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Introduction to volume photography for beginners.

From the exciting, high-energy sidelines of high school sports to the chaos and unpredictable fun of photographing pre-school-aged kiddos, volume photography puts you right in the middle of all the action. Plus, it can be a highly rewarding and profitable way to expand and grow your business. If you’re the type of person who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys connecting with people, and gets a thrill from capturing real, raw moments, then volume photography just might be the perfect fit! 

So, what is volume photography exactly? And is it something you should dive into headfirst?

Let’s find out!

What is volume photography? (And is it right for you?)

Essentially, volume photography is all about photographing a large number of people or participants as quickly and efficiently as possible, while still delivering a polished experience and professional-quality images. Think school portraits, sports teams, dance studios, motorsports, community events, and youth organizations. If there’s a big group involved (pets, cars, kids…you name it), volume photography probably fits right in.

Many photographers stumble into volume work because they’re already involved in something they love. Maybe you are the official snack parent at your kid’s soccer practice, volunteer at the school, run marathons, or ride horses on the weekends. Whatever your passion (or your kids’ extracurricular hobby), there’s probably a demand for action shots, team portraits, or individual photos. And maybe, you are the perfect person for the job!

But what’s the secret? It isn’t just photography know-how and experience. It’s understanding the event you’re shooting. You need to anticipate the motion before it happens, anticipate the buzzer-beater shot that wins the game, or when the dancer hits the perfect jeté. It’s that insider knowledge that makes your work stand out and gets people excited to buy.

And because you’re often photographing people whose contact info you don’t have, you’ll need to make it easy for them to find and buy their images after the event. That could mean using QR codes, branded gear or materials, gallery links sent through school admins, or even attention-grabbing posters at the event directing people where to go. Once they’re on your site? Keep it clean, keep it simple, and keep it easy (and quick!)  to buy. That’s where the magic (and money) really happens.

Common challenges in volume photography (and how to crush them.)

Volume photography isn’t all sun-filled days at the ball field and perfect photo ops. It can be incredibly intense and physically demanding. Then comes the sheer amount of work post-event!  Very often, you’ll find yourself juggling huge batches of images, racing against tight turnaround times, trying to manage gallery delivery, and an influx of product orders.

Workflow overwhelm is real. You might come home from an event with thousands of images to sort, cull, edit, and organize. If you don’t have solid systems in place, you’ll quickly find yourself under water.

That’s why it pays to get ahead with tools and a game plan (pun intended) that help you stay organized, deliver fast, and most importantly,  keep your sanity intact. Automation, innovative culling tools, and a rock-solid system in place will be your very best friends.

Essential gear & software for volume shoots.

You don’t need a truckload of equipment to get started in volume photography, but investing in high-quality, reliable gear is absolutely non-negotiable in this genre. Your tools need to be fast, perform efficiently, and be durable enough to keep up with the action.

Cameras

As always, it begins with your camera. DSLRs and mirrorless models with super-fast autofocus and high-resolution sensors are most suitable. Consider options like the Canon EOS R6, Nikon Z9, or Sony A9 III. These are all excellent choices built for speed, performance, and quality. A fast burst mode is critical when you’re trying to catch that mid-air leap or game-winning touchdown. 

Lenses

When it comes to lenses, flexibility is where it’s at. Zoom lenses such as the classic 70-200mm f/2.8 are industry staples for a reason. They deliver crisp, precise detail and versatility, whether you’re shooting a dynamic soccer match or a wedding ceremony. For more controlled, less action-oriented environments like school portraits or dance studio shoots, a prime lens won’t let you down. The 85mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.4 will give you that dreamy bokeh and consistent framing every time.

Pro tip: Have BACKUPS!!! And not just spare cards and batteries–If a lens or camera gets damaged during an event, having backup gear allows you to finish the job with professionalism.

Lighting

At the end of the day, lighting makes or breaks your shot, especially indoors under harsh light or in poor weather. Speedlights are an affordable, portable option for photographers constantly on the move between locations. If you’re setting up more formal portraits, especially indoors, consider powerful monolights or strobes. Today’s models are often cordless and easy to set up, delivering plenty of punch without any fuss. Add in softboxes or umbrellas to soften shadows, and consider RGB tube lights for stylized or vibrant shots.

