Sport Photography Online Service

[UrbanScribe]

I've begun taking photographs for differant sporting events around town mainly for youth sports such as soccer, baseball, and football. Parents love to have some great shots of their kids playing and are always willing to pay for prints.

Here's what I want to do:
I'm really a web designer/developer (http://www.urbanscribe.com) and I plan to expand my service to where a parent would be given a username and password at the game if they chose to have me take pictures focused on their child. Then, I would upload these images into a set-up (which I'm planning on being a php/mysql driven database) that will pull the specific photos into that person's account. Then they are able to select which images they'd like printed, they'll select the size of the prints, and the number of prints, and then i'll use secure check outs for them to purchase them.

I'm asking if anyone has done this in the past, or is doing it now. I'd like to see some examples of set-ups for a site like this, and also the best process of going about doing it.

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks.

[Dans_D60]

I have been pretty happy with PhotoReflect as they do all the work and take a small part of the revenue margins. http://www.photoreflect.com You can select the fulfillment service and set your own pricing.

Nonetheless, make absolutely certain you only sell or promote children’s images [under 18] directly to family members or at least get a legal release from the parents. Even in so called public venues, making revenue from children’s pictures is risky no matter how agreeable it may seem at the time.

Your idea appears like a fun project. But with our crazy litigious and opportunistic culture, better safe than … you know the rest..

Dan
http://www.pettusphoto.com

[IndyJeff]

A friend of mine and I were talking about doing something along the same lines except we would have a laptop and printer and when the game was over parents could come up and see images and get a print right then and there while the emotional desire for the print is at it's highest. Make a contact sheet from each game and let em pick out the print they want.
A 12 volt converter and you could do it right out of the back of a van or if you work with the league you might beable to set up a tent next to the concession stand and use their electrical hook up.