Selling Images through Photo Stock Plus?

Hy there.

I just shot the Infineon Grand Prix this Weekend, and was wondering

on where I could submit my Images for sale. Has anyone tried

http://www.photostockplus.com ? I am the sole Copyright owner of the

Images, was told by the track photographer that I could do with the

Images as I please. Was able to shoot where the Media People shot,

and did not shoot for any Magazines or Newspapers. Any leads would

be greatly appreciated.

I don't know anything about Photo Stock Plus except that it's a royalty free company that

in all probability will offer you nickels and dimes for your photos.

As a photographer -- one of millions struggling to feed their children, pay their rent, etc.

-- you have a moral and professional obligation to avoid such cancerous deals, which take

big, bleeding chunks out of our market. If you're a pro, and you're really interested in

selling your work to additional clients, do the footwork and phonework yourself rather

than shooting holes in the bottom of the collective boat. It's as easy as approaching

magazines and newspapers and asking them if they're interested in what you've got.

Folks who do business with royalty free online companies are the equivalent of picket line

crossers -- in my grandfather's day, they were called scabs.

I'm sorry for the tone. But these kinds of deals hurt everyone except the companies, who

get rich on valuable but rabidly underpriced work.

Then how can I find Sports Magazines that would by Images of the Grand Prix. I did contact my local newpaper and was told that they had there own photographers shooting the race. I did do a search with google for sports magazines with no result. Any one please give me some pointers on where to turn to, what about stock agencies?

By the way im not a pro yet, included is one of my pix. Tell me what you think.

That's a nice shot, Carl. Listen man. Photojournalism isn't really about taking good

pictures and then placing them. It's about having what an editor needs, when he or she

needs it. That means either getting assigned to cover an event, or being there at the lucky

moment.

I'm not a sports shooter so I can't give you any advice about the magazine market. What I

will tell you is that pictures of an event, such as an auto race, are valuable until about sixty

seconds after the race, when newspapers, Web sites, and magazines are already thinking

about the NEXT race. It's maddening, I know, but that's the way it is.

Think about it for a second. I imagine that there were dozens of other shooters at the race.

Between photographers for the newspapers and wire news shooters (AP, Reuters, etc), all

of whom filed photos from the race via laptop, the papers and magazines pretty much

have what they want by the time you're downloading your images.

For example, I shot the MTV music awards here in Miami last week for an agency. We

shoot, file, shoot file, etc., and by the time we've finished, we've got a bank of like a zillion

photos of the event so the agency can sell them to the dailies, weeklies, monthlies, or

whatever.

If you're interested in working as a sports shooter, you might try to establish some kind of

relationship with the editors to whom you spoke at your local paper. Find out what kinds

of pictures they might be willing to buy from a freelancer. Make sure they have your name

and number and know that you're available for assignments. You might get nothing. On

the other hand, an editor might call you up and say, "Hey man, there's amateur boxing

night this weekend and our sports guy is sick. Can you do it?" It might be even suckier

than amateur boxing. Last week, for example, I shot pictures of Coke machines, and a few

days later, plates of chicken sandwiches. That's life.

Forgive my harsh words in the last post. My only interest is in seeing good photography

happen, and in pushing for better pay for shooters. I encourage you to keep pushing until

you start selling photos. It looks like you know what you're doing and that doing it makes

you happy.

John

Hello John.

<BR>

Your right everyone there at the media center had laptops, I just want to show my images and get the exposhure. I just dont know where to turn to, and if i should have an online porfolio. How about the photographers market place? This was my first time shooting fast moving race cars (IRL), and I had a great time doing it and I think it shows in the pictures that I took. My Grandfather took me as a kid to the Hokenheim Ring in Germany for the F1 race, and I loved it from then on. Of course Formula One cars are more powerfull than the IRL cars. Well im going to keep on pushing, till I get to the top.

<BR>

Thank's John for the advice, take care.

Ahhhhh, where to start? I wish there was a simple answer to this. If auto racing is your

passion, I suggest you focus on that. Here are a few ideas that come to mind.

I don't know what city you're in but check the phonebook for wire news services. Just look

under news. Get in touch with AFP, Reuters, AP, and anyone else who might be listed

there. Let someone know that you specialize in auto racing and are available for racing

assignments. Be prepared to show them a portfolio of images. In some cases, a few

pictures sent via e-mail will do the trick. In other cases, you'll need something more

substantial -- a book or whatever.

Something else you might do is find out what WRITERS in your area are covering auto

racing, particularly freelancers. Obviously, staff writers are going to get thier shots from

staff photographers. But freelancers often have no access to photographs. At the very

least, if they're nice, they can hook you up with their editors.

Another idea might be to seek out some kind of auto racing related story on your own --

something you can push later on. I don't know. I was at the horse track here a couple of

weeks ago and it struck me that like 90 percent of the guys handling the horses in the

paddock were Mexican. It wasn't that way a few years ago. That would make a fresh

"story." As for selling it, that's always the difficult part. But the main thing is to shoot

something new and interesting then try to push it.

Best of luck.

"It might be even suckier than amateur boxing."

Heeyyy! I was an amateur boxer. My team included some future professional world champs, including Bruce Curry and Gene Hatcher (Gene was one of only two boxers to knock me down - helluva left hook to the liver). At his amateur peak Bruce was the world's top five light welterweights, in a class that including Sugar Ray Leonard and Ronnie Shields (now one of the world's best trainers). As a pro Gene Hatcher put on wars with an Argentinian champ that rivaled the three Gatti-Ward bouts for raw excitement. As an amateur I once saw Ronnie Shields knock out a very good amateur with a single blow, the hardest punch I ever witnessed in an amateur bout. For those who don't follow boxing, a single punch knockout by a light welterweight in the amateurs, where they use big puffy gloves and wear headgear, is as uncommon as double digit scores in hockey and soccer. I knocked out most of the guys I fought and had no fear of Gene or Bruce, but Ronnie scared the hell out of me.

My hometown, Fort Worth, has produced several other world champs who were also great local amateurs, including Donald Curry (yup, brothers), Steve Cruz and Paulie Ayala.

Amateur boxing is to Fort Worth what high school football is to the rest of Texas (and Oklahoma). The Fort Worth Star-Telegram supports an amateur gym that rivals many pro gyms. The Will Rogers Colliseum hosts the regional and state Golden Gloves tournaments every year.

So be careful where you suck. Boxing is a religion here and Fort Worth is the temple.

I'd be proud to be an official photographer for amateur boxing here. The cool thing about still photography of amateur boxing is that you can make even the clumsiest beginner look good with the right choice of photos. And unlike team sports, where some kids never get off the bench, with amateur boxing you can provide every entrant with a photo of him (or her) in action. Even if he or she gets knocked out, you can always choose a photo taken earlier in the bout - altho' you have to be quick. I've seen some pretty hysterical matches between beginners in which they knocked each other out within the first 10 seconds.