Taking sports photographs that are good enough to sell takes knowledge of the game, good timing and some luck.
There are several possibilities if you are trying to sell sports photographs you have taken. Parents of children playing recreational-league sports will often buy action shots because they do not have the photography equipment needed. Newspapers and magazines, from weekly community papers to monthly national circulation magazines, often use sports photographs in their publications. Finally, teams and sports leagues often need photographs to use on their Web pages and programs.
Instructions
1. Examine the photographs you have taken and determine whether they are at least the same quality of those published in newspapers and magazines. If you are trying to sell sports photographs to parents of players, ask yourself if you would buy similar photographs.
2. Compile a portfolio of sports photographs, divided by sport. A portfolio should have your best images. Do not include your favorites if they are not your best. A sports portfolio should include action shots and non-action feature shots that show emotion. Include vertical and horizontal images.
3. Research publications you think may purchase your photographs. For example, if you are trying to sell photographs from a high school football game to a nearby newspaper, find out whether they cover one or both of the teams that were playing.
4. Check the publication’s submission guidelines. Make an appointment to show the photo editor your portfolio if the publication does not publish submission guidelines.
5. Submit the photo following the submission guidelines to the letter. If you are trying to sell your sports photos to parents, take a contact sheet or small prints of the images you have for sale to the next game or practice.
6. Know what price you will accept and the rights to the photograph you are willing to sell. Some publications have set pay scales that consider where the picture will run (cover, section front, inside), how big and the rights purchased. For instance, first publication rights allow a magazine to publish the photograph first.
