Paintball Photography Offer for this weekend

[vlad.nk]

CANCELED due to Sunday practice.

Hello teams,
I'm free this weekend and I would like to practise the paintball photography. I'm from Reading. If there is a team practising this weekend and interested in having some pictures there is your chance.

My first tries - http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=62270860308&k=5VCZ4WQ7SY3V53M5FAIXE4XPP

Pictures will be captured with semi-proffessional camera Canon EOS 40D + profi grade lens Canon 70-200 f4L + ultrawide lens Sigma 10-20mm (hopefully to get some interesting perspective effects).

PM me here if you are interested. The offer is available for this weekend only and I don't have any idea when my time constrains will allow to repeat it again. If more teams will be interested I reserve the right to choose the one based on my decision - first come first served, distance limitation etc. You can share the costs within more teams if you will be at one site but then you share the picture amount (see bellow). The first decision till today evening or then till Sat evening.

DETAILS:

=== What do I offer? ===

You will get at least 30 pictures in 1080x720 resolution developed from RAW (only basic postprocessing) in highest compression quality JPEG (higher quality then in-camera JPEG). But you will get all useable pictures with your team on the picture I will capture during the day. My real target is over 50 pictures and to successfully capture every team player in the action. If I will not be able to deliver 30 pictures in a quality I will be satisfied (and I'm quite picky about pictures) I will return the money. You can use my facebook pictures as a reference here what you will get.

It is very likely that if there will be a shot I will really like I will post-process it in a higher quality for my portfolio and it will be then available for a free download. I will try notify you about it in such a case.

=== What you will pay? ===
You will cover my travelling cost (train or pickup me by a car at home, cost for getting from train station to the field - car pickup or taxi). If South-east area the price for the train is about £15 - £20. Even it is unlikely I could decide to travell to a more distant area on Sat afternoon for Sun shooting but then you have to cover accomodation costs for Sat evening.

£10 flat fee as the risk/insurrance cover for my equipment. I will try to get close to the action (I'm a player thus I don't mind getting some hits). just for the inormation, demaged UV filter is £30, demaged lens antireflective coating count in hunderds of pounds. I take all these risk on my own expense. Even insurred the excess for the expensive equipment is high.

Any cost related for me to be on the field owner and allowence to take pictures here if applicable. It is unlikely there is any as far I know but it is your responsibility to check this with the field as I'm time limited to do that. In case I will come to the field just to find the owner will not allow to take pictures here for any reason I expect you to pay my travelling costs.

I will pay for my food as I would do that anyway staying at home.

And it is all. Thus expected price is about £30 shared within the team. I think it is more than fair. The offer is time-limited till I get skilled enough. Then I will maybe provide the sevice at the standard cost starting £3 per picture. It is highly probable I will not be able to reapeat it again in the near future.

OTHER NOTES:
I will try to process pictures asap but I reserve 3 weeks to do so. I'm not a professional therefore there are some time limitations.

I'm sorry for the late notice,
Vlad

 

[ShimmerShot]

Vlad is a top guy, 10/10 for friendliness

Those pics you took on the 1st are really ace

 

[danrandon]

HI Vlad,

firstly welcome to the world of paintball photography, an often painfull task in the sport that we love.

I don't want this to seem like a public beating or anything mearly a constructive criticism moment with a bit of a offer at the end.

Personally I always offer my clients full resolution copies of the camera, as a cropped version often limits what your paying clients can achieve with the cropped size, after all they are paying a sum of money for a digital copy that they will expect to edit and print etc.

To charge £30 for the images is a fair price, but if they are paying your expeses and insurance as well thats suddenly £60 for 30 images, which whilst i know you need to cover costs etc, you need to realise that thats a little pricey. I understand that you are picky about your images and rightly so, but a 3 week turnaround is a little bit of a long time, would it not be better to shoot in raw, run a fast convert on a laptop to jpeg and send the team away with a CD on the day so that they can choose the images they want to be edited up?

I charge £35 for a team CD at an event for as many photos i get of that team, no matter if it's 30 or 200, it's a flat rate. It may be more worth you while to look at having a half day rental rate and a full day rental rate priced accordingly including your costs.

