I get phone calls all the time from a Mom or a Dad, asking me to give a price to come out and photograph their son or daughter playing a particular sport or a coach will call me to come and shoot a team in an event.
My prices are not the cheapest. I generally charge between $250-$400 per event, depending on the circumstances.
While I don't get a lot of resistance to my pricing, due to the reputation I have as a sports photographer, I still occasionally do get the; "Wow! That's pretty high."
My response is always one of two questions, depending on what mood I am in.
Response one: "Are you referring to price or cost?" or "What criteria do you use when choosing a professional sports photographer?"
Are you paying for photos or are you paying for memories?
If you are simply buying pictures, find someone with a camera from Best Buy and give them $25 and let them post 400 shots on their website.
If you have a special occasion and you want it captured for a keepsake, you need a professional.
When you hire a professional sports photographer to shoot action photos of a sporting event, you are not only paying for their time and effort, you are paying for their experience, knowledge of the game flow, understanding angles and momentum and anticipation.
You paying a professional sports photographer for their professional grade cameras with extreme low light capabilities. You're renting their high speed professional grade lenses that can run $8000 to $10,000.00.
I've shot tens of thousands of action photos in little league baseball, select ball, football, basketball and other sports.
Every now and then I capture a moment like this.
Eaton, Ohio 8th grade basketball player Donnie Nicodemus was driving to the hoop in the Southwestern Buckeye League Championship game in Camden, Ohio at Preble Shawnee High School recently.
The lighting in the gym was not the worst I've shot in, but it wasn't good either.
I was shooting a Nikon D700 with a Nikor 80-200mm 2.8 lens and 5000 ISO and 1/800th of a second.
When I grabbed this frame and looked at the image, I realized that I had gotten Donnie's Mom in the background.
This wasn't just a picture, but rather a lifetime keepsake for Mom and son.
There is no greater satisfaction as a professional sports photographer than presenting a parent with a shot like this. I've shot a lot of pictures of Donnie as a result of little league photography. One I shot of him this past year was this pitching photo, with the Eaton Express, which became one of my favorites.
Why do you pay a professional photographer vs "Mom or Guy with Best Buy camera", you don't pay a professional for pictures and images. You hire a professional for memories that will hold a special place in your heart and soul for years to come.
Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com
Vincent Rush is a an Ohio based professional sports photographer that primarily serves as a Dayton Sports Photographer and Cincinnati sports photographer.
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