What parents actually pay for game photos

If you're working out how much to sell sports photos for, start with what parents already pay. Photographers who sell game photos to parents report between $3 and $10 for a single digital photo, small bundles like 3 for $20, and very few families spending more than about $40 on one game. Those numbers come from a handful of photographers, not a market survey, but they line up with each other.

This guide is for the photographer who shoots youth games and sells to the families in the stands, with or without a deal with the league. It covers what people charge, the three ways to charge, and how to pick a price that parents pay without thinking twice.

What photographers report charging parents#

There is no reliable market average for game photos sold to parents. What exists is what photographers say they charge, and what a few studios publish:

• $3 to $5 per digital download. One photographer who sold youth sports photos online before the pandemic said most downloads went for that.
• $10 a photo, or 3 for $20. Another sells full-resolution files at that price and posts watermarked previews that parents can share freely.
• About $40 a game, at most. A third photographer said no parent they had met spent more than $40 on one game's photos.
• $10 for one, $30 for five, $50 for ten. That's the published price list of a DC-area action sports studio, which also offers everything from the day for $200. The list was last updated in 2017, so treat it as a floor.

Put together, a single photo sells for $5 to $10, a small bundle for $20 to $30, and one family's spend on one game tops out around $40.

Three ways to charge for game photos#

The threads and price lists above show three ways to charge. You can combine them.

1. Per photo, with small bundles#

Parents pick the shots they want and pay for each, with a discount for buying more. It's the easiest model to explain and the easiest to start with. The weak spot is the screenshot: when a parent only wants one shot, a preview in the group chat is often good enough for them.

2. Every photo of their kid, one price#

Parents rarely want to pick through 80 photos. What they usually want is every photo of their kid from every game, for one price, and a whole-game or whole-season price turns 80 decisions into one.

3. Paid up front, per game#

The team, the booster club or the parents together pay a flat fee, and you deliver everything. One photographer charges high schools or their booster clubs $275 a game. A studio in Pennsylvania publishes $250 a game, with 50 or more edited images and the gallery the next day. You don't sell anything after the game, and you know what you'll make before you shoot.

The catch is that someone has to agree to pay before the season starts. A photographer who charged $100 a game lost the gig when a parent offered to do it for free.

Pricing game photos: a simple method#

Any price can work. This method keeps you away from the two usual traps: too cheap to be worth your weekend, or too steep for a parent standing in a parking lot.

Start from the ceiling. If a family's spend on one game tops out around $40, build your prices so the natural purchase lands below it. A parent who wants five good shots of their kid should never need to think about whether it's worth it.

Make the bundle the obvious choice. Price the single photo so buying more looks like the better deal. With $10 a photo, a discount from three photos up reads as a deal, and "every photo of your kid from this game" at $30 to $35 reads as the best value on the page.

Count your hours. Add up shooting, culling and uploading for one game. If that's four hours and you want $25 an hour, you need $100 in sales. At $20 a family, that's five families out of a twelve-player team. If it doesn't add up, the per-game model may suit you better.

Price before the game, not after. Decide your prices before you shoot and show them next to the photos. A price that only appears in a direct message is a conversation, and most parents won't start it.

Speed beats discounts. A photo delivered while the game is still on the parents' minds sells better than a cheaper one a week later. Our guide on getting game photos to parents before they leave the field covers how.

If you're still deciding whether to charge at all, start with whether you should charge parents for sports photos, which covers the choice to share for free.

What you keep at these prices on PixDeel#

On PixDeel you set your own price per photo, with a current minimum of $5, and you can give any single photo its own price. Two settings match the models above. A quantity discount gives parents a percentage off when they buy more, for example 20% off from 5 photos. A package lets a parent who found their kid by photo or bib number buy every photo their kid appears in, for one fixed price, and it only shows up when it's the better deal. There's no season pass today. The closest thing is a coupon code you create for the next games.

Here's what reaches you at the prices photographers report:

What the parent buys	You keep
One photo at $5	$4.50
One photo at $10	$9.00
A few photos with your discount, $20	$18.00
Every photo of their kid, package at $40	$36.00

We keep 10% of the photo total, after your discounts. Card processing never comes out of your share, and there are no surprise fees.

Pricing mistakes that cost sales#

Too many options. Five print sizes, three file types and four bundles make a parent close the tab. Two or three choices are enough.

A hidden price. If parents have to ask, many won't. Paying through a back-and-forth in a messaging app is slow too, and every extra message is a chance for the buyer to drop off.

Waiting a week. By the next game, the last one is old news. Publish the same day, even if it's only part of the gallery.

Forgetting the other team. The parents on the other sideline want photos too, and they often come and ask for them. Price for both teams from the start.

Start with one game#

Pick your prices before your next game: a single photo, a discount for buying more and one price for every photo of a kid. Shoot, publish the same night, and see what parents choose. After two or three games you'll have your own numbers, and they'll tell you more than any range in this article.

Set up your prices for your next game on PixDeel. Free to start, pay only when you sell.