youth sports contract

[HammerCope]

Ive been asked why I have not and if I would bid to be the little league and softball photographer next year. What I dont know and they could not tell me is if they pay the photographer to come in to do this or really anything about how things are handled.
So my how is this done in your area. Do you give the association a cut of the sales ( I really dont like this idea), they pay you to come in plus what you sell or would you do it just off what you sell.
If I do bid this I would do it for T&I shots plus to come back a few time during the season to shoot action shots.

[Dennis_Hammer]

Mostly its all spec work you come in shoot everyone and team pics parents order pics there on site (unseen) and then you deliver the pics and a per centage to the league. This is the most common way of doing things that I know of. I have done it, its a pain the arse. Good Luck!

[dmmiller]

I just started doing it for baseball this year, and will be 2nd year for football.
Basically I'm doing all the T&I's and I'd stick around and get action shots of that
particular team and post them on zenfolio later. I'd also use them for Trading cards/mag covers if they are ordered.
Our league needs an 8x10 of
each team for the sponsor, so I donate that back to them, and also give them
a donation at the end of the year. (still working out kinks on this)
Football, I give them a cut of each packet that is sold, plus the pics needed
for plaques/sponsors. Sometimes it hurts watching that much go back out, But
i've really gained alot of PR from this, and have been asked to do portraits and
even weddings for future. (btw, not ready for weddings so i turned it down)

Basically, I do not get paid unless someone orders pictures. And you give a cut
back to the league for giving you the sole rights to do this.

[Tigershark]

I shoot leagues and some pay me per player and others it is always pre orders from parents, in those cases the percentage varies by league but all of them have a percentage. For those that pay me a fixed price per player i give them a percentage of sales on top of the fee they pay me over and above. this is pretty standard practice in T&I. If you supply prints back to coaches and/or plaques just deduct this amount from the percentage, i shoot one league that I just give them all sponsor plaques and coaches plaques and even though it doesn't equal the % I usually pay they are very happy with me so I don't have to do both. Establishing a good relationship with the league is a win win for both of you

[HammerCope]

Thats more of what I thought was spec work. I just dont get the giving them a percentage. Maybe giving them the sponser pic.
Why would you give them anything for asking them to doing the pictures? To me thats like giving my boss back a percentage of my paycheck for letting me come to work. It Im wrong or used the wrong comparison correct my thinking.

[wyofizz]

I'm doing Little League Action shots this year as a subcontractor (of sorts) for the T&I photog. LL combined the contract.
I'm shooting spec with no commission paid to the LL.
They were unhappy with the lack of games the previous photog shot. (Had T&I and action)
If you combine T&I with Action contract don't short change the action side as you might lose the T&I next year. Spec action shooting isn't very profitable but the people that like the pics can do you in if you don't perform.

Dave

[wyofizz]

HammerCope,
Many organizations consider the percentage as a concession fee just like a food vendor would have to pay etc. A photog would be no different and I agree if that's the way they do business with every vendor at their events. With the advent of so many DSLR's the competition has increased and they can take advantage of it.

Dave

[HammerCope]

Thanks everyone. Unless some one has a beter idea I think I will just bid it on spec then give them photos for their sponcers. The same as I do my rodeos.

[Mike R]

If you combine T&I with Action contract don't short change the action side as you might lose the T&I next year. Spec action shooting isn't very profitable but the people that like the pics can do you in if you don't perform.

Dave
I was brought in by a HS football team to do action shots, they had someone who was doing T&I already "for years" Well after my first season of attending, all games (home and away) they called me and gave me the T&I for the following year. They said that since I do the hard stuff, they wanted to give me the easy stuff too. I'm sure that if I didnt go to all games, I wouldnt have been given the T&I job. 68 kids, football and cheer. This past season, when fuel prices skyrocketed, they even agreed to pay me a surcharge to go to the away games.

[wyofizz]

Good example Mike.