Would you like to sell more sports pictures? Here are 3 key recommendations

To sell more sports pictures, in addition to taking good photos, it is essential that you have your digital photography business set up properly. But we know that sometimes this is not as easy to do as it seems. Because among all the concerns of a sports photographer, one of the most important is, without a doubt, obtaining a recurring income that allows him to make a living from his great sporting hobby. And this cannot be achieved without a professional system that allows you to show and sell your images over the Internet.

In today’s article we are going to give you 3 keys that, if you learn how to implement them in your digital photography business, will help you to sell more sports pictures in a simple and, above all, effective way.

Learn how to sell more sports images and take your digital photography business to the finish line.

What are the obstacles that prevent you from sell more sports pictures?

When working to capture images from the world of sports and sell more sports images, a professional photographer may have to face different obstacles in his or her daily work, for example:

• Have sufficient contacts with sponsors and organisers of sporting events to get accreditation to cover them.
• Willingness to travel to the different meetings and competitions.
• Withstand a range of extreme weather conditions when sports are played outdoors.
• Find the best place within the competition venue to photograph the participants.
• Have the appropriate equipment for each sport to be covered.
• Be very quick with the camera and be experienced enough to be ahead of the game.
• Safeguard the copyright of the photographs that are published.
• Stand out from the competition on the Internet.
• Have a more direct and quicker contact with people who are interested in buying their sports images online.
• Ensure proper website speed to maintain a good user experience.
• Have a professional photography website where you can present your portfolio online.
• Have an Internet sales system where you can sell photographs at any time and to all interested parties.
• Have a facial and text recognition system so that competitors can find your photos more quickly.
• Find and implement the use of a trusted lab where clients can print their best photos.
• Etc.

Let’s take a closer look at the 3 concerns of a sports photographer that can have the most influence on selling more sports images.

1# I don’t have a system for selling images integrated into the website and I lose a lot of time selling each photo

Sometimes sports photographers focus on closing more competitions to attend with those responsible for organising the event itself and that’s fine. Without that kind of accreditation, the rest of the business of selling images would not be viable, but nowadays and thanks to all the visibility offered by the Internet and the business solutions for photographers that we offer at Arcadina, the opportunities to sell more sports images are much greater.

Because in addition to having an agreement with the organisers and sponsors to deliver a series of photographs of the sporting event itself, in a sporting competition there are many people who will be interested in buying some of your sports photos, for example:

• Participants.
• Relatives of participants.
• Attendees.
• Fans of this type of sport.
• Media.
• Etc.

The problem with offering to sell sports photos to all these people is that during the sporting event you won’t have time to show them your photos or even have direct contact with them. That’s why having a photography website where you can present yourself and offer an online image sales system where you can offer anyone the possibility to buy some of your photos quickly and effectively, will make you sell many more sports images and, consequently, the profits you get for each competition you attend will be much higher.

2# I don’t know how to make it easier for athletes to quickly find your photos in the sales galleries

When you go to a competition, for example a half marathon, it can happen that the number of participants is quite high. This means that you will have to take a lot of photos, which can be counterproductive when it comes to showing them to your “clients”.

Even if you then create a series of sub-folders in your web sales galleries dividing the story in question, for example, according to the time elapsed during the race, the participants’ search for the photos can still be a tedious process for them because of the number of similar images and participants they will have to review.

So what you need to solve this problem is a system that is integrated into your own website that helps participants to locate your photos in the different galleries quickly and effectively. Otherwise, the purchase of such images will be merely anecdotal.

3# I would like to offer the possibility to buy printed photos without too much hassle

Another branch that you can exploit when it comes to getting more revenue from a sporting event is the possibility of offering the purchase of photos printed on high quality paper or even in more special formats such as canvas, methacrylate, etc.

One of the disadvantages you will encounter is communication, as we have already mentioned in this article, it is practically impossible for you to talk to all the participants on the day of the competition and explain this photo printing service to them. In addition, many of the participants, if it is an important competition, will be from other regions and they will not have the opportunity to come to your photo studio or to meet you so that you can give them the photos.

On the other hand, if you reach an agreement with sponsors and event organisers and agree with them to promote your website, things change considerably. Ideally, when interested parties come to your website, they should be able to buy these types of printed sports photos without worrying about where your workplace is located.

With Arcadina you will be able to sell more sports photos

If you want to go to the world’s top sporting competitions and make a living out of it, you need to make sure you create a digital business that allows you to keep earning money while you are travelling or even organising the next competition you are going to.

