A time to reap
In August I attended the Heart of America DanceSport Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a fantastic opportunity, both for my photography and for my dancing. The event hosts were unable to find a stills photographer to do the traditional floor shots. This involves several grueling 15-hour days, where the photographer must shoot every dancer with the hope that the work will be good enough to generate enough sales to cover expenses and to eke out a reasonable profit. For the dancers, the photographs are not cheap, and they range widely in quality because of the circumstances under which they are shot. I wouldn’t mind being a second-shooter in such circumstances but I wouldn’t want to do this kind of photography for a living. The absence of a regular “floor photographer” presented me an opportunity to showcase my own style of “bespoke” photography, however.
I offered to shoot just one couple per “round,” which consists of three to five different dances, for a flat fee. I guaranteed my clients at least 15 photos from which they could choose three to be edited and retouched. Of course, they could choose more for an additional charge. As usual, I over delivered — exponentially. My clients said they were happy with the results and preferred them over the traditional floor photography, where it’s catch as catch can.
When I wasn’t hired to cover a particular couple or round, I shot on spec, and also for myself. The event hosts also tapped me to shoot the lineups of the scholarship winners and other special presentations (when I wasn’t dancing myself). I also took some candid shots to help the hosts tell the story of Heart of America in their promotional materials next year. Finally, I shot the professional competitions, as much for me as for the hosts. You can see some of the photos on my gallery page from the event.
Even after attending numerous competitions and competing in them myself, I still find them breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t think my custom photography service will replace the traditional floor photographer model. But I do believe it can be offered to benefit both the dancers and the event hosts. Photographers who do the traditional floor service may fear that this would encroach on their sales, but that is easy to resolve. We can work together as a unit, with a percentage of sales from my concierge service going to the floor photographer to offset any potential losses, thereby providing a guaranteed sale. I would be happy to discuss this add-on service with event hosts and floor photographers. I believe it’s in everyone’s interest. Give me a call!
My photography at Heart of America was limited somewhat by my own dancing. I consistently hit the top of my form, which offset the anxiety that swamped me as I faced a series of computer failures. I have heard my colleagues say that the mark of a professional photographer is that they get the job done, regardless of the problems they encounter. I am proud to say I measured up this time. Now, I must prepare for a quinceañera assignment with looming predictions of thunderstorms. More to come.
