How many photos do you post for sale?

[haslamphotography]

<p >I have a follow up question to the "Sports photos for sell" thread from Nicholas as I am in the same situation. After looking at some the referenced sites, it appears all the pictures taken at the event are posted. I have shot some events and posted all the pictures (a few hundred) and other times only picked out the top 50 or so to display on my website. Granted I have not sold through my website. My question is, do you post every picture or do you narrow it down to the top 50 or 100? I can see doing both or even putting the best 50 up front, then the rest. Do too many pictures become overwhelming to the buyers? Are you ever surprised by what sells? Your thoughts are appreciated.</p>

[pjmeade]

<p>At a typical polo tournament, I could take about 1800 shots in a day. So, I'll only put about 100-150 of those on a gallery with a note that there are more available on request.<br>

I've had people ask me what I have that features them and I'll generally send a selection of small, low resolution, watermarked images for them to see. Other times, I've had someone visit me and slowly go through all the images of their matches and buy loads.<br>

Am I urprised by what sells? Well, I tried shooting polo at slow shutter speeds and sold quite a few of those (and picked up lots of 3/3's here) to the players. I had thought they would be more "art".</p>

[Leroy_Photography]

<p>Ben, I post quite a few, but I'm not a professional trying to make a living. I shoot about 200-300 photos per game. I post about 100-150 per game because the students enjoy looking at themselves. They like looking at the series and seeing how a play unfolded. By the end of the season, approximately one-third of baseball parents (and maybe one-eighth of football parents) will purchase photos. The average number will be somewhere between 20-70. I make a better profit from baseball than I do football. Good luck.</p>

[all-star sports photograph]

<p>When I shot I may have several hundred shots of one game. I go through them and weed out the ones that went out of focus for what ever reason and others that simply didn't turn out for what ever reason, people moved in the way, another photographer using a flash when your not supposed to, that sort of thing. I will usually leave in as much as I can just because like Laura said "students enjoy looking at themselves". I have asked myself a number of times is it worth my time? And I have finally learned to look at it this way. I may look at a picture and not like it for what ever reason but someone else may love it.</p>

<p>Case in point. I was working with a friend shooting a HS football team for the season and then building a video. I would look at an image and really like it. While he would looked at it and not like it.</p>

<p>Everyone has a different taste in what they like. It may take you a little longer in post production depending on how much you do to the images. But the one image you were going to scrape and then decide to keep may catch a parents eye and they could end up with multiple copies purchased.</p>

<p>That's my $.2.</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>I've seen people buy pics that I would have deleted myslef, so you never can be too sure of what will/will not sell. Myself, I usually just post those that are fairly clear and free of blurr. I don't post the back of people's heads or anything that I'm not happy with. I've not had any complaints of 'too many' from anyone.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>I usually divide and conquer by event / game or something (time) - since during a swim weekend I tend to shoot between 2 and 3 thousand images.</p>

<p>As mentioned above, I've had images that I hated personally, but the parents loved. Images that I personally love, the parents could care less about. So, yes I leave them all up there...but I do make an effort to go through as I'm posting them and delete the blanks or out of focus ones.</p>

<p>As for compliants - the only one I've had in three years was that there were too many good shots of a particular kid, and how could they pick one or two.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[tf event photography]

<p>We shoot Youth Wrestling and will shoot 1500 to 2000 in an all day tournament. I have had parents tell me no backs, butts. or blurs. So I delete them all. Burn them to a CD. Always some parent will email and say a picture is missing of there son or daughter and they want it. I usually back up because of that. The worst we did was the State AAU two day tournament and took 20,000 photos, Deleted 10,000 and posted the rest. <br>

One other person said parents are getting digital cameras and getting fair photos so they don't spend the money to get good ones. You have to have a hook. Ours is the collage. We build 11 x 17 collages from the pictures they choose and print, frame and send them home that day. 88 in 4 days aren't bad. <br>

and Nathan is right Everyone likes something different.<br>

We even caught a parent taking pictures of our computer pictures with his cell phone to avoid buying pictures.<br>

And You will never elimanate camera's from the event. <br>

Bob</p>