Official Photographer - questions and advice

[chuckvanhalen]

Hi. After a successful season that included doing the posed team and individual photos for minor hockey I have been asked to be the "official photographer" for a fairly prestigious tournament in April.

Requirements are somewhat flexible (ie, the organizer isn't totally sure what she needs) but at minimum requires shooting posed shots, awards presentations, winning teams and some action shooting through the weekend.

Parents will need to be able to order prints on site and preferably they'd be able to view proofs and buy prints from me on site. I know this is fairly common practice but I have no experience.

Has anyone done this and can you offer any advice on what I should use -- PC, laptop, flat panel TV? Printer types?

I'm assuming I'll need an assistant?

Also - if you've done this type of assignment, do you charge any type of flat rate or do you make all your money from the sale of prints?

Thanks very much for any help you can offer.

[bildeb0rg]

How many days does the tounament run over?
I recently did a swim gala over two consecutive Modays, with a presentation night the following Sunday.
I produced contact sheets and laptop slideshows, on two monitors, of the action for the Sunday, then pp'd the awards on site. This gave everyone the opportunity to view/order/pay for their prints.
You will need help taking the orders/cash, so take at least two people with you.
I then delivered the prints to the club at their next meeting, to make sure everyone was happy, and smooth a few wrinkles.
I didn't charge for my time on any night, relying on print sales, but explained that next time it would be on a time plus prints basis.

[cowpix]

My events are cattle and/or horses, but the same principal applies. I generally use laptops for customers to view proofs. Number of laptops depends on size of event. I have a 42" flat screen with a cd or dvd with shots of the event running to attract customers. I don't mess with printing on site, but with this kind of event perhaps it's worthwhile. Two assistants are good, make sure they know what they have to do and how to do it. They are a reflection on your company as much as your photography.