Becoming a Sports Photographer

Joe you raise a good point there and I am sure that kip pax will correct if I am wrong but as you don't hold a dataco licence I as far as I understand the rules only the licence holder can display on a web site
 
Joeturner11 said:
Sorry to hear that if its comes across as I'am being arrogant, its just some members on this forum drive me up the twist...I think for the best after my transaction goes though on the classifieds I will leave the forum, think its for the best for all of us and I'am sure a lot of people on this forum will be glad of it & they lets me use the images on my website that I show, sorry also to anyone I drove up the wall!
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Joe, its all a learning curve and while some members may seem to chastise you more then others it is genuinley well intended, there really arent any prima donnas on here (not anymore anyway) what there is however is some real hard working pros who have themselves at some stage in their careers been faced with the same quandries and learned from similar experiences, these guys are 100% speaking from experience, they do know what hurts the individual and the industry as a whole.

Take it on the chin mate and learn from it.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Joe, its all a learning curve and while some members may seem to chastise you more then others it is genuinley well intended, there really arent any prima donnas on here (not anymore anyway) what there is however is some real hard working pros who have themselves at some stage in their careers been faced with the same quandries and learned from similar experiences, these guys are 100% speaking from experience, they do know what hurts the individual and the industry as a whole.

Take it on the chin mate and learn from it.
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Will do Gary & Its all a big learning curve as you say and sometimes don't make the right choices and thats what we learn from, thanks for your reply mate :)
 
Joe, I know way intended to drive you away from the site & i Purley intended it for you to "man up" to the fact you know very little about the industry at the moment compared with fellow posters!, this is not a bad thing as your the upcoming breed needed but you must also follow advice given to ensure that we all continue to make a living in this social media era!!
 
Bluesman graham said:
Joe, I know way intended to drive you away from the site & i Purley intended it for you to "man up" to the fact you know very little about the industry at the moment compared with fellow posters!, this is not a bad thing as your the upcoming breed needed but you must also follow advice given to ensure that we all continue to make a living in this social media era!!
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It wasn't you mate that was driving me away at all, I can see where your coming from with your comments, and are take the comments you gave me onboard and learn from them like Gary has said to me, Thanks for putting me back on track as you could say :thumbs:
 
This argument has been long running .. way before any of us got into the game, and will continue long into the future of all of our careers in this industry. Pay vs. Free is a subject of discussion across all disciplines of photography. It quite often evokes quite a passionate response as we see above....

My own personal take is there is a time for both ... certainly if you are getting things published by a paper there should be a fee, however working for free for some local clubs - providing the images to them for free is a great way to build up a portfolio ... and more importantly build up your own experience in different areas. While you are most likely not needed to edit / wire pitch side at your local club it is an invaluable lesson in doing so without the pressures of doing it for real. I still, when I have some free time, head around to my local club to shoot both football and cricket for them - they get something (the images) and I get something too (test out new kit or process) ... I even got bought a beer the other week ... top stuff !

Going back to your original question "getting started" ... build up that experience .. not only from a technical / process point of view .. but also what you think you would enjoy shooting. I know a lot of fantastic sports photographers who hate certain sports and avoid them .... now is a good opportunity to see what you enjoy as that should shine through in your images later down the line ...

Also, as you get more experienced with shooting sports ... you may also be wiser to see where shooting for free may actually help your career long term ..

As I say my own personal take on it...

cheers,

Nige
 
As well as the 'Free vs Paid' question at the start of anyones career - we then get to the question "What is the right fee to charge per game/image/day/assignment".
And here probably the background where you have come into Sports Photography comes into the play as well - if you've been working as ???? and used to earning £19000/pa ... if you then earn £22000/pa from your photography (after expenses!!).
You would be rather pleased with your career change.... but if you mention to some other photographers that your annual earnings are £22000... they'll say you aren't charging enough and if their photo-business doesn't make at least £65000 profit each year.. they consider it a bad year.

Do I personally take 'Jobs for Free' at the moment - I sometimes do for various charities and good causes. Did I do jobs for free when I started out.. yes - many of those free jobs didn't lead to anywhere, but enough of them have lead to regular work to allow me to make a living out of Sports Photography.
Would I give images free to newspapers these days - no. Every single newspaper that has come to me with the line 'No budget for images' - has come back later on when they have needed an image and have paid for it (fair enough - not from every game. But numerous times per season).

When I was starting out - I went to every possible sporting event I could and tried to learn as many sports as possible, and not only stick to the ones that majority of photographers go to.
Just because Sport A is the one you see in the newspapers - doesn't mean should overlook other sports.
At the games I created contacts with newspapers/websites/tv stations/federations .... all which have helped me further down my career.

It's a tough balancing act to get things 'right ' when starting out - especially in the narrow newspaper market in the UK. Football rules over here - but there are other ways to make a living out of Sports Photography.. it's not only football that sells.
To the major daily newspapers perhaps... but just think outside the box and there is a whole variety of sports that would love to get images from their games. The pay may start on a level that you wonder whether it'll be worth it.. but with your own creativity and ideas, you can make even a small start grow into something which will make you a good living.

(Also on the good side - to cover many indoor sports - you don't need to invest in a 300mm/400mm f2.8 lens ;-) )
 
Right guys sorry to ask in here but I don't want to start another new thread so hopefully you will all be looking at this and able to answer.

I have been using my 70-300mm (gonna pinch my dads 55-300mm to see how much better it is than mine) for the few RL games I have photographed but now the union season is upon us I will be getting to my old club as often as I can so should I stock to this or use my 150-500mm as I will be using my D3100 as a second body with an 18-105mm lens until I can afford another D7000 body. Also for Football what lens would you suggest and would you use a monopod or hand hold the 500mm if I use that.
 
Youre really gonna struggle with a lend as slow as f/5-6.3 even during the day during winter months so forget that one, if youre serious then f/2.8 and nothing else will do during the winter months, you seem to have a very limited budget so a used Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 or possibly the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 if you can scrape together £7-800

you dont need any qualifications but do need to prove you can take decent pics
 
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