The Over/Under - notes on Sports Spec Shooting

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Comments

  • mercphotomercphoto Registered Users Posts: 4,550 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2016
    Whatever you do, don't offer too many choices. You can create choice paralysis in your customer. Then they spend all their time worrying about which choice they made rather than just making a choice. Its a real thing and well worth avoiding.
    Bill Jurasz - Mercury Photography - Cedar Park, TX
    A former sports shooter
    Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
    My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
  • johngjohng Registered Users Posts: 1,658 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2016
    My advice: same price whether it's the whole team or one child. The majority of your time is travel/on site. PP should be fairly small. Spending 3 hours of total time for $40 doesn't make sense to me. If someone is that gung-ho about photos of their kid they will pay the $150. This also easily lends itself to jus t2 parents "going in" on the package for you to shoot their two kids. Again, I try to bring everything back to an hourly salary. $15 an hour isn't worth me leaving the house.
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2016
    johng wrote: »
    My advice: same price whether it's the whole team or one child. The majority of your time is travel/on site. PP should be fairly small. Spending 3 hours of total time for $40 doesn't make sense to me. If someone is that gung-ho about photos of their kid they will pay the $150. This also easily lends itself to jus t2 parents "going in" on the package for you to shoot their two kids. Again, I try to bring everything back to an hourly salary. $15 an hour isn't worth me leaving the house.

    You've convinced me. Done!
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • WirenWiren Registered Users Posts: 741 Major grins
    edited July 12, 2016
    The problem I see with this model is that if a team paid for shots and little suzy Q picked her nose the whole game and stood there with mitt under armpit and never swang the bat and looked bored at bat anyhow, how are you going to be able to offer decent shots of all kids on the team... and you know it will happen... how do you handle those parents who think Suzy is a star when everybody else in the known universe knows otherwise..... you can't refund her portrion..... ne_nau.gif

    I'd like to offer only online sales, but not offering something tangible at the impulse moment is a wasted effort as nobody is going to make the time shooting worth it... I had maybe $200 in online sales... take away costs and SM commision, it was more like $150... so that model doesn't jive.... headscratch.gif

    If I did T/I i'd almost be constrained into action... I know i'd make almost as much or more than this year... so there's that, but will the thought of pre-paid action make sense.....??

    I am thinking that with the envelopes, you mark package #1 with the Memory Mate, portrait(s), wallets & Pre-Paid action with a large note on the envelope that if you do not pre-pay for action, you will have to take the online offerings as available, no prints will be sold on site.....

    Make package #1 like a $49.95 value..... give them a coupon for a print credit of $30 for action photo's and the team/indiv shots delivered.... package #2 for $69.95 with a $50 print credit for action and THEN offer package #3 for just the T/I for $19.95..... and maybe two other packages of different mixes of products.......??

    That may be worth it, then you concentrate on those children whose parents pre-paid, and grab whatever field basics of the rest when you can of the others when shooting those pre-paid players......

    that may make it worthwhile..... then offer the league no more than $3.50 per sale...., at 300 girls (usually a tad more), that gives them the $1000 they usually like to have.....

    I could see that giving more than 5k..... :D
    Lee Wiren
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited July 13, 2016
    The Over/Under - notes on Sports Spec Shooting
    Packages turn me right the hell off both as a photographer and as a customer, so, I'll avoid that conversation. I think pre-paid online sales where you just sell a credit for some amount for whatever they want in your online gallery are easier for everyone involved, for T&I anyway. IMO and YMMV of course.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • mercphotomercphoto Registered Users Posts: 4,550 Major grins
    edited July 13, 2016
    "The problem I see with this model is that if a team paid for shots and little suzy Q picked her nose the whole game and stood there with mitt under armpit and never swang the bat and looked bored at bat anyhow, how are you going to be able to offer decent shots of all kids on the team... and you know it will happen... how do you handle those parents who think Suzy is a star when everybody else in the known universe knows otherwise..... you can't refund her portrion....."

    Not sure how to handle that. I never did sports like this, I did racing stuff. If you are on the track you are always doing something, and I can make most people look fast even if they aren't. Hmmmm.....
    Bill Jurasz - Mercury Photography - Cedar Park, TX
    A former sports shooter
    Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
    My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited July 13, 2016
    mercphoto wrote: »
    "The problem I see with this model is that if a team paid for shots and little suzy Q picked her nose the whole game and stood there with mitt under armpit and never swang the bat and looked bored at bat anyhow, how are you going to be able to offer decent shots of all kids on the team... and you know it will happen... how do you handle those parents who think Suzy is a star when everybody else in the known universe knows otherwise..... you can't refund her portrion....."

    Not sure how to handle that. I never did sports like this, I did racing stuff. If you are on the track you are always doing something, and I can make most people look fast even if they aren't. Hmmmm.....

    You try to get a flattering pic, but bottom line, it's not your problem. In my experience, parents know if their kid isn't into the sport or isn't very athletic, and their expectations are reasonable. And these kids are the minority. The totally inept kids are a tiny minority. I only had 1 parent in 5 years complain about this. And anyway it's easy to get a nice shot of pretty much any kid standing at home plate with the bat, ready to hit. It's also pretty easy to get a nice shot of them throwing the ball during warm ups before the game or between innings. If you really cannot get a single good shot of a kid or if a parent complains, you can handle them case by case. It's not hard.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • castnerrmcastnerrm Registered Users Posts: 24 Big grins
    edited July 15, 2016
    OK Ill share what I do. (By the way Jack - Love that 300mm !!)

    I have been shooting HS Varsity sports for one school for the last 5 years. September football with be the start of my 6th. I set a price for the season that includes a year end highlight video and a ‘Yearbook’ of just football. I shoot each game (home and away) and post my pics here on SmugMug. People can then buy the pics(very fair prices) if they wish. Its working out very well. I really enjoy HS sports and i consider being on the sidelines a privilege. I enjoy shooting the game and sidelines as well as a few bonding dinners here and there. The Families are extremely pleased as are the players. I started to use my website URL as my watermark and my hits when thru the roof - proof that copyright means noting to people now a days. I have had a few parents ask why I charge for the season and then charge again for the pics - my response is that they pay me for my time and expertise to take the pics so they can relax and enjoy watching their sons/daughters play. The pics are then available if they want any memories of the games.
    So, I started with just football but that turned into Lacrosse in the spring then that following fall I did football, then basketball, then Lacrosse and now I am doing Football, Lacrosse(a few girls games now as well), Boys Basketball, Baseball(select home games) and Hockey(select games). I am always called for Senior night photos and have come to respect the parents who have boys/girls in multiple sports that I interact with for 6-9 months out of the year.
    My second year of Lacrosse I talked to the team moms about shooting video of every game(as they were not happy with the current videographer) and have been doing Lacrosse video of every game as well.(additional video shooter)
    So all that has turned into Sweet 16’s, Prom photos, Birthday pics, Family pics, and Highlight Videos for Lacrosse and Football. Also, some parents ran the youth football league so I do team/individual photos for that now as well(just order forms) along with soccer. Im working on getting youth lacrosse as well. I also do some sports for additional schools now with additional shooters.
    It has been a great experience and I very much value the relationship I have formed with so many families and the team/school overall.
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