TRACK DAYS

Got a request to shoot a track day at the local track. What kind of fee would be reasonable to charge for this??

Who are you shooting the track day for?
How long are you being asked to shoot? What is the expected final product?
Are there opportunities for either you or the client to benefit from selling additional images directly to the participants?

All of these items need to be known before you can put together a quote.

^ ^ What Jacob said.
And in the future, a good question to ask right at the beginning is, "What's your budget?"
I usually followed that with, "What will you be using the images for?" ; )

Yeah kinda need more details on it... Are you shooting for the driver's to buy from you.... Or for the organizer to get all images...

They are looking to pay me a fee to take photo's for a full day at the track plus any photo sales I make. They want their customers to be able to purchase photo's of their exotic cars on the track. Another reason for their customers to sign up for a track day.

figure out how many hours you will be on site shooting and how much you want to make per hour, it won't be as high as portrait or wedding shooter types...then come up with a pricing strategy for customer orders.

You may want to read through this thread: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=928498

In general, the best way to sell images to the participants is to sell on-site. That requires a substantial amount of effort and manpower. Once you (and the participants) leave the track, the amount of sales you'll get will drop substantially.

If this is a one-time situation, then buying a printer and a ton of supplies doesn't make a lot of sense and will likely be a net loss to you. But if this is a long term opportunity, then getting started now with a business approach that nets the most income for you is a good idea.

Just pick up a Canon Selphy and sell the DieSub prints right there. Instant Dry and very water resistant. It's wifi too. Printer + 100 prints is around $100. People go crazy for those little prints. The printer will pay for itself in 1 night. Then you will have a nice little printer for home.

Hi

Can give you from the otherside, as I take part in a number of trackdays. When there is a photographer there for the day, they usually have some way of showing images between sessions. Also, we have the option to buy JPGs on CD or USB stick there at the event. Most also have their own website where we can go and purchase, but prices are usually cheaper on the day. Typically I've paid 50 Euro for all pics of me on USB stick. That's usually between 12 and 25 pics.

Caveat: This is for bike track days, and we are all vain buggers

Chris

I did a lot of this, but the mag I was shooting for usually paid me...

Keep in mind, if it's anything like what I used to do, it can get to be a long day out there...

Also, make sure you have all your safety gear, some food and plenty to drink and move around to cover all the angles...

I used to take a fold up chair too...much better than wet grass...

I did this kind of work for a little more than 3 years for the local clubs around me...it was a lot of work on site, and even more work once I got home with several thousand images to sort, edit and distribute...I was a one man shop, and did not sell at the track, I had no way of doing that...but I did ok, and it helped get through a rough period in the building industry...you have to be willing to dedicate a fair amount of time to it..

Thanks for all the advise, will take it all into consideration

If you are getting an organizer to pay you to shoot you are doing better than most in the area. I have been shooting down at The Ridge Motorsports Park in WA State for several years and non of the organizers are willing to pay photographers. And that goes for both car and bike track days. The thing that I have found, car guys buy a lot fewer pictures than the bike guys do. My sales are probably double for motorcycle track days than auto track days.

Like I said, if you can get the track day organizer to pay you to shoot, then you are in a better place than many. Good luck.