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VladDracule
19th of May 2008 (Mon), 19:19
One of my soccer moms has asked me to do her sons baseball teams team and individual shots.

Lens wise i have the nifty fifty, 70-200 f/4L, and 28-135 kit, im guessing either the 50 for the 70-200 would be the way to go.

my Main concern is gonna be lighting and how to actually sell the prints.

The portraits will be done outdoors and one approach that ive seen is to use a diffuser to block out the natural sun light over the player therfor lighting is even with no shadows.

The other option is of course a flash, the problem is my 40d's max sync time is 1/200th which even at ISO 100 with aperture around 2 overexposes the photo. From what i understand your max sync speed doesnt change no matter what flash you use so is my best option just the diffuser method mentioned above?

Also how should i go about selling the prints, ive never attempted this kind of thing so im gonna let the parents all preview their kids pictures and then order prints from me. Im thinking i need to find someone with a laptop that i can borrow so they can do all their ordering on site through me. One main thing im concerned with is how do i know whos kid is who? if someone places an order how can i be 100% positive that im sending them photos of the right person?

For individuals what focus mode do you use? single shot? And where do you focus? When i did soccer portraits for my team from the waist up i kept my focus mode on ai servo and it seems like the focus was off on a pretty high percentage of them, or i would get their face in focus but their medals were oof.

Last thing is pricing, are their any guides on pricing for this type of thing? should i charge a sitting fee to the team or just prints? the Mom asked me if i wanted to do their shots because their club is too unorganized and their unable to even contact the photographer they were supposed to be contacting so its not really a favor per se.

Any help is greatly appreaciated!

(sorry admin if this should have been posted elsewhere)

KirkHMB
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 12:47
Try checking the business of.............. area. Lots of questions on this lately.

AdamLewis
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 13:24
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=23

Gatorboy
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 14:30
With T&I, you want them to bring their completed forms and money to picture day. Having them view and order on a laptop is just a disaster waiting to happen.

You may want to get your workflow down pat before taking on a job like this. Just because you get asked, doesn't mean you have to do the job.

The other option is of course a flash, the problem is my 40d's max sync time is 1/200th which even at ISO 100 with aperture around 2 overexposes the photo. From what i understand your max sync speed doesnt change no matter what flash you use so is my best option just the diffuser method mentioned above?

Just close the lens more -- nothing wrong with f/11. Actually the sync speed is 1/250 on a 40D.

AdamLewis
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 15:33
The other option is of course a flash, the problem is my 40d's max sync time is 1/200th which even at ISO 100 with aperture around 2 overexposes the photo. From what i understand your max sync speed doesnt change no matter what flash you use so is my best option just the diffuser method mentioned above?

Thats why you get a flash that allows High Speed Sync so that you can use fill-flash on bright days.

VladDracule
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 18:12
Thats why you get a flash that allows High Speed Sync so that you can use fill-flash on bright days.

Does the 430 EX allow this or just the 580?

pigtailpat
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 19:58
Does the 430 EX allow this or just the 580?

The 580 EX (ver. I or ver. II) has the high speed sync option. I'm not sure about the 430. One of the reasons I got the 580, was the high speed sync. Unfortunately, I got the 580 too early and got ver. 1, which won't work on a 40D, so if I ever upgrade my camera, I will have to upgrade the flash as well. Canon released the ver. II like 3-4 weeks after I got my 580 :oops:

dmwierz
20th of May 2008 (Tue), 20:59
Does the 430 EX allow this or just the 580?

Yes, the 430EX has high speed sync. Be advised it'll only cut in if you exceed the max sync speed of your camera (1/200s, I believe for your camera)., which if you think about it, makes sense.

VladDracule
23rd of May 2008 (Fri), 21:06
those threads are great and all but they really dont mention much of anything about pricing or my focus issues

scorpio_e
25th of May 2008 (Sun), 23:09
It's a BIG project. First of all you need an assistant. As you do each individual shot,your assistant will record their name. Organization is key. I tried this without an assisant and it is NOT easy. Forget about the sitting fee. As far as how much to charge, how much do you want to make? The shooting is the EASY part putting the packages together is a pain. Typically you will offer different packages:
Team picture and individual in a matte. Buttons-magents-mirrors- trading cards- different quanities.
You have to figure out- cost of the matte-cost of the prints and your mark up. I would keep it reasonable to get additional business but do not sell yourself short.
You will also have to design an order form.
Good luck !!!

scorpio_e
25th of May 2008 (Sun), 23:22
Here are a few helpful links

http://www.blackburnimages.com/bhsband_posters.aspx
http://www.groupphotographers.com/dirproducts/products_magazines.html
http://www.perfectiondistributing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PDI&Category_Code=MMASTF
http://www.hubphoto.com/tap-line/memory-mates-sports.htm

Good luck !!

Mike R
25th of May 2008 (Sun), 23:22
The 580 EX (ver. I or ver. II) has the high speed sync option. I'm not sure about the 430. One of the reasons I got the 580, was the high speed sync. Unfortunately, I got the 580 too early and got ver. 1, which won't work on a 40D, so if I ever upgrade my camera, I will have to upgrade the flash as well. Canon released the ver. II like 3-4 weeks after I got my 580 :oops:

I have the 580EX and all features work fine with a 40D.

PhotosGuy
26th of May 2008 (Mon), 11:48
how to break into the business? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=484875)

What is an average rate for HS, College and Pro Sports??? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=430295)

How to start selling ball game pictures to parents? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=377273)

Charging for Shooting Sports Pictures (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=420143)

You've got to be kidding me! (Re: Picture prices) (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=419653)

How to determine what to charge for taking team pictures? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=896881)

Youth sports photography "idea"? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=441736)

Baseball Shooting Tips and Example Pics (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=136949)

How to sell unsolicited photos to parents? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=474480)