Other useful gear for volume photography:

Don’t overlook the small stuff! Neutral backdrops (black, white, or grey) are perfect for clean studio styling and make background extractions easier post-shoot. A pop-up canopy tent is a must for outdoor events, offering protection from the harsh sun, rain, and wind. Battery banks keep your gear running all day, while sandbags keep your lights from taking an unexpected flight in a breeze. And of course, a simple lens cleaning kit helps you avoid the inevitable smudges and dust that can ruin your shots.

Pro tip: In addition to your backup equipment, cards, and batteries, we highly recommend packing gaffer tape. This can be used to secure any wires and avoid tripping hazards–for the safety of the attendees and your equipment. 

Software and tools for photo culling and organization.

Once the shoot is over, the real work begins: culling and organizing thousands of images. For volume photographers, efficiency in this area is everything. The faster you can sort, select, and deliver your photos, the sooner you can make the sales and move on to the next adventure.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most widely used tools by photographers, including how Zenfolio’s solutions can save you even more time and effort.

Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom remains the most popular go-to for photographers who want an all-in-one workflow. Its culling tools are directly tied to its editing capabilities, allowing you to move nimbly from image selection mode to post-processing mode without ever switching platforms.

You can rate, flag, or color-code your images during import or while viewing them in the grid or loupe view. When it’s time to edit, your selections are already organized and ready to go. 

Bonus: Lightroom integrates directly with Zenfolio via plugins so that you can upload your final selections right to the galleries and folders in your account. Talk about a time saver! 

PhotoMechanic 

When speed is the priority (and it always is), PhotoMechanic delivers. Designed for performance, this powerful software allows you to review thousands of images with minimal lag, even before importing them into Lightroom or another photo editor.

Photographers love its customizable keyboard shortcuts, comprehensive metadata editing tools, and batch tagging options. It’s ideal for sports, school events, or competitions where a quick turnaround time is essential.

While it doesn’t offer image editing features, its blistering speed makes it a trusted companion for anyone who needs to get through a large shoot quickly.

PhotoRefine 

Built by Zenfolio, PhotoRefine brings artificial intelligence into your culling workflow. By setting parameters such as focus accuracy, closed eyes, or facial expressions, PhotoRefine evaluates every image, flagging those that don’t meet your personal criteria, and organizing the rest based on your personal shooting criteria.

Desktop Uploader

If you need extra organization outside of Lightroom, or you need a way to upload finalized images in bulk, Zenfolio’s Desktop Uploader is built to streamline that process.

This intuitive app mirrors the Galleries section of your Zenfolio account, making it easy to visualize your folder layout before you upload. Even better—it preserves the original file structure from your computer! Nested folders? It can handle that! Subfolders? No problem. Everything is transferred exactly as you’ve organized it.

Workflow strategies: pre-shoot to delivery (step by step).

When it comes to volume photography, process replication and reliability are key. Photographers who find the most success in volume work aren’t just winging it—they’re relying on rock-solid workflows, thoughtful pre-shoot planning, and efficient tools to make sure things run smoothly from prep to delivery.

Taking the time to prepare for any session matters, but with volume or event photography, a lack of preparation can do so much more than just slow you down. It can impact your performance, your reputation, and, ultimately, the trust of your client. 

Let’s walk through a few key areas to focus on before the cameras start clicking.

Pre-shoot prep and planning.

Prep Your Website

Before the first photo is taken, make sure your website is ready to handle incoming traffic and orders. Create galleries ahead of time, ensure that navigation is spot-on, and make sure your contact info is clear so that customers can reach out for help.! Every little preparation helps, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about after the shoot. Fortunately, Zenfolio offers some great features to help you get all set before you snap your first photo!

• Use Folder and Gallery Registration with Paid Access to collect important customer info and payment before the shoot. This cuts down on manual admin, and you won’t have to chase unpaid invoices later! 
• Build out your price list in advance, and if you aren’t sure what to charge for products, use our Smart Pricing feature. This handy tool provides location-based pricing while protecting your profit margins. While you’re in there, why not up your marketing game with Smart Upsell? This feature allows you to offer dynamic in-cart promotions automatically. Offer tiered or quantity-based discounts, and free shipping—photographers using this feature have seen their cart totals more than double! 
• Check that your storefront and gallery settings reflect the type of event you’re photographing. From team photos to dance recitals to school portraits, if you don’t have products that make sense for the event, customers won’t buy.

Scout the location.

