Noob question: Charge a "sitting fee" for doing team photos?

mattdan12

I've been approached by two Volleyball Clubs to do their team/individual portait photos.

One club my daughter plays with and I'll probably volunteer/trade my time and just make money off of what ever people order.

The other club I would actually be hired to do the shots and I'm pretty clue-less as to what I should charge just as a base rate - i.e. a sitting fee. Not sure now many teams at the moment, but I'm guessing somewhere between 10-14 teams, with at least 10 players per team.

For prints, etc, I've been "researching" what other local photographers have charged for similar team photos and will probably come up with pricing that is similar. Debating on having people order their packages through SmugMug rather than fulfill the orders personally.

It'll be my first time doing a large shoot like this so I'm a little nervous about getting it right.

johng

First, forget about having people self-fulfill using smugmug. You'll lose money big time. Stick to the tried-and-true method of having people do package selection & pay at the time of the shoot. You'll really want a second shooter - so one of you can do individuals and the other do the team shots. Doing it by yourself is difficult and leads to a lot of delays which people don't like. If you were shooting just one team not so bad - but shooting 10-14 teams? Nope. Memory mates are standard as are sports cards (which smugmug doesn't offer last I checked).

mattdan12

johng wrote: »

First, forget about having people self-fulfill using smugmug. You'll lose money big time. Stick to the tried-and-true method of having people do package selection & pay at the time of the shoot. You'll really want a second shooter - so one of you can do individuals and the other do the team shots. Doing it by yourself is difficult and leads to a lot of delays which people don't like. If you were shooting just one team not so bad - but shooting 10-14 teams? Nope. Memory mates are standard as are sports cards (which smugmug doesn't offer last I checked).

John,

Thanks for that information - I'll go with the local fulfillment - I'll just have to find a decent printer that is close by (Unless using Costco is OK... just seems wrong somehow, lol).

MDalby on this forum has already expressed interested in coming with to learn this stuff as well. So, if he's willing to shoot, I'll have a 2nd shooter.

jww

Well.. you could plop them into private galleries and order the prints yourself via smugmug if there's really not a decent printer around. Just remember to cover your shipping cost in your package prices. I wouldn't do Costco or Walmart, you're charging real money after all.

Rocketman766

Just a personal preference, but there are quite a few good places to have your prints/packages done that give great results for not much $$$. I use Millers for my prints. Shipping is free and really quick, I think its a 2-3 day turnaround time right now.

I would be surprised if they didn't ask for a percentage back, so I wouldn't ask for a sitting fee. Just my 2 cents.