I shoot part-time sports action photography as a press photographer at a large local high school. I have a full-time day job. My current business model is to shoot, edit and upload to a order fulfillment site (mine is Pictage). While everyone at the local high school where I am press photographer knows where to find the pictures (the High School has links to my site), when I shoot these events, I would like the other school to know where to find the pictures.
It is good that I have actually sold pictures to other schools who accessed my web site by going to the opposing team's website to find my photos. So, I am now more mindful to shoot not only the school who I am on the sidelines for, but to shoot partially for both teams. It is a delicate balance, as you don't want to short the team who placed you on the field in the first place.
Additionally, when not shooting my local high school, I would like to figure the best way to market the pictures on my web site. The problem of course is that people don't know that the pictures that you are shooting are available for purchase through the web.
Currently, once a game is shot, I send an email to the opposing team booster club or coach letting them know that there are pictures of some of their players from the recent game. They usually let the members of the booster club know. And I get some picture purchases from the other team. The thing about this is that parents and players cycle through and while they may always know to check your website, there are some parents that don't have this knowledge. So, my quest is to reach as many opposing or new customer people tastefully, without offending the customer who puts me on the field.
An idea I am entertaining is to buy a lightweight vest with my website advertised on the back and smaller on the front. This way, they can see me shooting and if interested check out the website. This may even help the parents at the local high school where I shoot to more easily access the pictures. I know I can lay out business cards at my local high school, where I am more known, but this would be hard to do at new events where I gained new permission to shoot.
I am thinking about starting to shoot tennis, swimming, baseball, motocross and anything else involving action, as I get time and study the best ways to shoot these events. Having a way to let them know where to find the photos is crucial to compensating me for my time to gain access and shoot events, as event promoters don't pay you to shoot. The lightweight vest option is something I can use whether it is hot or cold. I just slip it on and along with my Think Tank modular belt system, I have all my gear and can shoot most any sporting event.
So, my question is if you have any better ideas or if you can recommend a website for me to purchase different vests or hats or shirts that I can have my web address embroidered on it to wear to sporting events I shoot. I love ProPhoto Home for having the freedom to kick around some of these ideas. I'm sure that some of you guys have already tried these tactics and can provide much better ideas. I sure would appreciate your feedback and sorry for the long post!
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