Team and Individual youth sports - what sells best?

[bevw]

<p>I'm researching branching out to photograph high school T and I. Part of my sell to the school is the fundraising aspect of giving a percentage of revenue back to the school sports programs.<br>

I would appreciate advice as to what kinds of photo products sell best.<br>

1)Are magnets, trading cards, etc boring and overdone <br>

2)are templates such as Graphic Authority overused<br>

3) Any new creative approaches/products I should try?</p>

<p>Many thanks in advance..</p>

[nathan_meador]

<p>From my limited experience, parents tend to buy individual shots more than group shots. I've had some buy magnets and buttons, even a mouse pad....so can't say they are a bad idea. I don't use templates, but do make custom photo collage on request, which sell pretty well.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>Beverley -</p>

<p>Schools are generally tough to break into in terms of photography for Team and Individual. Some have their own photographers on site (students) who do the yearbook photos,etc...<br>

Others have contracts with companies such as LifeTouch which provide them the opportunity (exclusivity) to do the Team / Individual photos as well as the general student photos.</p>

<p>A better bet is the local sports leagues teams / clubs - they don't have exclusive / long term deals and are willing to work with independant photographers.</p>

<p>Individual / Combo / collages are big...haven't sold any of the speciality items - other than buttons.</p>

<p>Other thing is a lot of teams are now having a photo night - where the parents can bring cameras and take team photos. They look at it is one less expense for the parents.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[bevw]

<p>David and Nathan, thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights. I appreciate your taking the time to help. David, I think your suggestion to avoid the schools may have saved me alot of time.</p>

[daverhaas]

<p>You're welcome Beverley -</p>

<p>I'd still call a few schools just to find out what they have in place - focus on the smaller / private ones as they may be less likely to have long term agreements in place.</p>

<p>A few other things<br>

- you need to be at least 2 seasons ahead. I live in Minnesota and the baseball teams already had summer 2009 photo deals in place by October 2008.<br>

- be prepared for rejection - but keep in mind that league boards tend to change every couple of years. Kids grow out of the league and the parents move on. So a "No" now may become a yes later.<br>

- be prepared to answer how you will handle 100-900+ kids in 1 - 8 hours. The firms that specialize in T/I photos troll ad sites (CL) regularly looking for "Photographers" that they train and pay $10.00 per hour. Looking at your site - you're definitely in a different league then they are!</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<p> </p>

[marie_diaz1]

<p>Thank you Carl! We are moving away from T&I photography and focusing on producing/selling digital backgrounds just for the professional T&I photographer. The time is right. With digital equipment becoming so cheap there's been a rising number of 'weekend' photographers trying to compete with the pros. The PROFESSIONAL T&I photographer needs another level of product to separate their images from the amateurs. We feel that these digital backgrounds are an answer.<br>

Here are some more:<br>

<em>Click to view larger:</em><br>

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoFwtPmbI/AAAAAAAACWY/Iii9-CPjBcA/s1600/L-BRETT-4-SHKWV.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoFwtPmbI/AAAAAAAACWY/Iii9-CPjBcA/s1600/L-BRETT-4-SHKWV.jpg" alt="" width="164" height="206" /> </a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoLI_xvPI/AAAAAAAACWg/JCr1wunmKso/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ULTRA.jpg"> <img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoLI_xvPI/AAAAAAAACWg/JCr1wunmKso/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ULTRA.jpg" alt="" width="165" height="204" /> </a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFn1fdNJQI/AAAAAAAACWI/lcIS3RLg3Zc/s1600/L-BRETT-4-CHLNGR.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFn1fdNJQI/AAAAAAAACWI/lcIS3RLg3Zc/s1600/L-BRETT-4-CHLNGR.jpg" alt="" width="168" height="208" /> </a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoLI_xvPI/AAAAAAAACWg/JCr1wunmKso/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ULTRA.jpg"> </a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFn_dUCjJI/AAAAAAAACWQ/1pdqa1wVXOs/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ELITE.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFn_dUCjJI/AAAAAAAACWQ/1pdqa1wVXOs/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ELITE.jpg" alt="" width="160" height="199" /> </a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/ScFoLI_xvPI/AAAAAAAACWg/JCr1wunmKso/s1600/L-BRETT-4-ULTRA.jpg"></a><br>

<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SYi2GKr5eEI/AAAAAAAAABE/Xh58OIXJTkw/s1600/Earth-Horiz.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SYi2GKr5eEI/AAAAAAAAABE/Xh58OIXJTkw/s1600/Earth-Horiz.jpg" alt="" width="289" height="192" /> </a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH1-L3Ii_I/AAAAAAAAABk/8MHFsHCQZaQ/s1600/Earth-Vertical4.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH1-L3Ii_I/AAAAAAAAABk/8MHFsHCQZaQ/s1600/Earth-Vertical4.jpg" alt="" width="157" height="194" /> </a><br>

<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH1-XVUxfI/AAAAAAAAABs/k7ucFP5ogmE/s1600/Earth-Vertical5.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH1-XVUxfI/AAAAAAAAABs/k7ucFP5ogmE/s1600/Earth-Vertical5.jpg" alt="" width="157" height="194" /> </a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH_r9zNMlI/AAAAAAAAAC0/6IQdHRppTrs/s1600/Earth6.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH_r9zNMlI/AAAAAAAAAC0/6IQdHRppTrs/s1600/Earth6.jpg" alt="" width="156" height="193" /> </a><br>

<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH9qEmiJAI/AAAAAAAAACU/7iaz5dg2pLk/s1600/Elite23.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZH9qEmiJAI/AAAAAAAAACU/7iaz5dg2pLk/s1600/Elite23.jpg" alt="" width="156" height="196" /> </a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZICsyyITOI/AAAAAAAAADU/Z-x1XJZomcU/s1600/Halo%2BDeck1.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pnuD9bMZ_gE/SZICsyyITOI/AAAAAAAAADU/Z-x1XJZomcU/s1600/Halo%2BDeck1.jpg" alt="" width="248" height="197" /> </a></p>

<p>Marie Diaz<br>

mdiaz@winningsportsimages.com<br>

<a href="http://www.winningsportsimages.com"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tADTelMy8I8/ScFfxoUIIGI/AAAAAAAAOu0/D6bjep3KKkM/s1600/WSI-White-reflection.jpg" alt="" width="148" height="148" /> </a></p>

 

[bevw]

<p>Thanks to everyone for your helpful answers. Marie, your templates are great-looking.<br>

I have created some custom backgrounds myself that give a poster-style look like yours, for the same reasons as you - the competition isn't doing it (yet). The challenge is charging enough for the time to post-produce such a time intensive custom product. Have you determined what amount photographers can sell their product for with your templates? Are some shot with a green screen set-up or are they just masked?</p>

<p> </p>

[bevw]

<p>Sorry, nevermind... I understand now. I just went to your website and learned that you provide the cut out and design service. I thought you were selling the templates.<br>

I'd still be curious what you are finding is the price that these are realistically selling to the customer for if our cost would start at $55 for an 11x14. Thanks.</p>