How to Start Making Money As An Amateur Sports Photographer! | How I Make Money With Photography

[@alexriffe7972]

Thank you for the tips! Starting my side sports photography business and you saved me time researching customer facing booking sites and galleries. Appreciate it!

[@FatalOnion]

Glad I was able to assist, Alex! Best wishes in your journey!

[@mvp_kryptonite]

Cool tips! Increase your exposure as it looks dark but you have me food for thought with these tips

[@FatalOnion]

I appreciate the feedback, MVP! At the time of recording, it looked good on my monitor but looking back, yikes! How do I get proper exposure for photos but not for a stationary video?

[@mvp_kryptonite]

@@FatalOnion I’m new to video myself but since your shutter speed will be double your fps, you can try the next ISO up from base (so select 3200 instead of 800). Otherwise more light and or brighter lens

[@FatalOnion]

@@mvp_kryptonite Yeah, I have gotten a few new lenses since this video was posted. So, plenty of better lighting to come with newer uploads. That f1.2 looks dreamy!

[@LeoMinchala]

Great Tip! I have a couple of question. Do you need to get permission from the school to be able to photograph the games? Are you on the field to capture the photos? Final question, how do you navigate with the school photographer? Thanks, Leo

[@FatalOnion]

Hello Leo! 1. You should get approval from the Athletic Director for photographing the school's sporting event. If you photograph football or any sport from a team's sideline, its a good idea to ask the coach as well if you are able to sit on their sideline. In my area, every school I've asked other than one has given me the okay to cover events at their school. The other school was in a contract with a different photographer. 2. I am typically as close I can be to the action as possible. For football, I am right on the sideline. Basketball, I am right on the edge of the court. Same for volleyball and any other sport. As mentioned above, it doesn't hurt to ask for approval from the coaches if you'd like to stay on their sideline. 3. School photographers aren't present at most of my schools I photograph at as our budgets aren't like schools in bigger areas. There are yearbook photographers around from time to time. When they are, we both respect each other and try to stay out of each other's ways. I've only had a bad interaction when I first started off, a yearbook photographer got upset at me for getting in his shot. I thought he was going to get me kicked out of the event. When there is a special event going on like homecoming, parents night, senior night, etc. and someone is hired specifically to capture those moments like the walkout, stand still for a photo, and a group photo, I usually put my camera down and let the person hired cover those moments. I don't want to steal the spotlight from them when that is their job. The only time I will photograph someone in this moment is if it's one of my Athlete Coverage/focused athlete signups. Hope that helps, Leo! Thank you for stopping by the video.

[@farmerzofarmerzo5614]

Look at this guy all grown up thriving in this world like a champ 🎉

[@FatalOnion]

Life has been a crazy ride the last few years but I think I finally got a good grasp of it now, Farmer! 😎

[@farmerzofarmerzo5614]

Hell yeah great to hear buddy

[@mercy.sq21]

Im a new sports photographer, and so far, I've only got one football coach to consistently pay me to come out and shoot their football games. I tried advertising on facebook to the parents and only got two sales for prepay throughtout the season. How do you market to parents to pay for photos of their athlete?? That's what im struggling with most. Im considering asking a school to shoot one game for free and then once I deliver the gallery to the coach, I let them know my prices for full game coverage or offer free coverage as long as i have up to 4 parents paying for prepay pictures. Please let me know your thoughts i would loce the advice!!

[@FatalOnion]

I will say it was certainly a tough start to get your name out there and have parents or teams who want to pay for your services. When I first started out two years ago, I'd be lucky to have one prepaid sign up a game. A lot of my work was mostly free games in hopes people would buy digitals or sign up during a future game. It took many months to almost two years to consistently book up for games. Don't be too discouraged about no bookings during games though. You can use this time to practice new gear or position yourself in new spots, etc. I never specifically reached out to anyone when I started. My methods of growing my name was just showing up. If you aren't well known and just look like a random person taking photos of essentially kids playing sports, some may think it's weird. As your name gets out there and you have the quality to back your name up, people will start to recognize you and support your work. Like I said before, practicing during games when I didn't have signups really helped as I was able to improve my skills and test different settings. Plus, the parents and athletes grew a sense of appreciation for me showing up free of charge. Which converted into signing up for events down the road. Now that I am well known in my area and expanding outward, people love seeing me at any event. Some sports I never thought I'd capture or even have interests from sign ups are now my most popular and quickest booked events. It just takes a lot of time and dedication to get to this point. Lot of people also say gear isn't everything but I spent tens of thousands of dollars to get the best of the best gear to get the best possible images. Not saying to go out and buy a 400mm f2.8 lens but if this is seriously something you're interested in pursuing and you aren't going to ruin yourself for this large of a purchase, give it a shot! The way my work stands out with the top of the line gear really sells my services.

[@ItsMarionotluigi]

Nice, i'm shooting the Penn Relays this weekend, im using a canon r6 and bring a 50mm, 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. i only shot a couple track meets before and this one is HUGE so wish me luck!

[@FatalOnion]

You got this! I did make a video about how to shoot track and field. Feel free to check it out if you need some insight. Track is my most covered sport of going on four years. So, I’ve grown to know a bit about covering it. It’s a ton of fun!

[@ItsMarionotluigi]

@@FatalOnion I ran track in high school and college it’s my favorite sport! I been working in the IT field since 2020 and just haven’t been so intact with the sport as much but I’m feeling the rush all over again looking up times, athletes name and of course getting ready to capture them! Your track and field video is what brought me to your page!! It was very refreshing honestly!