When possible, visit the location in advance. Getting to know the layout of the field or checking out the lighting in a ballroom ahead of time can really help you feel more confident on shoot day. Take note of where you’ll be standing, where your subjects will enter and exit, and where natural light may fall.

If you’re unable to scout in person, ask the organizer for photos or videos of the location or do a quick search online. A general picture in mind can help you prep more effectively.

Organize and clean your gear.

No matter the size of the shoot, your equipment should be clean and ready to go. Wipe down your lenses and camera bodies. Check your sensor for dust (carefully!). Format your memory cards and fully charge all batteries.

Label everything—from camera bodies to battery packs. It sounds silly…who doesn’t know their own gear, right? But when shoot day comes, and chaos is the only vibe, you’ll be thankful later. 

Day of the shoot.

Camera settings 

When it comes to camera settings, a fast shutter speed is your greatest asset for freezing action. From there, adjust your ISO and aperture to nail the exposure without compromising on that crisp detail. If you’re just getting started, don’t hesitate to use continuous shooting mode! It’s a great way to capture a lot of images in close succession and increase your chances of capturing that perfect moment. With time, anticipating high-action shots will become second nature. 

Pro tip: Monitor your camera settings throughout the day so they don’t change on accident–you can’t always reschedule the event you are shooting, and missing half a day’s shots is not the impression you want to leave with the organizer who hired you.

Composition and framing

Framing and composition might feel unimportant at first (especially if you’re chasing fast-paced subjects), but once you find your groove and become more comfortable, there’s a lot of fun, creative freedom to explore. Try experimenting with negative space, the rule of thirds, or leading lines to add dynamism and tell a story with your images. These intentional choices can make a significant visual impact.

Pro tip: Learn the rules so you can throw them out when needed and focus on what the participant, or audience, would love to see documented. This may result in an image with an awkward composition, or perhaps the sharpness/lighting isn’t perfect–but they will still buy that split-second capture because it shows the story.

Weather ready

Weather is always a wildcard, isn’t it!? Bright, sunny days might require some thoughtful exposure adjustments to avoid blowing out highlights, while rain or mist means protecting your gear with weather covers or lens hoods. Snow? The cold will affect battery life, so pack the backups! Rain or shine, it pays to be prepared because equipment isn’t cheap, and neither is your peace of mind.

Post-shoot

Once the last photo is taken, your job isn’t done. But with the proper workflow under your belt, the post-shoot process doesn’t have to leave you feeling overwhelmed. 

File management

It might not sound sexy, but proper file management can make all the difference.  Creating a consistent, organized folder structure, such as by date, event, or subject, can save you hours at the end of the day. A clear naming convention helps, too. All of this might seem like a small thing to consider in the scheme of things, but being able to quickly find images is a huge time-saver, especially when you’re juggling multiple jobs.

Presets and actions

Let’s face it, editing can literally eat up hours in a day (or night…because you aren’t really a photographer until you have a few midnight editing marathons under your belt). Presets and actions can really help here! You can create templates in your editing software for things like color correction, small contrast adjustments, even cropping—whatever you find yourself doing over and over again. Apply them to a whole batch, make adjustments as needed, and move on to the next lot! It’s a fast way to give your images a consistent, polished look without starting from scratch every single time.

Watermarking and resizing images.

Watermarking and resizing are also part of the post-shoot, pre-delivery prep. Watermarks can help protect your work and keep your brand visible, whether you apply them during editing or choose to add them in your online galleries. As for image size, the key is finding a balance between quality and efficiency. If you’re uploading a gallery from home, full-res images are the way to go. But when you’re on location or working with a slower internet connection, resizing to a smaller, yet still high-quality, version can speed up your workflow considerably. Always check if the event organizer has any specific file size requirements.

Upload and delivery

After all of that hustle, it is time to give your work the debut it deserves. Whether you’re sending galleries to a large group via email in one go, sharing a direct link via text, or using the QR codes you took onsite, Zenfolio’s integrated workflow is the ultimate time-saver! 

Features like Auto Tag & Describe are especially helpful here. Did you shoot a wedding, a football game, or a dog show? Zenfolio can detect your shoot type and automatically generate a perfectly polished gallery description that’s SEO-friendly and tailored to your own voice. It also suggests keywords to improve your online visibility and make galleries easier for clients to find (and buy)! 

