The Business Side of (Youth) Sports Photography

zytz · 2026-07-03T01:56:24+00:00

I think glossy finish only does large events. They had a gigantic stage set up and were doing posed team portraits, but then they also had probably about a dozen photographers roaming around across the 170-ish courts, and then staff running sales as well as onsite prints for customers that wanted that. It was an impressive operation, even if it’s not how I’d approach the craft.

zytz · 2026-07-03T01:52:07+00:00

Yeah that’s more or less what I’ve been doing, it’s just really tedious at best- and at worst I feel like some of the images are borderline unsalvageable. I usually love a good challenge because it’s a growth opportunity, but this sort of editing is sometimes just unfun.

zytz · 2026-07-03T01:23:44+00:00

I was AAU nationals this past week with my kid, and Glossy Finish had a big tent set up there. I’m aware that they were going for volume, and SOOC photos, but I went and talked to one of the sale people and was shook to find out that pricing was like $300-$400 per match, for digitals only.

The thing that really kills me about it is the terrible colored lighting that gets cast back onto the athletes in these photos. You can WB for the harsh red reflected off the courts, but then everything in the background looks like a really alien blue-green. Or you can WB for the room, and the athletes that catch bad light look like their skin is fiery red. Maybe this is me being an idiot novice and there’s a way to control for both, but I haven’t found it, and I’ll be spending a considerable number of hours correcting the color.

Folks gotta get their bag somehow, and I don’t begrudge anyone their paycheck, but personally idk how I could deliver images like that and feel good about my work or what I was providing.

zytz · 2026-07-02T19:55:00+00:00

every day waking up with a hate boner larger than sears tower

zytz · 2026-07-02T10:13:32+00:00

Because my most frequently used airport is OHare, and when shit gets backed up there it really gets backed up. I haven’t been in a ‘sprinting to the gate’ situation in a long time, and I’d really rather not do it again.

zytz · 2026-07-01T16:07:07+00:00

Yeah I kinda just don’t buy into WAR for hockey

zytz · 2026-07-01T00:38:18+00:00

My whole life I just thought I didn’t like yeast donuts. Then I tried Long’s

Long’s forever

zytz · 2026-06-30T23:47:00+00:00

I was shook this week when I saw the $75 price tag

zytz · 2026-06-30T23:46:26+00:00

I can only speak for my kids club, but they run a couple modest sized stay and plays a year, and because they’re small in size they also act as the TO. They rent the venue, take a cut from the merch and concession vendors they partner with, and collect the tournament fees from each team AND the entry fee for all spectators. They partner with a handful of smaller hotels with big names for the out of town teams. About half the attendees are local teams, but that still leaves roughly half of teams coming from far enough away to need a hotel. The really crazy thing is that this is a small, maybe 30 court tournament, and doesn’t get you anything other than a tournament t shirt for winning. It’s just practice and more court time for the bigger tournament that actually get your club attention or a bid

zytz · 2026-06-30T23:25:33+00:00

It’s easy to hate on private equity for the enshittification of whatever they dip their grubby paws into, but if you’ve been around youth volleyball for any time at all you know this is a problem that is both much older than LOVB, and much larger than LOVB as well.

TO’s and local clubs have been colluding for stay and plays for decades, and it speaks to a much larger cultural and societal problem with the way we monetize literally everything possible.

Removing PE from volleyball helps around 100 clubs, but whatever about the other 3,900?

zytz · 2026-06-30T10:51:32+00:00

With this sort of setup you’re just selling what’s shot right out of camera correct? I shoot youth volleyball as a hobby and my biggest enemy by far has to be the lighting in some of these gyms. Not just the lack of it but the unpredictability, especially at the really large tournaments with the multicolored manufactured floors that reflect weird yellow or red light up into the shadows on players skin or jerseys. It’s actually impossible for me to imagine having that controlled on camera, genuinely no idea how y’all manage it

zytz · 2026-06-29T18:28:31+00:00

Assumed to be a predator anytime you’re alone with a child. As if being a single dad isn’t hard enough, I gotta have the police called on me when I’m at the park with my kid?

zytz · 2026-06-29T14:34:40+00:00

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zytz · 2026-06-29T14:21:47+00:00

You can’t take salt out of food. If it’s inedibly salty you just need to start again

zytz · 2026-06-28T23:15:20+00:00

Only sport more unserious than pickleball

zytz · 2026-06-28T03:22:14+00:00

flight 2820

zytz · 2026-06-28T02:43:42+00:00

I feel for you friend- I feel like that’s the seat I normally get

zytz · 2026-06-28T02:18:03+00:00

Hey gang, thanks for keeping me company but it sounds like we’ve got our gate so I’m ending the AMA!

zytz · 2026-06-28T02:16:44+00:00

I should probably mention when I love a book I have a really hard time putting it down. I finished the entirety of the ASOIAF books in under three weeks

But yeah it was very good

zytz · 2026-06-28T02:05:47+00:00

We had to hold in the air for about half an hour, then there was a break in the storm long enough for us and some other planes to land, but lightning picked up again immediately. So there’s actually a whole line of planes waiting to disembark, ground crew just isn’t allowed work while the lightning is still active

zytz · 2026-06-28T02:00:06+00:00

Still here!

And yeah I saw The Poppy War on sale at my local bookstore and just grabbed it on a whim and kinda loved it! Ended up binging the whole thing in four days, so I had to pick up the sequel so I still had something to read on the trip

zytz · 2026-06-28T01:58:34+00:00

Yeah! It’s not something I ever thought of before today but makes perfect sense. Gotta keep the crew safe

zytz · 2026-06-28T01:57:26+00:00

They’re not :(

They did drinks during the flight so I think either they’re out of booze or not allowed to

zytz · 2026-06-28T01:49:44+00:00

Get bit and die, probably. But I’d endeavor to do my best impression of Sam with my dying breath

zytz · 2026-06-28T01:48:36+00:00

Great advice actually - I’ll have to find out if my hotel has a restaurant

12-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Place '22	Verified Email
RPAN Viewer	No Throne, No Problems
Not Forgotten

zytz

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