the school logo on it and the players name and number. I put them in a password protected gallery and was done.
The down side is the number of people who order photos will not be as great as if they were in line with a checkbook at the shoot. They forget Etc..

Frog Lady · May 15, 2009

reesesphotography wrote:

Finally... my question is:
How do I go about charging for this? Why would I bother with making an order form, charging the parents, processing, then placing the order myself, then delivering the packages? Why not just charge a sitting fee, gather some basic info to know who paid, process, and send an email saying they're ready and available to order as many, any shape and size, merchandise, as you like? And viola, they have all the freedom and control in their hands... including letting grandma and grandpa worry about their own prints by simply sending them a link.

That seems so easy and everybody I spoken with seems relieved this is possible. Yet, I've never seen this method before... I still only see order forms and mailing.

because they won't order. You'll do all that work for what ever sitting fee you charge (and do at least charge that to get you something for your time and effort), but out of sight, out of mind. The parents will tell you they plan on ordering, but most won't get around to it.

just my 2 cents on the matter

C.

Erbeman · May 15, 2009

reesesphotography wrote:

I've been shooting my kid's sporting events for quite some time and just recently this year have taken on "the photographer" role of my son's events and my daughter's. But, I am just shooting action and fun stuff... they actually hire a company to do the individual and team "posed" shots. You know, the ones where you pay like $40 for a package? Well... now I'm being asked to take on fall and spring this year and next.

Finally... my question is:
How do I go about charging for this? Why would I bother with making an order form, charging the parents, processing, then placing the order myself, then delivering the packages? Why not just charge a sitting fee, gather some basic info to know who paid, process, and send an email saying they're ready and available to order as many, any shape and size, merchandise, as you like? And viola, they have all the freedom and control in their hands... including letting grandma and grandpa worry about their own prints by simply sending them a link.

That seems so easy and everybody I spoken with seems relieved this is possible. Yet, I've never seen this method before... I still only see order forms and mailing.

Any ideas?

I'm guessing you have a smugmug account. If so get a Pro Account and put all of the pics you take and drop them on your site then go through and set prices of each size then just tell the parents to go to your website and purchase whatever they want. No packages, ala cart. It's simple, and puts all of the work on smugmug and takes it off of you.

Erbeman · May 15, 2009

Frog Lady wrote:

because they won't order. You'll do all that work for what ever sitting fee you charge (and do at least charge that to get you something for your time and effort), but out of sight, out of mind. The parents will tell you they plan on ordering, but most won't get around to it.

just my 2 cents on the matter

C.

I believe you were asked to do if for the team. That means people obviously want pics or they wouldn't ask. Even if not all of the parents buy pics, big deal. You're not a professional trying to make a living from it. You will gain some experience from this, you will get some business for sure. It will get your name in front of people and will give you something to put in your portfolio for the future. Don't let trying to get money from every single parent influence how you go about doing the job asked of you. Just my two cents.

mercphoto · May 15, 2009

Frog Lady wrote:

because they won't order. You'll do all that work for what ever sitting fee you charge (and do at least charge that to get you something for your time and effort), but out of sight, out of mind. The parents will tell you they plan on ordering, but most won't get around to it.

just my 2 cents on the matter

C.

Exactly. Team and Individual photography is a bunch of work, a lot of headache, that most people do not realize (sounds like wedding photography!). If you do not get money up-front you are likely to not get much in sales period. Eberman should know this

How fast do your MX sales drop two days after a race? Four days after a race?

My 2 cents is the league is trying to fire their professional T&I photographer hoping you'll do it for peanuts, not realizing how much work it really is for that pro to do. Can I ask how much you charge for those action photos?

Erbeman · May 15, 2009

mercphoto wrote:

Exactly. Team and Individual photography is a bunch of work, a lot of headache, that most people do not realize (sounds like wedding photography!). If you do not get money up-front you are likely to not get much in sales period. Eberman should know this How fast do your MX sales drop two days after a race? Four days after a race?

My 2 cents is the league is trying to fire their professional T&I photographer hoping you'll do it for peanuts, not realizing how much work it really is for that pro to do. Can I ask how much you charge for those action photos?

I don't worry about how many pics I sell. I don't even push it. People know who I am and where to go to find my pics. If they buy them great. If they don't, I don't care. I'm not trying to make a living from it yet, I do make quite a bit without even trying. The experience is valuable to him. I would do it in a heartbeat and not ask for anything up front. I'm not a pushy guy though and I dislike pushy sales people. So, I will go out of my way to not purchase from someone who tries to hard.

