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What are you guys making?
Dusty Sensiba
Registered Users Posts: 91 Big grins
Pro smugmuggers...
what kind of cash are you raking in on your pro smugmug accounts?
What kind of things are you shooting? (Events, weddings, t-ball?)
How do you make your buyers aware of the photos?
(Do you pass out cards, have event organizers tell the attendees,
or what?)
Thinking of starting a pro account to go shoot car shows, races, and other events I go to a lot, but as a student with a kid and no job I don't have a bunch of funds around to spend if it's not going to return on the investment.
What's your experience been?
what kind of cash are you raking in on your pro smugmug accounts?
What kind of things are you shooting? (Events, weddings, t-ball?)
How do you make your buyers aware of the photos?
(Do you pass out cards, have event organizers tell the attendees,
or what?)
Thinking of starting a pro account to go shoot car shows, races, and other events I go to a lot, but as a student with a kid and no job I don't have a bunch of funds around to spend if it's not going to return on the investment.
What's your experience been?
0
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Motocross was the main reason for my smug account. But I post all my family shots to share with family and friends. That alone makes it worth the price.
Yes. Flyers work, as does word of mouth. Wearing a t-shirt with your www on it gets it out there. I have a decal on the windshield of my Jeep with my www too.
No risk, no reward. A pro account isn't all the expensive with all things considered. The storage/backup of your files makes it worthy of the cost.
All good.
This is good to know and I think that is what was being asked. Thanks!
Canon EOS 20D
http://www.lazycreekphoto.com
Teddy Roosevelt Revised: "Walk softly and carry a big lens."
Won't mention $$ but have sold more than enough to cover renewing the membership. Over 300 sales and do not consider myself a pro- part time gig.
I shoot Family portraits, work events, car shows- I have not spent much money on advertising just have business cards and use word of mouth.
At $12.50 per month for unlimited space it is a great investment even if you don't sell anything. Backup for all your photos- not just your good ones. easy to use templates and a great lab for printing. On top of that it is a really way to share your photos with friends and family.
You don't have to be a pro to have a pro account- but if you have any hopes of making at least a little money- get it. You won't be disappointed.
Aaron Newman
Website:www.CapturingLightandEmotion.com
Facebook: Capturing Light and Emotion
As far as advertising, business cards to all the competitors, flyers up at the venue, flyers to prospect venues, favors done to event managers (photos for their flyers, etc etc) and lots of emails and phone calls setting things up. Good luck!
I've also done "charity" work for a local community theater company. I donate my time and effort, post pic, etc. In return, I get free advertising space in their program and they come to me for cast/crew prints. Just on the basis of the free advertising, I come out ahead on the deal. The print sales are nearly 100% profit.
My Photos
Thoughts on photographing a wedding, How to post a picture, AF Microadjustments?, Light Scoop
Equipment List - Check my profile
I just started my pro account this past January. I doing mostly the "t-ball" level type stuff--just at my daughter's field hockey and Lacrosse games--not baseball. For the previous three years, I was doing just about the same thing--however, I didn't know about smugmug and was just posting some pix to some webspace my ISP gives with the basic account. However, it was much more of a pain to post--and the space was real limited so I was only posting very small images (like 800x600...).
So for me, essentially, I'm only doing what I would be doing anyway, but I'm starting to get cash back instead of just incurring more costs (taking pix for free and handing out prints/CDs to all the other parents/etc...). I went past my annual account fee in sales pretty quickly (and what a great feeling when someone actually reaches in their pocket to buy one of your pictures!!:D It's like no compliment you've ever gotten before--even if it is only becuase their kid is in the shot.). I'm clearly no Ansel Adams--but I certainly take a better picture than the 95% of the parents at a game who bring no camera at all.
I've spent a bit of money on lenses and a new camera this year--but it was something I wanted to do more than I "needed" to do. As far as expenses outside of the annual smugmug fee--it has been very controllable so far.
My recommendation--at least it was what I told myself--was I'm going to try it, put a limit on how much I could afford to lose, and stop there. If it works out, I can keep going--which it has so far.
Hope you have fun with whatever you decide.
Will
________________________
www.willspix.smugmug.com
I have a customizable store front.
I get the backup as mentioned before.
I don't have to use my printer to make prints and deliver them so less wear and tear on my printer. Most of the stuff that comes out my printer now is for me!
I don't have to buy a larger format printer. For instance I have a friend that wants to do a 16 x 20 portrait of her and her sisters for her mother. No problem.
People that have bought my pictures have been very satisfied with the prints. And I've been sure to follow up to make sure they look good to me also. They do!
dak.smugmug.com
I have a gallery devoted to a HS softball team. The only cards I gave out were to the coaches. At first, i was not getting any hits. The momentum built however. The last game shot, I had players and parents who i had not given cards to compliment me on my site and I have had one of the players order.
I shot a boys tennis match for a local HS and gave out cards when i was asked. I shot the girls team a couple of weeks later of the same HS and i had a parent ask if i were the one running the website of the tennis pictures. I didn't give her a card but she knew about my website.
The point is, start with someone you know. Take their kids pictures as practice and even offer to sell prints to them at printing cost in another gallery. Make sure there are other kids pics from the team in another gallery that you set the price for. Word will get out. I am not making a living with smugmug, but it has paid for itself. All i wanted was an easy way to get prints to people who asked for them and it is a backup as well. If you are in a situation in which people start asking you for pictures, it will make your life easier as you don't have to make CD's or ship pics or deliver them. While I do like making sales, I think i like even more when I get asked if I am the website guy with the pictures from someone who I don't know.
If you are shooting and SELLING school sports photos of the kid athletes, I ASSUME you have permission from the school and the athletic director? If not, I would stop shooting IMMEDIATELY and freeze your ability to sell these photos until you have permission from the school. (not permission from the coaches or partents, from the school).
Once you start selling the photos your in a different ball game than taking photos of your kids and your firiends kid for keepsake.
Just a few words of wisdom so you dont burn yours or anyone elses bridges.
If you have permission....again from the school itself.......go to it and have fun!
Michael
I think it is safe to say that every photographer with a pro account is different. I work for a small newspaper and only rarely sold my photos simply because it was too much trouble to deal with.
I happened upon Smugmug a few weeks ago and started uploading my photos and told a few choice parents since about my site and upload old photos almost daily. We only have a single high school and I'm the only photographer for the only newspaper in the county.
I've basically made about $25 so far but that was from the first two people I told. Parents and grand parents eat up sports photos. Youth sports, as in not school related sports, will probably make you the easiest money.
However, with me I'm only interested in the sales to at least pay for the storage and having the benefit of the backup. I don't make my living through photo sales.
That being said, and I don't mean this in a derogatory way, you had better have some pretty good equipment at your disposal if you are questioning whether or not to risk the $150 for a pro account.
If you start looking for a decent Canon or Nikon DSLR, you'll see that the pro account is the easy part.
I definitely get your point...the $150 is cheap compared to photo equipment.
I'm going to pick up an account in a few weeks when I get some more pay in. I'm just looking for ways to get more use and money out of my gear.
As far as making a little more cash, I would say spent $20 on business cards with your Smug address and hit youth sports, especially baseball and soccer. Parents eat that stuff up and it's easy shots. Even if you don't get a kid knocking a homer or gloving a grounder, just them standing in the batter's box is good enough for most.
Soccer might even be more lucrative, but more difficult to single out players for decent shots. Soccer programs/leagues, in my experience, are very organized and word will spread super fast and soccer folks will hit your site. And parents will tell other parents that a great photo of their kid is online for purchase.