Event Photography

Hello,

 

I would appreciate anyone that could contribute your experiences with event photography. My current business

model is shooting public events such as community celebrations, parades, youth sports, etc. Posting those photos

on my website and using as many free advertising opportunities as possible to get website traffic. So far, so

good! I have had a few sales. I have been advertising on craigslist, yahoo groups, internet community forums,

grocery store bulletin boards, contacting school band directors and administrators, coaches, etc.

 

Is there anyone else doing this type of event photography that could help me benefit from your experiences to

increase sales? My business is secondary self-employment so I do not have to make a fortune but I would like to

increase sales. Specifically I am looking for ideas for events to cover, advertising, prices, etc. You can view

my website for an example of events and prices and get a general idea of what I am attempting.

 

Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

Tim

 

www.timcoffeyphotography.com

Hi Tim,

 

It sounds like you have made a good start. Build on that.

 

First, I think you'd do well to start to specialize a bit. Narrow down the events you do to some specific types and do more of those. Choose events you enjoy and that have been decent for sales in the past. Eliminate those you found uninspiring and made few or no sales on.

 

Now, also consider that print sales are really just the tip of the iceberg here.

 

Start to figure out ways to leverage your work to produce additional sales potential. I shoot a lot of equestrian events. I make fine art prints from some of the best shots taken at those events, then mat, frame and sell them through a couple venues.I'm also building up a significant stock library of equestrian images, where ever possible complete with model and property releases so that the images can be sold for top dollar (no release is needed for fine art prints, but one is for any commercial/advertising usage of the image... which is where the money is).

 

I also need releases if I'm ever to sell any products made with the images: Things such as mouse pads, coffee mugs, greeting cards, etc.

At a typical event I might shoot 1500-2000 images. Of those, a little more than half are usually "keepers". By that I mean that these are quality "meat and potatoes" shots. Good images of people participating in the event. Of those, when the stars are properly aligned, perhaps 25 to 100 may have some real potential for stock usage. And, of those, perhaps 2 to 10 might make a salable, limited edition fine art print.

 

 

What's always bothered me is all the images that go unused. It's about making a living, sure. But even more than that I really just want to see my images get out there for people to see and enjoy, whether they be the participants in the events themselves or the whole wide world at large. I've had a few images published in magazines and on the Internet, but haven't gotten my first magazine cover yet! But, I know I will.

 

Three years into this, I'm starting to establish a reputation... hopefully a mostly positive one. A lot of people in the local equestrian community know me now. I get invited to events, rather than having to go seek them out.

 

I didn't set out to be an equestrian photographer... In fact I don't consider myself one except on those days when I'm wearing that particular hat. But, hey, I enjoy the people, the events and the horses... There's often a challenging situation I have to overcome, such as difficult lighting or tough camera angles, which keep me thinking, learning and growing as a photographer (after 30 years shooting experience). And I feel there's a lot market potential beyond simple print sales to the participants (which is not a big money maker, BTW, especially in the current economy).

 

I continue to look for ways to expand and build on what's been working. At the same time, hard as it is, I sometimes have to make a choice and say "no" to some opportunities. I currently have to decide between two non-equestrian events in early Oct., that are conflicting with each other (why do people wait until the last minute? I inquired about one of these back in March!). I'd enjoy shooting both, so am deciding based upon the potential images from one or the other will have beyond print sales alone.

 

It's a tough decision, but the larger event (150 participants) is making it difficult for me to get releases, while it would be pretty easy at the smaller one (25-30 participants). Further, the larger event is on US National Park ground, which adds an additional layer of complexity getting permissions and all. Both would have the potential for after-market image sales, but I'm leaning toward doing the smaller one simply because released images have so much more stock value than non-released (sometimes 10X as much... or more).

 

I'm not sure why you are advertising so publicly: Craigslist, bulletin boards, etc. I think event work is most easily found by networking, identifying event organizers and approaching them directly.

 

Where ever and whenever possible, also try to get exclusivity. Most events simply do not produce enough business for multiple, competing photographers. If you can be the "official" event photographer, that might mean unusual access and certainly gives you an extra edge in the eyes of the participants. This can be important because some of your key competition will be moms and dads with kit cameras.

 

Do sponsorships (a few free print giveaways also drive traffic to your site). Help out your event organizers with usage of your photos on their websites, in exchange for links to your web galleries.

 

Speaking of which, do online fulfillment, but also consider on site print sales at larger events that might support it. There are two types of buyers at many events: impulse buyers who purchase on site and others who want to wait and see the entire gallery online. The amazing thing is that the two types of buyers are largely exclusive to one another. What I mean by this is that if you don't offer on site sales, you completely lose a big percentage of those impulse buyers. Likewise, if you don't have easily found and accessible online galleries, perhaps only offering on site sales, you'll lose most of the other type of buyer. In either scenario it can mean a lot of sales you never recoup, if you aren't careful. (Note: Weekly youth sports events seem to be an exception to this... There most wait until the end of the season to select and buy. Finals or championship events are another matter, and on site sales may be very good.)

 

You mention youth sports so let's look a little closer at that. The "pros" in that area try to get a contract to do the "T&I" shots. Those are the Team and Individual portraits, usually sold as a package and taken at practices or elsewhere. Another aspect of youth sports are the action shots at weekly games. Some of the pros ignore those completely, or only go to and shoot a few games during the season. But, most will try to do any and all finals and championship games, with on site printing, because sales there can be very good.

 

Now, getting model releases for youth sports may be tricky, and might serve little purpose. Plus, you are dealing with minors and need to get parental signatures. And, most action shots have more than one player in them, meaning you'd need releases from all of them for the shot to have any significant commercial value, if there's even a market for it. I don't do this kind of shooting personally, so really don't know if there's a market for this type of image. But, I'm using this to illustrate the thinking and decision making processes you need to go through with types of events, to make choices about what to shoot and how you might be able to leverage more revenue out of the same work. (We each can only shoot, edit, organize and archive so many images, after all.)

 

Best of luck, hope this helps!

what a great and through reply.. You not only helped the OP, but you helped a bunch of people who read this as well. THANKS!

Alan,

 

Thank you for such a detailed and thoughtful reply. You make some great points and brought to my attention some things that I did not even consider. And, as the last poster commented I also thing that your reply will certainly be of assistance to others as well. Do you have a website where I could look at some of your equestrian work? That interests me.

 

Tim