Guess this is a multi part question(s) really. This year has been my first entry into sports photography and I am loving it. After speaking with the HS principal and AD, I was given permission to shoot some soccer late in the season which led to permission to shoot football as well. Needless to say, I was excited about having this opportunity and now I want to make the most of it. I am not a full time photog (nor intend to be unless some strange twist of events leads me there). That said, I wondered if it is acceptable that I only shoot some games since it's not feasible to be at all of them (particularly away games). I also wondered how to know when I should begin selling my work (I have used this year as a chance to do it gratis in exchange for the experience and learning opportunity). Anybody have thoughts on how to turn this thing up a notch?
One thought I had was to shoot games "by appointment". For things like little league and rec sports, the local photogs do the whole picture day thing which I have no interest in per se but no one does action work. I was thinking that I could arrange to shoot games upon request and work through the coaches and league (the league (baseball) is open to this). My thought would be to guarantee at least two shots of each player for any game I shoot and provide these to the coach on a cd(s) for a flat fee. The more parents on the team that want a copy, the cheaper/parent it becomes. This would give me a minimum amount /shoot so I wouldn't be left hoping someone goes to my site and buys. It would also be cheaper for the parents given that they get effectively unlimited copies of their son/daughter playing since it's on cd. They also get the rest of the team as a bonus. Does this sound like a good idea or insane?
I was trying to give you some work!