I have invested heavily in my equipment and expect to get shot many times grabbing images and camera protection is always a big concern, insurance isn't cheap etc but a requirement. But I don't know if you realise that if you charge for your work no matter if it's cash in hand or payment in kind you also need public liability insurance in case you or your equipment accidently injures someone. Bearing in mind that if say someone tripped over you camera case, which you left somewhere, fell badly and broke their wrist, you are responsible and your bill including legal fees and compensation could stretch to several thousand pounds, can you afford to be without it?

You are also responsible for declaring ANY income that you recieve to the Inland revenue to pax tax and NI on. Fines can be hefty.

YOu also state that you are not a professional photographer, but by charging for the service you have become one and rules on insurance and Tax payable apply, just don't get stung if you want to do it on the sly.

Now for the offer.......

As a photographer who has good respect from players and the industry, and of course the mods on this site, who has been published in the legend in int's own lifetime PGI twice and every month in PBUK and when it was running Paintball kit magazine, I have taken a look at the work on your link and it does look good. If you want to come up to a UK Masters event and roll with me for the day and see how it goes you are more than welcome to. You'll need to arrange your own transport etc.

So there you are, my little 2p's worth but thought I'd try and help a you out a little, if you need to contact me just drop me a pm.

Dan

 

[gambo47]

I concur with Dan, I use my own camera gear and it isn't cheap getting a direct hit on any of my video cameras or DSLR. Gear Insurance vital ,liability insurance essential and if you are that keen then take Dan up on his offer. I do my pb photography for nowt as I love to play and shoot with a gun or camera...you can take hundreds and have a few dozen printable shots...but players want to see the pics almost immediately. I know with my videos some want to see their heroic runs,dives,hits and falls straight away!
good luck

 

[Rabies]

I also don't want to sound harsh, but...

You want other people to pay you, for you to practise your photography, and maybe to add the nice shots to your personal portfolio? Umm, ok. I'm just getting into paintball photography a little more seriously, but I don't have the balls to expect to be paid to learn the art. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong.

 

[Tempted]

I also don't want to sound harsh, but...

You want other people to pay you, for you to practise your photography, and maybe to add the nice shots to your personal portfolio? Umm, ok. I'm just getting into paintball photography a little more seriously, but I don't have the balls to expect to be paid to learn the art. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong.

I agree. I think you're within your rights to charge for actual photos that you give to people of them in action, but to expect them to pay for you to get there and your accomodation...maybe a little cheeky

 

[vlad.nk]

Hi Randon,
many thanks for your input, very helpfull in many ways.

I probably mixed up all together in my initial text and made it somehow confusing that you end up with additional £30 for pictures. It was just ment, hey pay my ticket and get me to the field, give me £10 so I would be able at least replace my expensive B+W filter with a cheap HAMA one in case of accident and I will take some paintball pictures with you for free.

As it was ment as one-time tryout I didn't think about all the legal things around. But you're absolutely right.

Your offer is just amazing and I would like to try it but I'm a player and I prefer playing more now then taking pictures. I practise every weekend now for the Millenniums. I haven't checked the date but I suppose it will collide with my schedulle. I would let you know for sure in case of any change in the future which would allow me to do it but the travelling and other expense is probably another killer. But it could be a nice experience.

Randon, I wish you to continue in your amazing work (it means I wish it for us, players ) Hope, you don't mind to pm you in case of any question.

Vlad

 

[Tempted]

On a more positive note, I thought your photos were very good.

I particularly liked this one "Oh ****, my thumb is stuck, I'm fubar'd!"

 

[onasilverbike]

Vlad, I think everything else I would have said has already been covered, just one more thing.

Why are you shooting in RAW? I understand the quality/post-processing benefits, but the reduction in frames per second and burst rate will limit the chance of getting 'that' shot, unless you can slow the action down Matrix style, and press the shutter at the opportune moment.

 

[Rabies]

Sorry Vlad, I did mean to add that you do have some nice photos there