Erbeman · May 15, 2009

Erbeman wrote:

I don't worry about how many pics I sell. I don't even push it. People know who I am and where to go to find my pics. If they buy them great. If they don't, I don't care. I'm not trying to make a living from it yet, I do make quite a bit without even trying. The experience is valuable to him. I would do it in a heartbeat and not ask for anything up front. I'm not a pushy guy though and I dislike pushy sales people. So, I will go out of my way to not purchase from someone who tries to hard.

Also, I'm still selling pics in the last two weeks from races that took place 4 months ago. I may not have got the sale immediately, but if your work is good enough, it will sell itself in my opinion without you having to push it on folks.

reesesphotography · May 15, 2009

Well... as it stands the previous photographer charged an average $40 a package for the league. There are 600 kids in the league. That is a nice chunk of change. Granted there are expenses that come out of that and all that jazz but still a nice payday. Hardly something I would discount and just expect people to purchase from their galleries... unless I charged $10 minimum for each picture. I do have a pro account and I use the sh

t out of it. I direct all of my business to my site in the way of prints but most of my clients have already paid a sitting fee. All except the sporting clients. I just up the charge on prints for my sporting clients/parents. Because I'm at every game anyway... shooting anyway... wouldn't expect to charge them sitting fees every time I show up.

Anyway, my thoughts were to meet this thing half way and merge the old with the new. Charge a minimum sitting fee of let's say $20 or so. Possibly less. This way, my time for the day of shooting is covered. Also, they won't want that money wasted so it can't fall under the cracks. Adjust pricing online accordingly and call it a day... or a few days.

Let the parents handle the rest... their way... their own time... with freedom to do whatever they wanted with their gallery.

Just my thoughts. This is hardly something for hobby nor is it a passion because it's repetitive photography... I'm not doing anything artsy fartsy like for a wedding so the goal here is a paycheck and attention to my other work for referral. I too don't have to push my work on people... all of my business is word of mouth, referral, and some advertising.

Erbeman · May 15, 2009

reesesphotography wrote:

Well... as it stands the previous photographer charged an average $40 a package for the league. There are 600 kids in the league. That is a nice chunk of change. Granted there are expenses that come out of that and all that jazz but still a nice payday. Hardly something I would discount and just expect people to purchase from their galleries... unless I charged $10 minimum for each picture. I do have a pro account and I use the sht out of it. I direct all of my business to my site in the way of prints but most of my clients have already paid a sitting fee. All except the sporting clients. I just up the charge on prints for my sporting clients/parents. Because I'm at every game anyway... shooting anyway... wouldn't expect to charge them sitting fees every time I show up.

Anyway, my thoughts were to meet this thing half way and merge the old with the new. Charge a minimum sitting fee of let's say $20 or so. Possibly less. This way, my time for the day of shooting is covered. Also, they won't want that money wasted so it can't fall under the cracks. Adjust pricing online accordingly and call it a day... or a few days.Let the parents handle the rest... their way... their own time... with freedom to do whatever they wanted with their gallery.

Just my thoughts. This is hardly something for hobby nor is it a passion because it's repetitive photography... I'm not doing anything artsy fartsy like for a wedding so the goal here is a paycheck and attention to my other work for referral. I too don't have to push my work on people... all of my business is word of mouth, referral, and some advertising.

Wow I didn't know you were talking about that amount of players!! That is going to take forever! I think you've made a pretty good decision about how to go about it now. Good luck.

attorneyjay · May 16, 2009

Erbeman wrote:

I don't worry about how many pics I sell. I don't even push it. People know who I am and where to go to find my pics. If they buy them great. If they don't, I don't care. I'm not trying to make a living from it yet, I do make quite a bit without even trying. The experience is valuable to him. I would do it in a heartbeat and not ask for anything up front.

My sentiments exactly! I like selling pics, but I don't want to get so involved in marketing that it becomes a chore. I started out doing it just for fun not ever thinking of selling my pics. Then some people asked about buying them so I went Smugmug PRO. But knowing that kids and parents get a lot of joy from seeing their pics posted is the biggest reward after the fun I get out of it! Here's an email I received from a fan that says it all:

Hello!
Yeah - it WAS an awesome game - I've seen my boys loose so many times, I was SO happy to be there to see them win - and like you, I almost didn't go as well. I already have lots of pictures of them, but of course not from THAT game - and some of yours were SO good, like you said - you really captured their happiness, that I just had to order some for them. I can't wait to get them in the mail and be able to give them to my boys in school - they will be so excited! That's why I ordered the fastest shipping - because I just wanna see their faces light up when they see them. Thanks for being there to take such wonderful pictures - I know you will bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.

Best Wishes,
Becky

So, sell your pics if you can, but don't lose the fun and satisfaction of just taking pictures.