[@FatalOnion]

That’s great! I appreciate you strolling through a few of my videos then. I know that exact feeling! Although we aren’t running anymore, you still get those race day emotions while around the track. It certainly is crazy seeing how different run times are when I was in track from 2013-2016… these athletes are fast now a days!

[@ItsMarionotluigi]

@@FatalOnion getting my photos publish in the washington post! i would say it went great!

[@FatalOnion]

@@ItsMarionotluigi What an awesome feat! Definitely something to proud of!

[@GEORGEEEJ]

Informative thanks for your input.

[@FatalOnion]

Happy to share, George!

[@AdamCasada]

Some constructive feedback - this video is a good bit underexposed

[@FatalOnion]

I appreciate it, Adam! It looked okay on the camera but once I got it in the editor, I noticed it too. I’ll need to opt the settings some more next time I record.

[@goldenmantis5564]

photography youtuber era, lets gooo

[@FatalOnion]

Gotta get that dub, Manti 😎

[@_SYDNA_]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@FatalOnion]

Of course! I appreciate you tuning in.

[@east_photoz]

After getting slots reserved how do you know you can go to the game and shoot and sell those images do yoiu have to get media pass or is it pretty much free game?

[@FatalOnion]

So, this'll only pertain to high school level sports and I am assuming you'll need media passes and such for any collegiate events. For high school events, I contact the athletic director of that school first before taking any sort of reserved slot signups. Once I get the okay from them to attend, I then incorporate the signups. I only had one school out of the many I've photographed at deny me. As long as you are professional about it, they are pretty easy going to grant you access.

[@rmika9229]

Pixiset you need to be registered as a business? I live in New Zealand btw

[@FatalOnion]

Some locations may require to be registered as a business but I didn't need to be for where I photograph. Good question!

[@qdavis126]

You get my sub from this one

[@FatalOnion]

Awesome, I appreciate it! 📸

[@eosuser1]

Nice work…appreciate it. May I ask on your action photo session how much do you charge for the individual player shoot of 15 downloads and what size are the files?

[@FatalOnion]

Hello, Dennis! Currently, I am charging $55 per sign up with a max of 3-5 athletes a game. Images range from 15-30 depending on the athlete's playtime, what event is being covered, and how much variety of photos I am able to get. I use Pixieset for my online gallery. So, I upload the original sizes for the highest print quality if they decide to order prints. Clients can then download the photos at a 3600px size for media posts. I hope that helps you!

[@migflowers]

@@FatalOnionso $55 per sign up and you send them the Pixieset gallery so they can buy prints? Are the downloads free?

[@migflowers]

Excellent advice! How do you market to the parents so they can find your signup link?

[@FatalOnion]

If I know I'll be at a game well in advance, I make a post online about all of my upcoming games with the signup link for photo coverage. As the event comes closer, I continue to post about it up until the day of and sometimes a few hours prior to the event if there are still open spots. If a parent happens to ask how to sign up during the event, I send them over to my social medias/website which will then direct them to the signup page. When I am posting, I include a few of my favorites in posts to show what a signed up individual is expected to receive. Especially, previously signed up individual. Hoping that'll give you some insight!

[@migflowers]

@@FatalOnion you’re awesome man! Can you clarify where you post online? I know the trick is to get as much exposure as possible, just curious where you’re posting your services? Thanks again!

[@FatalOnion]

@@migflowers I am a basic man. I use Instagram and Facebook. I find there's too big of a hassle to market on other platforms with little to no return. In my area, parents are primarily on Facebook and the high schoolers are on Instagram. So, I only have to focus on the two platforms while having more time to work or spend time doing other things than sort through a bunch of social medias. Maybe if I was in a bigger area, I'd branch out to other platforms but for now, I am content with the two biggest hitters. And I gotchu, @migflowers! 😎

[@migflowers]

@@FatalOnion thanks for the quick response! Makes sense… gotta go where your customers hang out!

[@FatalOnion]

You’re welcome!

[@nclarke110]

Thank you

[@FatalOnion]

Happy to assist, Nehemiah!

[@bobbullethalf]

How would this work on a college level?

[@FatalOnion]

I am not quite sure as I have never shot college sports yet but plan to reach out for Fall of 2023. I know there are some rules to follow for college sports when it comes to selling as a photographer. In this case, you may have to charge the college a fee for your service rather than target each athlete. The size of the college depends as well. If you are shooting D1, typically they have a team photographer. So, your services aren't gonna be needed. But for a small town college with no budget for a team photographer, it could be very possible then. I've also heard the college athletes and parents aren't as interested in purchasing photos and such as they were when they played high school and below. But I'll have to get back to you whenever I get around to actually shooting college level.

[@bobbullethalf]

@@FatalOnion Thanks

[@mpccpm2198]

@@FatalOnion What about legal rights from the state high school athletic associations to sell photos shot on school campuses? Have you had to get permission from them?

[@Kai-pk3hh]

Just come back to streaming my dude

[@FatalOnion]

Tune in tomorrow night with Slothman?

[@jazzythesnazzyman9285]

OMG NEW FATAL POST

[@FatalOnion]

Hey, Jazzyman 😎

[@jazzythesnazzyman9285]

@@FatalOnion OMGGG I'm like your biggest fan can I have your autograph???

[@FatalOnion]

@@jazzythesnazzyman9285 It'll cost you an autograph from you too. Pog

[@aznycts]

I just checked your IG page . u have 114 gollowers and 58 posts . how u can ever tell poeple how to make money on Anything . You are not a Photographer. Not even an Amature

[@FatalOnion]

An instagram following doesn't determine anything about making money. I use a different instagram page that represents my real business page anyway. If you think a large instagram following means anything about being a photographer, you got quite a lot to learn, my man!