Every time there's a leak about a hot new camera, Jeffrey Snyder's phone starts ringing off the hook. Snyder, who has spent nearly three decades as camera salesman in Washington D.C., has made a career as the professional photographer's go-to guy for gear.

"I get jammed with phone calls and IM's – everyone wants the latest and greatest," he says.

The same could be said for Snyder, a respected sport and celebrity photographer as well as a salesman, who's always on the lookout for ways to sharpen his craft and increase his exposure.

Snyder started shooting at the age of 15, and even then he had a talent for sales.

As a ball boy at pro tennis tournaments, Snyder decided to make some extra cash by selling the pictures he took on court.

"I was always a big sports fan; I always had a darkroom in my house as a kid. It just evolved from there," he says.

By 1979 he'd secured a post at Penn Camera and began building his credentials as a camera expert while continuing to hone his own photography skills. Snyder's career at Penn lasted until just a few weeks ago, when he took a job at Adorama Camera doing pro sales out of his Washington D.C. home base.

Snyder is self-taught, but he's always had a natural eye for images — and opportunity.

In 1987 a friend of his was working for legendary Washington Redskins photographer Nate Fine. When his friend was transferred to a new territory, Snyder stepped in and became a field still photographer for the team.

"I remember Nate handing me six rolls of Tri-X and telling me to bring back great images," Snyder recalls. "Six rolls? An entire game? I was always throwing in another six of my own, at least."

In his first season covering the Redskins the team made it to the Superbowl. "As a native Washingtonian, it was extremely exciting," he says.

While Snyder's work in sports was born from a love of the genre, his entrée into celebrity photography had more to do with proximity.

"When the Hard Rock Café opened [in Washington D.C.], I went to them and said, 'My offices are around the corner,'" he says. The Hard Rock was lining him up with jobs soon after. 20 years later he's still shooting celebrities. He now works with a PR company that handles major movie agencies and often finds himself at red carpet events, such as last month's Baltimore premier of the new movie Hairspray.

Still, Snyder's main focus is on sports, and horse racing is his specialty. He began photographing horses about 10 years ago, when he was introduced by a friend to the lead shooter for Blood Horse magazine. To this day he remains a contributing photographer for Blood Horse and has covered the sport's biggest events, including the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, and as The Breeders Cup Championships.

"The most exciting thing for me to cover is Triple Crown racing," he says. Race days are long for photographers. "We set up at 6:30 in the morning and shoot at 6:00 that night. It's 12 to 14 hours for two minutes [of action]," he says.

Fortunately, during that time he takes advantage of his complementary roles as photographer and salesman.

"I get to meet great photographers and learn from them, and people are always hitting me up with questions on gear," he says.

Snyder's talent for sales extends to his ability to sell his own images online. He recently had his personal website and PhotoShelter pages customized so that his public archive is now seamlessly integrated into his main site.

"It's fantastic," he says. "It allows so many people to see your images, and you can gain access to editors and buyers."

Snyder is also a supporter of PhotoShelter's integration with fotoQuote™, the trusted stock image pricing guide.

"It's huge," Snyder says of the pairing. "It allows you to sell your images at industry standards."

In the first two months of the year, Snyder sold enough images to pay for his PhotoShelter account for the rest of the year.

"I get phone calls and negotiate myself so I don't have to give 50 percent to an agency," he says.

Recently, he was approached by a liquor distributor who wanted to license an image of last year's Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro, to use in bar promotions. They had looked high and low for a licensable image of the champion but couldn't find one.

Snyder's image of Barbaro in the middle of the Derby pack, straining ahead with his rider tucked low and waiting to pass, did the trick.

"They found me in PhotoShelter because of my keywording," he says.

So did Simon & Schuster, which used Snyder's headshot of Barbaro looking into the camera with a curious look on his face on the back cover of one of their new books.

It's one thing to have great pictures; it's another to market them. Part of Snyder's success is due to his ability to organize and label images so they are easy to find.

He recommends that photographers name their galleries appropriately and keep them small, with only their best work showcased.

"I like to change my galleries often and keep them fresh for the buyers," he says. His other tip is to take the time to do keywording that will enable to buyer to find an image using a variety of search terms.

For the future, Snyder plans to shoot more and put more images online. "I'm going to keep changing my galleries and making them different so people come back and click further into the site," he says.

He's also getting settled at Adorama, where he'll be able to continue to pursue his twin talents as shooter and salesman.

"It's an exciting life," he says.