The business end of soccer photography

jhefti

I need some help from the pros out there...I have been shooting soccer for several years now, mostly U15+ club teams, high school, and college. I have been doing this for free at my kids' events, their schools, and the local college (and my alma mater) that has one of the best women's teams in the country. I do this for free just because it's fun. I have a day job (which I really like) and am not really looking to make sports photography my main career.

That said, I have been asked by a number of teams and schools to shoot their games, and they are willing to pay for it. So far, I have declined by saying that I am too busy (which is mostly true), but am curious how others charge for shooting these events. My first inclination is to just charge a flat rate and let the customer have unlimited access to the originals--at least for the club teams and sub-collegiate schools. I know this might not be the most profitable way to proceed, but aside from shooting and editing, I really want no more involvement with the business side. (I run businesses during the day, so I want to keep this just a hobby, albeit perhaps a hobby that at least pays for itself.)

I was also asked by a local paper to shoot an exhibition game between a big European team and an MLS team, courtesy of a reporter-friend-fan who works at the paper. Any ideas how to charge for this? Part of me is just happy that I'll have a good spot to shoot from--press pass and all--and that is enough remuneration. Still, I want to at least appear professional, even if I am not.

Any thoughts are appreciated!!

MileHighAko

I can't comment on the local paper opportunity, but as far as shooting youth sports, I charge an event fee that covers my time to show up and edit the keepers. I post the keepers to an online gallery and allow the parents and others to purchase prints or digital downloads. I don't give unlimited access to the originals, although I have been known to give originals away to customers who have purchased a handful of prints.

mercphoto

jhefti wrote: »

That said, I have been asked by a number of teams and schools to shoot their games, and they are willing to pay for it. So far, I have declined by saying that I am too busy (which is mostly true),

If you are so busy that you are trying to decline the gig then the solution, in my mind, is to make sure you get enough money that it becomes worth it to you to MAKE the time to do these gigs. In other words, to NOT sell yourself short and sell the farm. Because otherwise you will start regretting all the work that you really don't have the time to be doing in the first place. Get a fee for simply showing up, taking pics and doing edits on keepers. This is analagous to a session fee with a portrait photographer. Everything else is an a la carte sale on top of that.

jhefti

Thanks for the suggestions! As an amateur being asked to act as a professional, I am struggling a bit with the transition.

Mercphoto: The fee structure you suggest makes sense, especially if I can offload the work of ordering and printing individual prints to Mpix. I can set this up on my Zenfolio account. What is the usual range of fees for a session? For individual prints?

I did manage to talk with a couple of professional sports photojournalists in the area, so I have some idea what to charge the newspaper.

mercphoto

Offloading the ordering, printing and shipping is a definite thing to do. Mpix I've heard great things about. You probably know about Smugmug. I'm an Exposure Manager man myself. As per fees, $50-100 to show up, shoot, edit, upload. Pricing for prints and files and such, do you have any local sports shooters that you can view their pricing?

jhefti

mercphoto wrote: »

Offloading the ordering, printing and shipping is a definite thing to do. Mpix I've heard great things about. You probably know about Smugmug. I'm an Exposure Manager man myself. As per fees, $50-100 to show up, shoot, edit, upload. Pricing for prints and files and such, do you have any local sports shooters that you can view their pricing?

Many thanks Merc! I will check out the local photographers to get a sense of what they charge. I appreciate your help!

GadgetRick

mercphoto wrote: »

If you are so busy that you are trying to decline the gig then the solution, in my mind, is to make sure you get enough money that it becomes worth it to you to MAKE the time to do these gigs. In other words, to NOT sell yourself short and sell the farm. Because otherwise you will start regretting all the work that you really don't have the time to be doing in the first place. Get a fee for simply showing up, taking pics and doing edits on keepers. This is analagous to a session fee with a portrait photographer. Everything else is an a la carte sale on top of that.

I agree. Also, if you don't charge enough to start, they'll always expect the cheaper prices. Do some research on what others (doing similar shooting) charge and adjust according to your area/skill level.