Shooting for free

Ok, I've been toying with the idea of creating a separate website for pictures of youth sporting events around town. Mostly stuff that my family paticipates in or that we just like watching.

I'd like to make the best pictures available for download/printing but I don't really want the hassle of charging/printing/rele​ases/legalities etc. I don't want to do it as a business. So I thought I would do it for free.

This is partially for me for practice, fun, etc. And partially as a kind of a donated service for people that can't/don't want to pay for pics.

I don't think there are any other photographers that are trying to make a living at this and I wouldn't want to take their business. Although I wouldn't know if the "other guy with a nice camera" is in the biz or not.

Anyone see any problems? Does not charging for pictures get me out of any legal type hassle?

Thoughts?

Once you start doing it for free, it will be very difficult to start charging.
You may think that you'll only cover a couple of games but as your reputation grows more teams will want you to shoot their games. I started in Sept. and was at 1-2 games a week. I'm now at games 6 days a week (sometimes 2 on Saturday) and teams started contacting me in Feb about next year! I had only approached one school, I now shoot for teams at two schools and have been contacted by another. They all contacted me, I wasn't actively seeking other work. In fact, my marketing skills are terrible!

I admire that you want to help out those who cannot afford a decent shot of their kid. You could always start out charging a small amount the first year. I have had people comment that my prices are very affordable and I reply that I feel people shouldn't have to go into debt to get a nice print of their kid playing a sport. The truth is that my prices are in line with what others charge in the general area.

Now to you questions about legal hassles. I suggest you talk to an attorney but I can say that even though I charge, I don't have any hassles. I don't even have to collect sales tax. My lab (Exposure Manager) is out of state and each month they send me a check based on sales from the previous month. Technically the people are purchasing the prints form the lab.

Most of all, Have fun.