If you’re using Zenfolio’s other automated workflows, the process gets even easier. Your site can accept bookings, create galleries from those bookings, apply the correct privacy and store settings via Gallery Presets. We can even notify clients when their photos are ready…you don’t have to lift a finger!

Less time behind the screen means more time to do what you love—whether that’s working with clients, planning your next creative shoot, or simply enjoying some well-deserved time off. 

Automating customer orders and selling prints online.

Selling prints and delivering client orders shouldn’t be time-consuming. It shouldn’t be something you dread. It shouldn’t send you to the post office multiple times a week. With Zenfolio, you don’t have to chase down payments or manually track orders. Just upload your galleries, set your prices, and the platform will help you see it across the finish line.

After the uploading and the gallery delivery, the focus shifts to getting your clients their photos and making it easy for them to order exactly what they love. Zenfolio’s integration with the best professional labs means your clients can place orders directly from their galleries, and their prints will be fulfilled and shipped automatically. 

Selling digital downloads is always a big win with customers in these larger events. And you can’t argue with instant delivery after purchase. It’s such a joy to see a photo you’ve captured being used as someone’s new profile picture on Facebook or Instagram! You are officially part of their story.

And now, it’s not just about still images. With the new Video Selling feature, you can offer downloadable 4k videos right from your store.  From once-in-a-lifetime dance memories to quick action racing, this feature helps you share more than just the visuals; it delivers the whole experience. You can even upload a short preview clip to show off the moment. Providing customers with this uniquely personal experience is something that will keep them coming back again and again.

Building and maintaining great client relationships.

When you’re shooting for volume, you’re not just dealing with one or two clients. You’re working with event coordinators, race directors, venue managers, and dozens (if not hundreds or thousands) of individual customers. That means your reputation depends on more than just great photos; it’s also about your professionalism, reliability, and clear communication.

Volume clients expect quick turnaround times, consistent quality, and easy access to digital and print products. Take time to understand the goals of your clients, whether it’s showcasing a dance recital or capturing the energy and drama of a marathon. When you’re responsive to questions, attentive to detail, and genuinely invested in the experience, clients will remember.

Coming this fall: Tools built for volume photographers.

Zenfolio is always working on new ways to help you optimize your workflow, save time, and earn more.  Check out a sneak peek at what’s coming soon:

• QR Code Workflow: Create scannable QR Codes to sort and match photos with zero guesswork (and yes, it’s a game-changer.) Available NOW on ProSuite plans!
• Product Builder: Customize and sell specialty products tailored to your event, like Memory Mates or collages. Available NOW on ProSuite plans!
• AI Face Find: Instantly identify individuals across galleries with intelligent facial recognition.
• AI based face search: Your clients can instantly find every photo they’re in—just by uploading a quick selfie.
• Basic Email Marketing: Keep your client base engaged with built-in tools to send announcements, sales, or new shoot availability.

Each of these tools is designed to help you grow your business and deliver the kind of service that keeps people coming back.

Final checklist: Succeeding in your first volume photography season.

Volume photography can be exciting, fast-paced, and incredibly rewarding—but it’s not without its learning curves. Here are a few parting tips from photographers who’ve been in the game and come out stronger (and smarter) on the other side:

1. Workflow, workflow, workflow: A smooth, repeatable workflow will save your sanity. Use tools and platforms that support automation and streamline your shooting, editing, and delivery.
2. Communication is everything: Keep your clients in the loop, set expectations clearly, and work closely with assistants or second shooters to stay aligned. An open line of communication leads to smoother events and happier clients.
3. Ability to bounce back: Rejection isn’t the end. You won’t land every job, and not every client will love your work. And that’s okay! Instead of getting discouraged, reflect. Was it a pricing issue? Level of experience? Style preference? Take what you can learn and move forward confidently.
4. Keep it profitable: Don’t fall into the trap of underpricing just to win jobs. Instead, focus on increasing value: add new products, scale your operations smartly, and keep costs in check. Sustainable pricing and a loyal client base will keep your business healthy for the long haul.

At the end of the day, your photography business is more than just a series of photo shoots and sales; it’s the art you pour your heart into every single day and the relationships you build along the way. The tools and workflows you choose should give you more freedom to focus on what you love most.

As you step into your next season of work, remember that every click of your camera is full of opportunity…to connect, to bring joy, and to grow your business in ways that feel natural and meaningful to you. You’ve got the talent, the creative spark, and now, the resources to make it happen. You’ve got this!

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