Media accreditation - advice pls

jack38

jack38

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I have media accreditation for the first time for this weekends ThundersportGB event at Snetterton - any tips or advice would be appreciated, I have done some marshalling in the past so am aware of the safety issues
 
if you've marshalled before then you know the main bits, and you've got a head start.
go to the media centre (might not be open, so it could just be the office downstairs) and ask to sign on as a photographer. have some £££ with you for the deposit and away you go.
 
Make sure you have some good footwear and if its bikes, make sure you have at least 300mm and pay attention to the sun direction
 
John, I trust you have Public Liability Insurance(PLI)? No PLI no trackside.
 
yes mate , I have PLI and a 120-300mm f2.8 and some good footwear - it would seem as though Im ready to go , I've only been to snetterton with a point and shoot before so am really looking forward to it , a little disappointed its the old configuration thats being used as I think the new infield section has some good places to shoot from
 
munch said:
John, I trust you have Public Liability Insurance(PLI)? No PLI no trackside.
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Strangely enough I've only ever been asked for PLI when I've shot track days NEVER when I've been at major events such as BTCC :shrug:
 
I did have to submit evidence of my PLI when applying , but I have also packed a hard copy just in case somebody needs to see it - better safe than sorry
 
Accredited means different things to different people. I have had a couple of occasions where photographers have said they are accredited only to find that it is just to a magazine.
 
Anyhow I digress, have a good time John but stay safe. It can be very easy to concentrate on your photography, but loose out on what else is going on around you.
 
munch said:
Accredited means different things to different people. I have had a couple of occasions where photographers have said they are accredited only to find that it is just to a magazine.
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As opposed to?

Accredited just means that you have credentials to prove you meet a requirement, in the case of "media" it generally means that you are representing some form of publication (tv/radio, paper or electronic) that the organisers wish to see their event in...
 
I have had photographers turn up to race meetings saying they are accredited to a magazine and believing that gave them the entitlement to go trackside without accreditation either from the organising club or the circuit owners.
 
So you present your credentials to the organiser/circuit media people, they review them for relevance and they grant you media accreditation and whatever access they deem relevant.

If you mean that your example was a writer or a radio broadcaster then of course, they have no need for track access for photography.

Equally at some events you might not get access to other areas even as a photographer - eg MotoGP or BSB won't generally give anyone but a select few of season accredited ("hard carded" as the americans like to call it) access to pitlane and grid. In other series you might only get support class access if your relevance is only to some driver/rider in the support class.

But these sorts of restrictions are normally only the high end events, most UK motorsport demands very little other than a chance that the Macklethrop Observer might run a 100 word story and a postage stamp photo.
 
I look forward to seeing what you get from this. I was at the 1st round at Brands Hatch (bitterly cold, horrible day) and would have loved to access the media areas if only to get better shots on the entrance to Paddock Hill.

I have media access for the BTCC next weekend at Thruxton as I'm on a race-day photography course which includes 2 bibs to share between the 6 of us. It'll be the 1st time on the other side of the armco :)
 
DavidC1980 said:
I have media access for the BTCC next weekend at Thruxton as I'm on a race-day photography course which includes 2 bibs to share between the 6 of us. It'll be the 1st time on the other side of the armco :)
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Find that a bit of a bizarre series to start with and for the organisers to allow entry to. Would have thought something slower would suit first timers better especially with these cars record of smacking into the barriers!!
 
Well it's a small group and we will only have the extra access for two corners and will be with our trainer at all times. It certainly won't be my first time trackside, but it will be my first time with the less restrictive access. ( right side of the Armco ;) other side of the fence)

To be honest, I'm probably more interested in the off track stuff to shoot than I am with the on track action. I usually find that my favourite shots when looking thru the pro photographers albums are those of the racers and riders interacting with thier teams, the mechanics at work as much as the shots of actual racing.

As for the speed of the subjects, I've shot Motogp and F1, so am hoping that side of things shouldn't be an issue. It's the skill of composition and getting an interesting shot that I really want to develop. Too many of my photos are plain side on panning shots, essentially dull.

Anyway, it's the first time the course has been run and Thruxton have been closely involved in the details so hopefully it'll be a good experience. I will post a report on my experience after the event.
 
Thank you all for the tips , I had a great weekend and stayed safe and shot loads and am now absolutely knackered, David I was at Brands too and Donington they were both bitterly cold all weekend , it only rained/hailed once during the day this weekend and it didn't last too long and it was reasonably warm , I'll post a few shots up when I've been through them - probably about august looking at the amount Ive shot !!!
 
The course sounds interesting, any more details?
 
To be honest only having access to two corners sounds like a bit of a joke, you'd learn more just walking the track as a spectator shooting as many places as possible. If you had the ability to go on the pitlane or the gridwalk then you might learn something new.
 
Floats said:
To be honest only having access to two corners sounds like a bit of a joke, you'd learn more just walking the track as a spectator shooting as many places as possible. If you had the ability to go on the pitlane or the gridwalk then you might learn something new.
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We are talking Thruxton. Not much more than two corners available to anyone !
 
meonshore said:
We are talking Thruxton. Not much more than two corners available to anyone !
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LOL, I was thinking that when it was first written up :)

I've seen these sessions advertised for many tracks now, personally, I'd pick one of the more interesting ones if I was going to do it...
 
I haven't had a chance to fully go through all the photos that I took over the weekend I from my first look I'm quite happy (not ecstatic) with the results. The day was very much about the access to the photography areas, with limited actual training but in all honesty I think that was the right balance for the day.

Due to the BTCC being Thruxton's biggest event, Tim wasn't able to run the day exactly as he would have liked as there were 100 media signed on and a very very full timetable on track. At a smaller event we would have had space in the media centre and the time to propoery review and critique photos on our laptops.

I'll post some photos later, hopefully tonight. As has already been said Thruxton isn't exactly a photogenic place. If something like this was offered at Brands Hatch I'd be on it for sure.
 
yiannich said:
I had no idea that such courses exist, it should provide you with good tips and experience to progress quickly. I am thinking about joining one too.

As for Brands Hatch, I did a bit of search and found this http://www.sportsphotographyschool.co.uk/british-f3.html
Although the cost (~500GBP) is more than steep for my pocket.
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I try to avoid commenting on other photographers business but that photo of them all standing together on the side of the straight at brands is mental! Dangerous enough for experienced photographers to stand there let alone a group of inexperienced ones!!!
 
yiannich said:
I had no idea that such courses exist, it should provide you with good tips and experience to progress quickly.
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Would you (or anyone else) be interested in a non-trackside motorsport training day?

Being trackside whilst it gives you a unique buzz is a bit of a hazardous place to be giving instruction...
 
Have to agree with Gary on this, especially at that point on the track.
 
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