Jay

mike_k · May 16, 2009

reesesphotography wrote:

Well... as it stands the previous photographer charged an average $40 a package for the league. There are 600 kids in the league. That is a nice chunk of change. Granted there are expenses that come out of that and all that jazz but still a nice payday. Hardly something I would discount and just expect people to purchase from their galleries... unless I charged $10 minimum for each picture. I do have a pro account and I use the sht out of it. I direct all of my business to my site in the way of prints but most of my clients have already paid a sitting fee. All except the sporting clients. I just up the charge on prints for my sporting clients/parents. Because I'm at every game anyway... shooting anyway... wouldn't expect to charge them sitting fees every time I show up.

Anyway, my thoughts were to meet this thing half way and merge the old with the new. Charge a minimum sitting fee of let's say $20 or so. Possibly less. This way, my time for the day of shooting is covered. Also, they won't want that money wasted so it can't fall under the cracks. Adjust pricing online accordingly and call it a day... or a few days.Let the parents handle the rest... their way... their own time... with freedom to do whatever they wanted with their gallery.

Just my thoughts. This is hardly something for hobby nor is it a passion because it's repetitive photography... I'm not doing anything artsy fartsy like for a wedding so the goal here is a paycheck and attention to my other work for referral. I too don't have to push my work on people... all of my business is word of mouth, referral, and some advertising.

From me the photographer: I agree with Frog Lady about charging up front if you want to maximize your sales. "Out of sight, out of mind" is so true. I'd also say $40 is pretty steep for a T&I package. Even if you do get parents to come to your site afterwards and place an order, there is a real good chance that they are not going to spend $40 on prints.

It's one mind set for a parent to pay $40 on site for a package - the photographer is right there, the other parents are writing checks - most parents will just suck it up and write the check. It's another mind set for the parent to go the web site afterwards and be asked to pay $10-$15 or whatever for an 8x10 - the "I could buy an 8x10 at Walgreens for $2.00" thoughts start creeping in (I know they are paying for a lot more than the actual print, but people think that way anyways). My guess is a majority of the people who do buy from the site will buy the minimum.

From me the parent: There's no way I'm paying someone $20 for a sitting fee when I'm still expected to go to a web site later on to purchase prints. If smugmug had coupons (still waiting....

) , I could see charging a sitting fee (but more like $10) and giving the parent a $10 coupon to apply towards their purchase. I think this would help get them to the web site afterwards and place an order. I still wouldn't expect most parents to purchase $40 worth of prints.

I pay for school portraits twice a year, I have 10 seasons of soccer team photos, 5 years of basketball and baseball/softball team photos - all times 2 kids - mostly sitting in a drawer. I'm happy to write a check on picture day (okay, not really happy about it, but I'll probably do it anyway), but as soon as you make it any more work on me than that, there's a good chance you're going to lose me.

If you go the online route, let us know how it goes. I'd guess if you took photos of 600 kids, you'd get less than 300 placing orders online - gut says more like 200. And I'd guess that a good portion of those orders will be for a single copy of your cheapest print.

Either way - good luck!

attorneyjay · May 16, 2009

This really just boils down to the approach you want to take to taking and selling sports photos. Mike K and others are correct in that if you want to maximize sales you must strike while the iron is hot. I saw one photographer once who had his laptop set up under a little tent to display the pics he or his associate just took as a way to encourage immediate orders. It works. Any way you can get the excited parents to promptly commit to purchases, the more sales you will make. Probably don't even need a sitting fee if you can get commitments from them at the game.

On the other hand, if you are like me, you do it for fun and satisfaction of having others appreciate (and maybe buy) your watermarked pictures online, then the marketing work wrings most of the fun out of it. I do steady sales, but, yes, some people say they are going to buy but never do because they have to order off the website. Others take a LONG time to do it - just this week I received a nice-sized order for last fall's football pictures.

There are ways to maximize but you just have to decide whether it's primarily a fun hobby where you make a few bucks to offset costs, or primarily a business where you must work hard and really hustle to make a profit (like any other business).

Jay

scraider · May 17, 2009

My first sports season
Set up smugmug to keep from having to send email in forty differing formats for Blackberry's etc. My experience is just as stated here by others, we had 65 players and I had thousands of promises to buy photos (In-game action shots). As they started to appear on my space and facebook, I went in and copyrighted them with X on photo and "right click" restricted them which really increased sales. It amazes me at how many sports photogs on SM leave the picture with no protection on them.

I have been told by other local shooters to collect any school event at time of photo or you will be forgotten. (kid's dances, etc).

Back to sports, after copyrights and right click protection , I went on to sell over $ 2500.00 through Smugmug with no hassles. You will have an amazing number of promise to purchaser ( more promises than purchasers) but to me the pro account is worth it and I am still selling football shots as the Seniors are starting to march toward graduation.

What to charge for sporting event photography

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