Pool Photography!!!

RunoutJJ

RunoutJJ

Professional Banger
Silver Member
I was just curious about possibly hiring a person to take professional shots of the players and the tournament. My friend Amber (also a player) takes some fantastic action shots of players. Not just them shooting (boring) but also contimplating a safe or a good hit or kick. Sitting in the chair fully concentrated on the match at hand. She's in school but she go's to all my events and does some fantastic work!!!

I just wanted to know if any of the tournament directors out there would be willing to pay (probably like 100) her to take some photos..

Thoughts please :grin:
 
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Anybody?? Really??


I know that there was a guy takign photos at the Virgina 9 Ball State Championship this year. HE was seeling his shots on his website but they were all of players jsut straight shooting. Kinda boring really. Amber takes her time on each player and gets numerous shots from different areas. This is so you could choose the best one or one to your liking :)
 
I think the problem that your friend Amber will have here is that there are so many people taking pics for free.
 
RunoutJJ said:
Anybody?? Really??


I know that there was a guy takign photos at the Virgina 9 Ball State Championship this year. HE was seeling his shots on his website but they were all of players jsut straight shooting. Kinda boring really. Amber takes her time on each player and gets numerous shots from different areas. This is so you could choose the best one or one to your liking :)
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RichR is your guy. 2 thumbs up!
 
bfdlad said:
I think the problem that your friend Amber will have here is that there are so many people taking pics for free.
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Yeah but these photos will be professional shots that will be polished up to look their best. Photoshopped and all that.
 
Hey....I am shooting pics on tournaments for some time now and believe me its tough to find somebody who wants to buy them.....everybody wants everything for free.....and I think my photos are ok......
 
Maybe have her go to a few tournys and take pics to so that people get to know her and know the work she is capable of.

Also, you could try the amusement park/marathon photo selling technique: Take free pictures of everyone and show them the thumbnails, then charge for the full size.
 
We have Rixx Pixx and also Nick De Leon doing professional photo's for us around Arizona.

Rick has some online to view: http://www.pbase.com/rixx
(Scroll down for the pool shots, and more pages)

Some of Nick's can be found towards the end: http://www.mypoolscene.com/PoolRooms/Gallery.aspx

The Diamond Table shots with the cool lights.
(I can't find the link off hand for some of his others)

But I do put up tons of pictures from both of these guys (For Free) on http://www.azpoolscene.com to go along with stories!

Good luck to your girl! Maybe she can learn a few other tricks from these guys!
 
Quality photography is one of those things most people would like to have they just won't pay what it really costs.

Trust me.

$100 for shots of an entire day of play, sorted, culled and processed is getting them basically for free. The fact that no one is jumping at that offer gives you an idea of the market.

My first business in the pool industry was photography based. Failed miserably. I am sure some of it was me but after the 100th person tells you "I would really like that but I would never pay $25 for it" you start to get the picture.

I still feel there is a place for unique images in the market if they are sold and marketed correctly. The problem is I just don't see that market being large enough to justify the work and expense it would take to reach it.

Best of luck to your friend. Only advice I have is for her to do it because she loves it and maybe she can make a few bucks here and there to pay for some gas.
 
RunoutJJ said:
I was just curious about possibly hiring a person to take professional shots of the players and the tournament. My friend Amber (also a player) takes some fantastic action shots of players. Not just them shooting (boring) but also contimplating a safe or a good hit or kick. Sitting in the chair fully concentrated on the match at hand. She's in school but she go's to all my events and does some fantastic work!!!

I just wanted to know if any of the tournament directors out there would be willing to pay (probably like 100) her to take some photos..

Thoughts please :grin:
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My advice to your friend would be to shoot 1)weddings 2) babies or 3) pets. Those are the easiest ways to find people who want to pay you for pictures. They all have their set of challenges and she should definitely research thoroughly before taking on any of those assignments.

Most other photography endeavors now are extremely competitive and a race to the bottom price (usually free) for all but the very best.

If she loves photographing pool, then she should do it for fun and try to get paid for it. But if she wants to take pictures for a living she should find an established route and continue the pool photos for her personal work.

If she's going to school for photography and plans to work as a photojournalist, then that's a whole other kettle of fish.

~rc
 
JCIN said:
Quality photography is one of those things most people would like to have they just won't pay what it really costs.

Trust me.

$100 for shots of an entire day of play, sorted, culled and processed is getting them basically for free. The fact that no one is jumping at that offer gives you an idea of the market.

My first business in the pool industry was photography based. Failed miserably. I am sure some of it was me but after the 100th person tells you "I would really like that but I would never pay $25 for it" you start to get the picture.

I still feel there is a place for unique images in the market if they are sold and marketed correctly. The problem is I just don't see that market being large enough to justify the work and expense it would take to reach it.

Best of luck to your friend. Only advice I have is for her to do it because she loves it and maybe she can make a few bucks here and there to pay for some gas.
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Just to echo this - JCIN takes great photos of pool. And he's pretty sharp at thinking up new ways to market himself and his products.

I don't think the 'up-front' payment for coverage is one that will work now. Shooting for free and trying to sell prints is probably a better option. But if you're going to do that the photos have to be shockingly good and processed in a way that most people don't have access to. Otherwise they honestly can't tell the difference between your great shot of them pondering a safety and the photo their wife took with their phone. At least not enough of a difference to justify the pricetag.

I have some ideas about how I'd like to cover the pool atmosphere in photographs but I don't expect to profit from them. More like a personal series of work.

~rc
 
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