Funny Parents

This could be a poll where 90% of us answer 'all the time,' but .. HOW often does everyone (the non NCAA D1 people particularly) have parents come and say 'make sure you get lots of #10, that's my kid' requests. Then they never buy squat even when they know where to find and buy the photos from your card? I think I had 7 parents in 2 nights (last night/tonight) say the same thing!

Happens pretty much every time. Sometimes they buy, sometimes they don't.

Happened at the last softball game i covered. A parent with a DSLR(granted a nikon) came up to me and said to get a bunch of his daughter and that she was the star. I later found out that she was the star as she single homered in the 3rd, but thats not the point.
His daughter is a thoroughbread, but he didnt buy any pictures.

Never. Honestly. I've shot 1 season of football and 2 of basketball and haven't had one parent ask specifically to shoot their child. Maybe I just suck!

dave

snyderman wrote in post #9673463
Never. Honestly. I've shot 1 season of football and 2 of basketball and haven't had one parent ask specifically to shoot their child. Maybe I just suck!

dave

x2 I almost never get asked to get a specific player or a parent. and even If I did, I know that statistically, They most likely wouldnt buy anything.

It happens every now and then. Mostly it will be parents whose children attend a school outside of the coverage area of the paper I'm shooting for. I tell them that I follow the action and then hand them my card and tell them I usually have photos up in a day or two. I only specifically target certain players that a) are a part of the action and b) I've had several hundreds of dollars in sales from their parents. If they aren't are part of the action that night, I'm probably not going to be shooting them.

It happens a lot...about half the time they buy a lot. However, one time I was told that I got a $5000 order from the parent. So I do it just in case now.

eigga wrote in post #9674552
I got a $5000 order from the parent. So I do it just in case now.

Wow. What kind of event was this? I couldn't imagine a $5K spec order even if the kid was at the Olympics.

Its actually the opposite of that thought (diminishing of marginal utility I think is a good way to explain it). Parents with a kid in the olympis no doubt have hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures of their kid. Yes they might want a few as it is a special event but not a crazy amount. However take 4 year old in his/her first game, performance or dance recital and the parents tend to spend much more.

It has happened to me on several different occasions with several this past weekend. One lady asked for a team picture, but as it turned out, they got second place in their bracket and I took a team picture so she was happy. Time will tell if she orders or not. Why some folks buy and others don't is beyond me. It could be cost, or they already have many pics or MWAC has something they get for free.

Happens quite a bit.
But then sometimes they say they'll buy everything
I shoot of their kiddo and they do

eigga wrote in post #9676301
Its actually the opposite of that thought (diminishing of marginal utility I think is a good way to explain it). Parents with a kid in the olympis no doubt have hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures of their kid. Yes they might want a few as it is a special event but not a crazy amount. However take 4 year old in his/her first game, performance or dance recital and the parents tend to spend much more.

Yeah, I've learned that the younger the kid, the more that parents buy. I've also learned to follow the kids who's parents have placed $50-$100 orders from previous games. But $5000. Wow.

Did they order $50 posters of 100 different shots of their 4-year-old? Or a thousand prints of a single particular shot that they liked of their kid?

Either way, congrats. That's one heck of a sale. For a $5000 order I'd give them the camera that took the picture too.

I have had people ask me to take pictures of their kids and most of the time they buy. Sometimes at the end of the season or when they need pictures for something special. I never delete pictures that are in focus.
Seems like younger kids are a good sale and adults engaged in recreational sports sell well too.