With respect to credentials, high school sports have never been a challenge to get access because I’ve made pretty good relationships with the local athletic Director and principal, and provided them with some images that they can use here and there. I’ve never sold any of my sports images, that was part of the deal when I talked with the athletic Director. I didn’t want credentials contingent on me leveraging a relationship to make money without the opportunity to give back. There are also some pretty strict rules in Ohio with respect to access and selling images at state tournaments. In order to get access for state tournaments, it helps to have an affiliation with an accredited media outlet and I haven’t established that relationship quite yet. What I have done, however is tried to increase my online footprint through Instagram with different sports outlets. Many times there are local sports news outlets for particular teams in particular sports. I’ve made relationships with them by allowing them to use a few photos to promote both of our brands through collaboration. Establishing an online footprint to show a track record of covering this sport or that sport. You did mention something that was intriguing. Establishing contract with schools is something that I’d like to learn more about. Even on the local high school level I know that certain photographers have contract with certain school, but they don’t really know one of those contracts come to be two, who you have contract with and the opportunities associated with them and three how do you even go into that knowing what the charge to be competitive? Attached are a few examples from my Instagram showing some of the collaboration work.

I am exactly this way. I’ve got 20+ terabytes spread across several hard drives and not only does it get impossible to manage. It gets very expensive particularly today with the cost of Storage. I always thought I would go back on a rainy day and dig into those files and I might find that hidden diamond in the rough. But I’m getting to the point where if it doesn’t make the final round of keepers I feel like I’m need to get rid of it. It’s just so hard to pull the trigger.

@Gavin Bethell 100%. I have a hard enough time interpreting the vision in my head. Finding the words to communicate that vision to others is a completely new level of crazy. 😂

@Gavin Bethell it never hurts to ask!!! Most of the portraits I’ve done have been for close friends and family. Every now and then, someone will see some of these portraits and ask me to shoot them, I always tell them the same exact thing that you said, and with instagram, they’ve generally arrived prepared to show me what they want. I’m biased, but pretty sure. My unposed captures of moments in between the poses were better than any of the pictures that they ultimately wanted to re-create.

Obviously, with the caviar that you can appreciate the artistic side of people being the same things that you are in a different perspective

@Gavin Bethell apparently Siri hates me and I should proof voice to text before I hit go! 😂

https://www.instagram.com/hammeramedia?srtk=NWh2bWZ0bnNqNmI4&utm_source=qr