Going Freelance: A Chronicle - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM II

06/26/2006 04:48:35 PM · #26

Originally posted by CalamitysMaster00:

Have you checked with any MINOR league teams in your area? Your exact scenario is happening to a local KC photographer and since I work front office for the local KC NAFL team, I stuck him on as our photographer. Most NAFL teams, believe it or not, are NOT paid and thus the extended staff is all volunteer. He did the job unpaid but since his name is on all our work and is advertised with the team at games and on the website... he has really gotten work from referrals.

The good thing with working with a sports team is that most teams are family and as long as you're helping out - the fans and family come to you for all their photography needs!

GOOD LUCK

I'm already doing Minor League Baseball in my area. I have that approval through my credentials with MiLB.com.

CalamitysMaster00

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

06/28/2006 04:26:55 PM · #27

Also, as I have mentioned previously before in another thread... get a myspace. If you are at all interested in openning your market to a younger crowd or to even just an eclectic market - its free and worth it.

amandak

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

06/28/2006 05:33:11 PM · #28

Interesting info about LifeTouch as they are used here in the schools as well. They also seem to have some sort of contract with the recreation league (primarily the younger players) to do sports shots. However, the only type of "sports shot" I've ever seen come from them is the standard child with bat, ball/glove, etc. portrait. I have YET to see any type of "action shot."

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

06/28/2006 10:50:30 PM · #29

Originally posted by amandak:

I'm fairly confident that its' the same here. I think the principal of the school has misunderstood what they told her. Now I have to find a way to prove that and make her aware of it. I'm at another dead end though. She told me she would have her secretary contact me with that info and I haven't heard anything. I'm being passed off so I sorta doubt I'll get much. I'm still pursuing the other three schools. If I get that access, I'll not worry so much about this one.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

06/28/2006 11:59:43 PM · #30

The principal probably knows exactly how many shots the company takes and all the shots that could be taken but aren't. Most school districts need the money to fund the sports programs. The company is paying the school to keep the competition out, they are not really paying to be able to take pictures of the kids in action.
After awhile you understand what, "it takes money to make money" really means.
All you are looking for it the ability to hand out business cards? Why not just buy a big banner at the stadium, put your info on it and walk around taking all the photos you can? The kids will be able to figure out who to come to if they need action shots.

millerdes

06/30/2006 07:48:14 AM · #31

If you like action shots, check out this guys website. He must have some sort of deal with the dirtbike track my son runs on. He is allowed inside the fencing, on the track, during the races to take the pictures and his prices that he gets for these things are amazing. You could make some big $$ finding a local race track (either cars or bikes) and getting your name out there.
his site is mppics.com
Good luck!

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/06/2006 01:26:25 AM · #32

This project has been a failure for me. I can't say that I didn't try though...

One of the four schools rejected my offer. Two others won't return or take my phone calls. One school was interested in my offer.

I can't do it for just one school, so I'm backing off on this project and will look for some other avenue later.

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/06/2006 01:30:10 AM · #33

I think schools dont usually offer much income, unless they seek you for yearbooks or stuff like that - but it's also non-frequent so it is best to have other sources under your belt besides doing schools.

C-Fox

Canon EOS-20D

07/07/2006 05:10:38 PM · #34

Well, I am sorry to hear your going Freelance idea fell through. You do such great work. I expecially appeciate that you were willing to post your failures as well as successes.

Skip

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/08/2006 01:21:41 AM · #35

since i don't live there, i don't know how similar our situations are. i do know that there are some advantages to living in a larger metropolitan area (like a state capitol), but those advantages are by no means a barrier to entry for those living in other areas.

where i live, there is one daily paper. my county has two weekly papers. it seems there are at least two weekly papers in each of the six counties that make up the core of central virginia. four of the papers are owned by media general, the rest are independently owned. even though there are probably another eight weeklies published in and around the city, most of them don't look like they pay for photography. and there are two or three locally published monthly magazines. the point is, around here, there is a lot of publishing going on, especially if you are willing/able to get around.

i shoot in 6 different counties, as well as the city. in the county i live in, there are only 4 high schools. within a hour's drive of me, there are close to 45 high schools, some producing state championship teams and college recruits on a regular basis (detroit tiger rookie phenom justin verlander grew about 30 minutes away from me.). the point is, there is a ton of quality activity within a short drive.

in catawba county, you have two daily papers, one owned by media general, the other not. barely 40 miles in any direction are 4 more daily papers, as well as a handful of community/weekly papers. in addition to the 4 high schools you've contacted, there are a bunch more high schools in the surrounding counties. besides the high schools, there are also a lot of colleges fairly close by. here again, there are endless opportunities where you are--maybe not in your front yard, but certainly in your backyard.

