Photographing Golf Events at Private Country Club

[pyterps]

Stopped by the country club and spoke with the head pro about the possibility of photographing golf events (or what ever else takes place at the country club) that take place at the country club. The pro told me he has been thinking about this exact thing. Since I’m the only person to approach him about this, and he is thinking about it also, this may work out good for me.



What he would like is for me to develop a brochure for him to look at. Really want to do this well as it will make or break me.



Has anyone photographed golf outings/tournament that could give me ideas of what to include in the bulletin?



What I'm thinking is to charge an hourly rate (any ideas) and place the photos on the web for folks to order prints from. I would include in the brochure what my hourly rate is and where they can find the pictures.



He even asked if I could have the ability to print on site. Take the group pictures and have them ready after the golfers come in from the round. Don't mind this if I was guaranteed to sell what I just printed. Can’t afford to print 100 8x10’s and get nothing back. This could be part of a package each team could pay for prior to their round.



I’m sure it would also help me to have 5 or 10 golf photos to show him when we sit down and talk so he could see my work.



Any thoughts or ideas would really be helpful.



Dave

[charlesu]

Lots of event guys do this kind of work. Typically you would shoot each foursome as they head out. Your assistant edits that shot if needed and preps it for print (size, etc.) or you run an action in PS and print to a 5x7 (usually) dye sub. This prints out as you are shooting the next foursome. They pay you before you shoot them. When they com in, you have a nice table set up with their prints on display in a little folder. Bear in mind, you might be printing 4 prints per foursome and that will require some speed. The guys I know are all using fast dye subs. The look is generally more polished and looks more "professional" than having an Epson 2200 chugging away. And the Sony's an others can pump out 5x7's in about 60 seconds each. Most inkjet printers will struggle to keep up. Pricing? Around $10 but it depends. Maybe as much as $12. Some places or organizations will want you to pay them a fee per print for the right to be there. So, price accordingly.

[Red]

With the problems I'm having with my mouse at this moment (see the thread about Copyright images) I wouldn't have bothered replying to this if it wasn't so odd.
Just last night I was dreaming about photographing my boss on the golf course, and whether that could lead to some work. Weird. Thinking maybe I should really follow this up. Hmmm

[pyterps]

Charles

Thanks for the information. I agree with the printer but don't have the money to put into one. I think they are around $1000. I'm thinking about the Canon I9900, this might work as it prints pretty fast.

Red....give it a try. Will never hurt.

[NGrinerPhoto]

there is usually a banquet after the tournament. take the photos to a lab and get type-c prints made after you shoot everyone. ask the lab to make one 5x7 per person in the photo. after they are printed, take them to the banquet and place them on a table. you can get the cheep cardboard frames if you like. charge by print. i usually charge $5 per 5x7 and $100/hour.

if they have a shotgun start, an easy way to execute the photos is to get them out on the course. start at 18 and work your way back to one. that way, you won't miss anyone.

[CoolToolGuy]

If you have a budget to consider, go with the i960 printer instead of the i9900. You probably won't do too many prints bigger than 8 1/2 x 11, and the i960 is only $200. For the number of larger prints that you would get from this, you could take orders and ship them. That said, your best sales will come if you can deliver prints at the event.

A two-person team may be the ticket. You (the photographer) go out and take them, and your partner makes the prints at the clubhouse. Do nine holes and drop off the memory card at the clubhouse, then do the other nine. While you're out, your partner makes 5 x 7s of each group, ready for display when they come in. As mentioned, there is usually an 'awards' ceremony and some libation at the end. Take the orders when they come in, and have them ready by the time they leave.

It might be a stretch, but if you can figure out a way to offer special shots if someone gets a hole-in-one (jump in a cart and zip out to the hole) or other special 'events' you may be able to boost your sales even more. To do this, however, if it were me I would require a sale to make a special trip out to the hole.

For corporate or club events, a group shot of the whole group before they start could be negotiated with the group, with a special price to print one for every participant.

Well! that was a stream of consciousness. Maybe you can get some ideas from this.

Have Fun,

[pyterps]

Rick

I think you are right as most of them will not goto a web site the next day or so for prints. I think it would be fun to do this and hope I get the oppertunity.

[R1 Kid]

Thats motivating to me! I love the spirit of generating leads/work. It's exciting and makes me want to run right out and start doing something similar. Well I'd get wet right now because it's raining. Honestly, good luck with you quest. Sounds like you've got a great work plan lined up. If you can work out a deal with the pro then see if you can come while there is not something major happening and kind of get a feel on what it will take to tackle a major event.

Good luck and God bless, Jim