Getting started, questions. (Underrage subjects)

jsedlak

Since I quit my job I have been at a lost as to what I want to do with my free time before college starts back up. I had the thought of getting involved in my old high school's sports, shooting photos for them and maybe getting parents to buy prints.

With that comes questions of getting started... my major concern is I do not want to break any laws by hosting photos of underrage students (<18 years old). Surely none of the photos will be of "naughty" content but I do not wish to step on any toes or break laws.

Will I need to declare the profits as income? Do I need to start a business?

Anything else I should know about starting selling prints...?

wmas1960

I will leave most of the business questions to someone more knowlegable. My thought though is that you, especially if you are looking to do this transitionally till school starts back up, will probably not make that much to be too concerned over the issue of formally starting a business. You should still declare your income on your taxes though. Keep track of all your income from photo sales. Unless it goes like wildfire, you may not make enough to have to worry about itemizing and taking your deductions though. I think you will just declare it all as extra income or something but consult an accountant to make sure you do it right and get any deductions you are entitled to. I do keep track of all my equipment purchases, materials, expenses, tolls and gas to go to distant games and so on. Even though I may not need the info for my tax situation, I do keep track of it all so, if for nothing else, I know where I stand on it all. I would say start at the level of a hobby and pan out from that if it works out.

I shoot Sports Video for a local high school who pays me to tape games for the coaches. They pay me on the payroll and deduct taxes and all so I have never had to deal with that end of it. I have the ability to sell some of those tapes to parents and players, conditional on the coaches approval which I would declare as extra income but it turns out to not be that much of what I make. The tapes are actually shot for the coaching staffs to evaluate their players performance but some parents, occasionally, take interests in them so they can send material to colleges and universities for recruitment purposes.

Most athletes, when they sign up for a sport, sign a waiver, or their parents do, that includes a release for photo and video. That allows the photography or video of events, practices, etc, in which they are participating. They release the rights to the school and people authorized or assigned, hired etc., by the school to record or photograph events. Therefore, I would start by making sure you have permission from the school to shoot your pictures. Especially since you describe wanting to shoot for sale to players and parents, ("Commercial Use"). Contact the Athletic Directors office for information. If a parent should contact you to tape or photograph their child, that is another opportunity and you may not need to go through the school for that. But, then, you are limiting to one client to foot the entire bill. When I tape for parents, as opposed to coaches, I tend to suggest that they get a group of parents that are interested in splitting the fees. I charge around $100 for a game (2hrs simple setup of one camcorder and batteries...) but will gladly give them 4 or 5 discs for that cost. That way, I get my full worth up front and guaranteed and one parent doesn't get stuck with the whole bill. They can take the extra discs and sell or give them to other parents to split or recoup the cost.

One thing that I have learned from shooting at the HS level is get paid up front for the minimum that your time and effort is worth. Work out a package deal as I mention above or a set of photos if shooting still etc. Then, anything else is icing on the cake and you don't get stiffed. Parents are notorious for hiring someone, then, when their kid doesn't get played or they loose the game, they dissappear and I have been taken a few times. 2 hours of time along with about $20 out of pocket for materials and blank DV tapes of a game that nobody is interested in. Also, when the first copies get out there or are posted on the net, they will copy them or trade them among themselves and bypass the photographer. I have heard the stories of parents having pictures on their desks at work, of their kid making a key goal in a hockey game with the words PROOF watermarked over the face.

Don't get me wrong, this can work out. I know of a few people that make some serious money off of it . However, I would think it is more of something for a sideline extra income thing and haven't seen much evidence of it being enough to support one full time. The one person that I know that does make his sole income off of it, puts over 100 hours a week into going to games, making copies, editing games for cable and announcing them..... While he makes a living off of it, he is probably making about $5 an hour in the end and has no time for anything else in his life.

Myself, I make spurts of good income when a team is in season. I tape Lacrosse in the spring and with 9 to almost 15 games including playoffs etc., make almost a couple grand in a month and a half. Then, June July and August are 0 income months. Soccer and Football start in August and I can make another $500 or so in September and October. I shoot a Basketball tournement in November and can make about $500 in a week. This is all, putting little amonts of time in it here and there. I could do more if I agressively pursued it but with all the other stuff that I have going on, like I said, it is a nice supplemental income, keeping it at 2 or 3 games a week.

johng

jsedlak wrote:

Since I quit my job I have been at a lost as to what I want to do with my free time before college starts back up. I had the thought of getting involved in my old high school's sports, shooting photos for them and maybe getting parents to buy prints.

With that comes questions of getting started... my major concern is I do not want to break any laws by hosting photos of underrage students (<18 years old). Surely none of the photos will be of "naughty" content but I do not wish to step on any toes or break laws.

Will I need to declare the profits as income? Do I need to start a business?

Anything else I should know about starting selling prints...?

In general, you're probably not breaking any laws by posting the photos. The key is having permission to shoot at the event (yes it may be public property but avoid trouble - get permission from Athletic Director).

The official answer to declaring is - yes - you need to declare the income.

Do you need to start a business? Technically, no. But, realize that without proper insurance you are not covered. Some kid runs into you and falls on your camera and it breaks his rib he could technically sue you. Without proper liability insurance you're in trouble. Because you're doing work for profit you should probably have liability insurance.

As already mentioned, sports sales of this nature can be very difficult. The biggest obstacle is marketing. Getting the word out to prospective clients is the thoughest part - and reminding them. It's hugely beneficial if you have the school or boosters on your side, sending out emails and notifying parents/athletes. If left to your own devices, it can take time and a lot of effort to drum up business. And, of course, it all depends on your specific market. I've found HS sports to be extremely fickle. Some sports I make good money on and others I don't. It just depends on the group of parents invvolved and how obsessed they are with their children. For instance this fall, I'm making far more $$ off a local volleyball team than from football. Go figure <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/headscratch.gif&quot; border="0" alt="" >