peter_luvaas2

Thanks for the feedback. My intention in bringing up this topic was to ask if others were having a difficult time finding parents that want pictures, as I have. I do not see myself as whining or complaining, as some on this thread have stated. I am just trying to state my own experience. I also have not stated that the parents I know that take pictures are not good at it or that thet do not have the right to take pictures.

John, you seem to have been attacked by a photographer at some point. I can't believe how you freak out if you see someone taking a picture of your kid. Who do you think would have any interest in buying a picture of your kid, other than a member of your family. Surely you are not one of those that thinks all your pictures are going to be purchased by pedofiles, are you? You sound like a nightmare to deal with.

Thanks again to those with constructive input. John, you need to relax and take a breath.

I have been shooting youth sports photography for four years. This has always

been a side business/hobby for me. I have never sold a large number of photos,

but it was enough to make it worthwhile and justify the significant amount of

time and money I put into it. I shoot a lot of individual games as well as

some events.

I have noticed a large decrease in my business in the last year. Many teams I

have shot for in the past have not called me because they have a parent on the

team that takes pictures during the season and gives a free CD of all the

pictures at the end of the season.

My experience has been that most people are happy with free photos of various

quality rather than paying for some nice quality shots. I do not shoot for

any teams anymore where someone gives away photos. I have found it much

harder to find teams that are worth shooting as this is very common in my area.

There is a local high school that I do a lot of pictures for. Last year a

varsity basketball parent took some pretty good pictures of the team that I

had done the last few years. He gave CDs to all the families and also did

free collages for them. When I took lacrosse photos for the school, a team

mom called and asked if I would donate all my pictures on CDs to the kids. I

told her I would not. In my opinion, when people have the gall to ask for

your product for free, you have a big problem.

I am seriously considering selling the large investment in equipment I have

and hanging it up. In my experience, people are valuing good quality

photography less and less.

I am curious about your experience and opinion in this area.

Thanks,

Peter

Terri,

I have been taking youth sports photos for 3 years or so and selling them on my site. I too tested labs before I started. I cmpared some expensive labs to some cheap ones. I have been using Costco for three years and have been very happy with them. Any difference you see between them and most other labs is negligable if any. In my opinion, it is not worth paying extra.

You can check out my site at www.peterluvaas.com. I have some photos posted under football. When I started I probably charged half or a little less than what I do now.

Not to discourage you, but I have always found that I sell far less pictures on my site than I think I should. I have noticed my sales going down over the last year or so. I believe most of it is because so many people have digital cameras now. They seem to be happy with what they get, regardless of its quality. Maybe because they put money into the camera they cannot justify buying better pictures from someone else. It seems to be too much to get people to make the effort to purchase pictures on the web. In order to sell a lot of photos you have to have on site sales. I think people forget about the pictures if they do not buy them in person when they see them.

This has kind of turned into a rant that reflects my personal frustrations. Sorry about that. My advice would be to just do this to the extent you have fun with it. Just don't expect too much return for your work if you just sell on the web. I would be happy to offer my advice regarding any questions you have.

Peter