Being a photographer can be as tough as it is rewarding, especially if you are trying to make a name for yourself in the sports photography world.
Sports photography is inherently challenging and requires a photographer to have incredible patience, skill, and raw talent. Not every photographer has what it takes to pluck a single dramatic image out of a cacophony of tussling football players, dribbling basketball players, or scrambling soccer players struggling to make a goal.
However, talent and hard work are only half the battle. Sports photographers still have to find a quality photography hosting site and encourage photo sales. If you are trying to attract sports spectators and parents to your photography website, here are a few tips that may help.
1. Get Permission
Although not specifically something that will bring visitors to your site, one of the first and most important things you need to be aware of is that not just anyone can grab their gear and head to the sidelines of a football/soccer/baseball/basketball game. Even if you're just shooting your own little one, you most likely need to have permission to take photographs from prime sideline locations. For high school events, the athletic director is generally the person to contact in order to get this permission. For lower level competitions there will be a director of that league who can give you the go-ahead. The relationships you form with these directors can potentially turn into future sales as well, if the team doesn’t already have a dedicated team photographer!
2. Include Family Shots
If you want to encourage parents to purchase sports photographs of their kids, make an effort to take pictures with the families of each athlete after a game. Make the moment memorable and fun by being as personable as possible and helping the family to feel relaxed and comfortable. Then let the family know that you sell photos online and they can check out their family photo on your website at their leisure.
3. Bring Business Cards
You won’t be able to effectively direct large numbers of individuals to your photography storefront if you don’t give them something to remember you by. Most people can barely remember their own telephone number, so you can’t expect them to remember your website address. To increase your odds of selling more sports prints, bring business cards along with you and hand them out to families and spectators at each event.
4. Try Different Angles
Instead of taking the standard photo of each child up to bat at eye level, try switching it up with some unique angles that will more effectively capture the viewer’s attention. Look for new ways to approach a shot and don’t be afraid to fail! Allow your creativity to shine through in your photos, and parents and spectators will be more easily drawn into them.
5. Bring an Assistant
Getting the most out of every game can be difficult if you are only capturing one side of the field. To double your chances of getting the perfect shot, bring an assistant to help take photos from the sidelines. You’d hate to miss the game winning goal or home run just because you were short handed!
6. Schedule Appointments
Many photographers are able to boost their sales by scheduling personal appointments with athletes in their uniforms. These scheduled appointments make it easy for parents to obtain photographs at their leisure of their kids standing proudly in their uniforms, without worrying about them being all stained up after a game.
If you want to boost your sports photography sales, follow these tips and let Instaproofs provide you with a storefront that will help you sell more prints!