At Arcadina we have several business solutions that adapt perfectly to the day-to-day life of sports photographers. Let’s take a look at some of them:

• Online shop to sell your photographs to anyone, anytime.
• Private galleries so that your customers can access their photos, download the agreed photos and have the possibility to buy more.
• Integrated AI system to speed up image search by facial recognition and/or bib number.
• Integration of Arcadina Labs to offer the sale of professional printed formats.
• Security systems to safeguard your sports footage.
• Possibility of including the WhatsApp instant messaging system on your website.
• Etc.

Next we are going to take a closer look at the first 4, the ones we consider most important when it comes to selling more photos of your sports reports. But first, in the following article of our blog we show you some sports photographers who rely on Arcadina to sell their sports photos.

>> 10+1 sports photographers who know how to make an impact with their images

1# Galleries for sale and downloading of photos from your website

democairo.arcadina.com

Private galleries

One of our star business solutions is the business area in which you will be able to offer your clients a private space (private galleries) where they will be able to: view, select, download and buy all the sports photos they want. This type of galleries with private access is very good for, for example, the organisers of sporting events who will normally hire this type of service from you and with whom you will agree in advance a certain number of images in digital format.

The great thing about these restricted access sales galleries is that you will be able to set them up in multiple ways, so that, for example, your customers can.

• View all race day photos.
• Download the 100 images they had previously agreed with you.
• Add as many extra images to the download as you want for a fee.
• Purchase several printed photos for the promotion of future events.
• Etc.

In this type of private galleries, you can add discounts that will be applied only when the client has selected a minimum number of extra photos, you can also create packs and a large number of interesting options.

Public galleries

Another option that you will have available in your business area that is also very interesting and that will allow you to sell more sports images are the public galleries (or online shop). In this space all the public will be able to buy your photos. In this way, any participant, fan or simply interested in this type of images, will be able to buy any of your sports photos without having to contact you. Nowadays this type of online purchases are very common and the easier they are to make, the more likely it is that your sales will increase.

Can you imagine the extra money you can get from a competition if only the participants and a large part of the attendees buy 2 or 3 photos each? Do the maths and see if it is worth implementing an automatic system for selling sports images.

Next we are going to share with you an article in which we give you more tips and recommendations when it comes to selling your images through your photography website.

>> Strategies to sell my photos online without paying commissions to third parties

2# Artificial intelligence for face and back recognition

demovenezia.arcadina.com

Offering to sell images through your sports photography website is all very well but it is important that this process is fast and effective, otherwise, no matter how many facilities you provide to your clients, the number of sports images sold will not be what you expected.

One drawback that sports photographers often have is that many participants may appear in any of their photographs at the same time, and sometimes it can be exhausting for a client to search for their face or bib number in more than 100 images.

To solve this problem and favour the increase in photo sales, at Arcadina we have made available to you a service that works by Artificial Intelligence where runners will be able to search for their images quickly through the recognition of their faces or by searching for their bib number.

If you want to know more about how AI can help you sell more sports images, we encourage you to check out the following article on our blog.

>> Did you know that you can now search for images by selfie? Find out about this new AI feature

3# Sale of more professional printed formats

demobangkok.arcadina.com

Another very interesting option that you can offer your clients is the sale of printed photos and if you also give them the possibility of having these prints in professional formats, many of the sportsmen and women who buy some of your images in digital format will also be encouraged to buy your most spectacular printed photos.

At Arcadina you have Arcadina Labs, a system in which your customers will be able to order their printed photos from a trusted laboratory. The good thing about this system is that you will not have to do anything. Once you have everything set up, the customer will enter their private or public gallery, select the image, the format and place the order in question.

After a few days, the client will receive their printed photos at home or at the address they have established, without having to write to you or meet you in person. If you are interested in this service, in the following post we will answer a few questions.

>> 10+1 questions that photographers ask about Arcadina Labs

Selling more sports images is no longer a problem thanks to Arcadina

As you can see, if you want to be a great sports photographer and make a living out of it, you have to solve the obstacles that can slow you down and see how you can sell more sports images through your photography website.

If you would like to read more about recommendations for sports photographers, we encourage you to read the following article.

>> Tips and tricks for stunning sports photography

At Arcadina we specialise in providing solutions to all types of photographers and after more than 20 years working with you we know how to solve most of the concerns of a sports photographer. If you still don’t know everything we can offer you, we encourage you to try our business solutions for free.

Today we want to share with you the interview of Manu Boutureira, a great sports photographer who trusts Arcadina.

>> Manu Boutureira and his opinion of Arcadina

And finally, here’s the question of the day. As a sports photographer, how do you sell more sports images? We’d love to read your comments.

Arcadina goes with you

Fulfil your dreams and develop your career with us. We offer you to try our web service free for 14 days. And with no commitment of permanence.

Arcadina is much more than a website, it is business solutions for photographers.

If you have any queries, our Customer Service Team is always ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We listen to you.