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Microstock Photography Forum - General => Off Topic => Topic started by: Pixart on July 25, 2007, 17:17

Title: Sports (Soccer) and Event Photography
Post by: Pixart on July 25, 2007, 17:17
Hi gang.   We seem to be a pretty diverse group, so I hope you don't mind if I post here in off-topic, and sorry it's so lengthy.  I'm wondering if anyone can share some tips with me, as this will be the biggest event I have done.  It is a week-long soccer tournament the end of August with approximitely 150 teams from 5 - 16 years of age.  This is a big deal around here, the municipality throws family days on the weekend, kids bouncers, tatoos, fireworks etc.

It sounds like the photographers didn't do much in past years.  They primarily want me to do stills for their sponsors, their website and all the winners on the final day of the tournament.   We have worked out a percentage I will pay the tournament for any additional work I get.

I had investigated action photography in the past and it seemed to me that it is a hit-or-miss thing.  If you make prints up, you risk not getting them back from the coach, or not enough interest to cover the cost of the prints.  Any one have experience?   

I could publish on a website, but the passion about these things dwindles as the days pass - and the thought of posting a few thousand photos does not excite me.  If you have positive experience with this, please share!

I'd really prefer to get advance bookings of some kind and am in the process of making up advertising inserts for 2000 families.  If any of you have done this sort of thing - or have been to a tournament and noticed what they are offering your kids - I'd love to hear about it!
Here's a couple things I can think of so far:

1.  Offering traditional team photo packages.  (A lot of teams missed their photo days due to rain this spring.)

2.  Taking pre-bookings to make individual posters.   But how much should I charge?  It costs me $20 to order a 16x20 print.  No I won't print at Costco or Walmart.   8x10s are only $2.50 - but that isn't big enough is it?

Ideally, if I could book 3 or 4 individual kids to shoot at one game the prices could be lower for those three.  How many kids can I concentrate on in an hour.  Is 4 about the limit? 

3.  My nephew's volleyball team paid a tournament photographer $150 for a disc full of action photos plus a team photo.  The team split the cost and made copies.  Does this sound like a reasonable price?  It sounds like a lot but consider it's about an hour and half of shooting, plus post processing, less comission... then there's taxes, do I include them, or add to the top?  And also the fact that I'd be giving away files.  If it was Toronto, I'd say $150 is a bargain, but this is a notoriously cheap province.

Would I give full 10mb files?

4.  They have not had a photo-booth in the past and the coordinator wondered if I might have one. I am just a one-person show and my husband is not remotely interested in learning how to hold a camera, or to work with any computer program other than Exel.  I've made loads of templates I could try to sell, magazine covers, wanted posters, motivational etc.  BUT, I would have to do strictly the booth on the big fair day. 

Would I need a dye-sub printer?  Or would this be a good excuse to buy that $700 Canon wide-bed photo printer I've been looking at?   No, I'm not rich - I'm definitely on the struggling side of artist so let me clarify that it was the 90's the last time I bought a printer, hopefully I'll make a good choice again - but do I need dye-sub for this?  There's a couple other events I would be able to do then, plus I make nursery schools wait for their Santa Clause photos... could be used there as well and perhaps I could get more Santa jobs.

Hopefully a few of you can offer me a few tidbits from your experience.  I really appreciate all you can offer.  (Apoligies that this is so long-winded).