so, what do you do?

start with looking at your current situation. you're stringing for a daily that pays about $40 per assignment on what sounds like a "works for hire" contract. here are the things to consider:
-> how many assignments do you get a week?
-> are they keeping you as busy as you want to be?
-> is there any chance to get on staff?
-> how does your work compare with the staffers's work?
-> how does your work compare with the other stringers?
-> has your willingness to go the extra mile been recognized by management?
-> would anybody miss you if you stopped shooting?
-> are there any other stringers getting called ahead of you?
-> how available are you?

why do these things matter? in some ways, it sounds like you've been doing the work of a paid staffer without getting paid. on one hand, it's good experience to be behind a desk, managing your work (especially being able to do quality control), but, they have employees to do that. at some point, you have to decide just how much time you can afford to spend prepping images for the paper. the only guidelines i've ever been given were to size the images to 200dpi, make them 10-12" on their longest side, include complete fileinfo captioning, and save them as jpgs quality 10. typically, the only edits i make are crops and slight curve adjustments. at first, i was attempting to dpc-edit my images, but i quickly realized that it just wasn't worth it. the publications have people that know their printing processes, and there was not much more i could add that would really make a difference to how well something is going to show up in print. basically, i learned that all i can do is shoot 'em, that someone else would be responsible for what happens afterwards.

also, we know you do good work--but, we're not your market. by now, just based on quality of work, you should have built up a bit of name recognition for yourself. that alone should be enough to get going. if you've been shooting sports for any period of time, i would find it hard to believe you would have anyone checking your credentials at one of the local high schools. the people at the pass gate should know you by name. the people in the stands should be able to connect you with the imagery they see in the paper. well, at least that's what we would hope...and that's why the questions about your competition (both staff and stringer) are important. do people recognize you, or not? it's not enough to have a handful of happy parents of kids you've shot; you need to be recognized as THE guy who gets THE shots.

so, let's say you've built the name recognition. what can you do about your deal? if you've got a "works for hire" contract with a media general publication, you've got a few extra hoops to jump through. this is where the answers to some of those questions become critical. believe me, the photo director KNOWS the contract. the issue is simple--what are YOU worth to HIM? are you available at the drop of a hat to shoot anything without complaining about it? are you at the top of the list when there are no staffers to call? how does your work compare? while you can't make yourself indispensible, you can create value. the more valuable you are, the more like they will be to work with you in getting rid of the "works for hire" contract and replacing it with a "publishing agreement".

what's the difference between the two? well, with a "publishing agreement", you own your work and you retain your copyrights; you give them a one-time license to print an image (as well as publish it on the web). you get paid for any reruns of the image, and, (this is one of the best parts) if anyone wants a print, the publication has to refer them to you. there is no difference in what they pay for assignments. the only "works for hire" contracts i have are with the associated press and with richmond international raceway; i don't mind these, because the scope of the work is so narrow, there's not as much downstream for me as there is shooting something like a high school baseball game. one nice thing about my "publishing agreement" with media general is that it has been recognized by all the media general publications i've worked for.

worst case scenario: the paper won't budge. you have to find another publication that will print your stuff under a "publication agreement". why? just to have some legitimacy when you show up to shoot something. i know you've mentioned having a state high school credential, and i have no clue what's involved in getting one. it seems to me that's your ticket. i've check with the virginia high school league, and as far as i've been able to find out, they don't have anything like that up here. when it comes to sports, the athletic directors are the ones calling the shots, especially as to who gets on the sideline. if you have a credential, it shouldn't be an issue. the thing is, all you really need is access to the events you want to shoot, and then some outlet for making sure people know how to find you.

and that's the heart of the matter. when it comes to marketing, i prefer to stay under the radar. i'm not going to go through the parking lots, sticking flyers under every car windshield, and i'm not going to go through the crowd handing out stuff. i am going to have great relationships with the shool athletic directors and booster club presidents. i am going to hand my card to anyone who i talk to. you may have jumped the gun trying to go through the principals and the school administration (it's so much easier for them to shoot you down than to take a risk that you might do something that could cause a problem.) when all you really need is to be able to get on the sidelines just so you can add to your inventory.

in the end, it is all about relationships. that's why you need a champion/cheerleader at the paper who wants to see you be successful, rather than just to use you until you're tired of being used. that's why you need to be visible and shooting as much as you can around the schools on non-sports stories (i spent nearly 12 hours shooting 4 high school graduations--i was seen by nearly teacher and administrator in the county that day, as well as all the parents attending). if you make yourself THE community photographer, you'll be able to shoot just about anything you want whenever you want, and to have people pay you for your efforts.

hope this helps some, if not you, then someone else.

cheers, and good luck!
skip