Being this is not my profession... After taking these photos I have been asked if they give me a pass to get into the games could the parents hire me to take their kids and what would I charge?
My first response is yea sure I can use the extra money. My second thought is, I went to this 1st game to get a few photos of my friends son and daughter who is in cheer. I also went to have some fun capturing kids sports without being a creeper. He didn't do much, the other team was much better so I went where the action was.
There was nobody there to get photos ... I wasn't stepping on anyone's toes.
What could I charge?
I have no plans on going to every game.
My only thought is $100 per parent up front. I can't guarantee their child will perform at this age.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sure this has been asked a million times before...
Being this is not my profession... After taking these photos I have been asked if they give me a pass to get into the games could the parents hire me to take their kids and what would I charge?
My first response is yea sure I can use the extra money. My second thought is, I went to this 1st game to get a few photos of my friends son and daughter who is in cheer. I also went to have some fun capturing kids sports without being a creeper. He didn't do much, the other team was much better so I went where the action was.
There was nobody there to get photos ... I wasn't stepping on anyone's toes.
What could I charge?
I have no plans on going to every game.
My only thought is $100 per parent up front. I can't guarantee their child will perform at this age.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sure this has been asked a million times before...
Depends on the market around you. Assuming these shots are representative of your work (and not just 7 exceptions out of a thousand shots), you are qualified to charge as much as any full time pro in your area. You might google around for them to see if you can find some price lists.
I've done this for 5 years as a side job as the official 'tog for my town's Little League baseball/softball. At first I 'd at your idea of $100/kid, but then I thought why the heck not. You probably won't get many takers at that price, but you'll get some if you market yourself well, and then you can relax and concentrate on those kids. You should offer a money-back guarantee.
I can count on one to two hands how many kids' parents spend upwards of $100 each year, in a league of ~450 kids. My league wants me to be more inclusive, so I am cheaper. I sell print credits in advance for $20, $40, or $60, and the credit gets them $25, $50, or $75 worth of stuff in my gallery, which you are welcome to browse to see my prices. I only promise to shoot kids whose parents pre-paid. You would be wise to charge an up-front fee, selling on-spec is a dead business model.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Depends on the market around you. Assuming these shots are representative of your work (and not just 7 exceptions out of a thousand shots), you are qualified to charge as much as any full time pro in your area. You might google around for them to see if you can find some price lists.
I've done this for 5 years as a side job as the official 'tog for my town's Little League baseball/softball. At first I 'd at your idea of $100/kid, but then I thought why the heck not. You probably won't get many takers at that price, but you'll get some if you market yourself well, and then you can relax and concentrate on those kids. You should offer a money-back guarantee.
I can count on one to two hands how many kids' parents spend upwards of $100 each year, in a league of ~450 kids. My league wants me to be more inclusive, so I am cheaper. I sell print credits in advance for $20, $40, or $60, and the credit gets them $25, $50, or $75 worth of stuff in my gallery, which you are welcome to browse to see my prices. I only promise to shoot kids whose parents pre-paid. You would be wise to charge an up-front fee, selling on-spec is a dead business model.
Thanks for the reply.
The shots are a representative of a typical photo for me.
I wish you were in my market place. It would be fun to do as a business or side business.
For me it's an outlet. Some Saturdays I'd rather be on a 60+ mile bike ride chasing friends with my lungs hanging out of my mouth and others goofing off trying to get a professional quality photo.
I did check out your site very nice. I also like the photo credit idea not sure how you keep track of that though.
On another note do you use HDR for your real estate photos?
I've often wished I knew of another competent shooter in town to share the load. It's a ton of work, I'm retiring from that job now. Overall it was fun and it allowed me to buy a lot of very cool toys (5D3, 300/2.8, 70-200/2.8II, and more), but I should have quit before I burned out. Maybe if they hire a pro or an agency to do the T&I, I could make myself available to do action shots by appointment for a premium. That could throttle back the workload to an enjoyable level. If you think you could get some parents to bite at $100, by all means give it a whirl, I think that would be a pretty small number of customers and therefore a very enjoyable workload.
I keep track of the photo credits in paypal and email, and I use SmugMug's coupon system to issue them.
I do use in-camera HDR for my r/e shots. Makes it easy as pie. No flash or special lighting required.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I'm always interested to doing a better job. My equipment is getting old though as long as there is good light I'm good. Where does one go to get better? How does one grow?
Any advice would be helpful.
My experience has only come one click at a time and from reading about how to become a better sport photog and the occasional meeting with another who is in the process of mastering their craft...
I always go out of my way to encourage another or give pointers... Finding someone that would do the same ... Little tougher.
Comments
Will
________________________
www.willspix.smugmug.com
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Thanks Jack. That was my goal as well.
My first response is yea sure I can use the extra money. My second thought is, I went to this 1st game to get a few photos of my friends son and daughter who is in cheer. I also went to have some fun capturing kids sports without being a creeper. He didn't do much, the other team was much better so I went where the action was.
There was nobody there to get photos ... I wasn't stepping on anyone's toes.
What could I charge?
I have no plans on going to every game.
My only thought is $100 per parent up front. I can't guarantee their child will perform at this age.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm sure this has been asked a million times before...
Depends on the market around you. Assuming these shots are representative of your work (and not just 7 exceptions out of a thousand shots), you are qualified to charge as much as any full time pro in your area. You might google around for them to see if you can find some price lists.
I've done this for 5 years as a side job as the official 'tog for my town's Little League baseball/softball. At first I
I can count on one to two hands how many kids' parents spend upwards of $100 each year, in a league of ~450 kids. My league wants me to be more inclusive, so I am cheaper. I sell print credits in advance for $20, $40, or $60, and the credit gets them $25, $50, or $75 worth of stuff in my gallery, which you are welcome to browse to see my prices. I only promise to shoot kids whose parents pre-paid. You would be wise to charge an up-front fee, selling on-spec is a dead business model.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
The shots are a representative of a typical photo for me.
I wish you were in my market place. It would be fun to do as a business or side business.
For me it's an outlet. Some Saturdays I'd rather be on a 60+ mile bike ride chasing friends with my lungs hanging out of my mouth and others goofing off trying to get a professional quality photo.
I did check out your site very nice. I also like the photo credit idea not sure how you keep track of that though.
On another note do you use HDR for your real estate photos?
I keep track of the photo credits in paypal and email, and I use SmugMug's coupon system to issue them.
I do use in-camera HDR for my r/e shots. Makes it easy as pie. No flash or special lighting required.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Phil
"You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
Phil
I'm always interested to doing a better job. My equipment is getting old though as long as there is good light I'm good. Where does one go to get better? How does one grow?
Any advice would be helpful.
My experience has only come one click at a time and from reading about how to become a better sport photog and the occasional meeting with another who is in the process of mastering their craft...
I always go out of my way to encourage another or give pointers... Finding someone that would do the same ... Little tougher.