Published on first attempt

ChrisHeathcote

ChrisHeathcote

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,717
Name
Chris
Edit My Images
Yes
Although the paper may not be as prominent as The Times, I'm chuffed to bits anyway. One of my friends has started racing motorbikes competitively this season, this gave me an opportunity to try my hand at motorsports, which I've been contemplating for a while. After a successful weekend I decided to send some of the pictures to the local paper along with an article. To my surprise here is this weeks paper, along with my article. Would have been nice for them to have credited me though as I was hoping to use in my portfolio, so that I can try to get a media bib in future events

View attachment 35820
 
Wow, good on you mate, perhaps you could contact the editor and see if he doesn't mind you sending in a few articles and actually credit you with your work. The fact they posted it is a good sign.
 
kraftyskillz said:
Wow, good on you mate, perhaps you could contact the editor and see if he doesn't mind you sending in a few articles and actually credit you with your work. The fact they posted it is a good sign.
Click to expand...

This was my next plan for future races, I've obviously got my original submission email along with content, so I can prove it is mine.
 
Well done, pity no credit though :(
 
No they didn't, looks like I'm one of the many fools to fall into their trap. My reason for submitting was twofold, one to publicise my friends success, the second was to try and build a portfolio. The local papers near me, clearly state that they do not pay for images. However I was willing to sacrifice this to start and try and work my way into sports photography. Looks like I've learnt my first lesson
 
Congratulations on having a photo printed. That's one more than I've ever had printed. Make sure you frame it and put it on the wall
 
Chris,

Thats the problem and they rely on it, but it gave them a nice page header though. They will probably tell you they have no budget......a paper with no pictures these days would not be as popular as in Victorian times. Go figure....

Even if they do a deal such as printing your website address, don't expect it to bring any dividends.

However, use the editor. Get him to get you access to tracks on their behalf. Its amazing what a little back scratching can do.
 
Last edited:
I seriously wouldnt advertise the fact that your not only giving pictures but copy to the papers for free.. not only are all the local photogrpahers going to hate you but now the reporters as well... they will all know who you are and what you have done and they wont forget... probably done yourself more harm than good.

thats my advice to you.thats not me moaning at what you did.. just letting you know thats exactly how it works...
 
shreds said:
Chris,

Thats the problem and they rely on it, but it gave them a nice page header though. They will probably tell you they have no budget......a paper with no pictures these days would not be as popular as in Victorian times. Go figure....

Even if they do a deal such as printing your website address, don't expect it to bring any dividends.

However, use the editor. Get him to get you access to tracks on their behalf. Its amazing what a little back scratching can do.
Click to expand...
Thanks Ian, my strategy was going to be to contact the editor and investigate the possibility of submitting work in the future (for payment) and/or supporting media access to tracks.

KIPAX said:
I seriously wouldnt advertise the fact that your not only giving pictures but copy to the papers for free.. not only are all the local photogrpahers going to hate you but now the reporters as well... they will all know who you are and what you have done and they wont forget... probably done yourself more harm than good.

thats my advice to you.thats not me moaning at what you did.. just letting you know thats exactly how it works...
Click to expand...

Good job my name wasn't mentioned then after all ;) (I also wouldn't say I'm advertising the fact either

On a serious note though, how are amateurs supposed to get started, because without the media accreditation you struggle to get the best vantage points, which means you also struggle to gain interest from the media. Surely what you get in return doesn't have to be purely financial.

As a side note, I have just received an email from my friends company offering to pay me for the article in recognition of the time and work I have put in :)
 
I think you've shot yourself in the foot with that paper at least. Not likely that they'll decide to start paying you once you've been so keen to supply copy and images for free. Why would they? They'll just take the next guys photos that are sent in for free.

If you had a contact involved in racing then I would have thought your best plan would be to follow that route and shoot for his team, no doubt they'll know who deals with media where they race and be able to put you in touch with the right people.
 
gibtheo said:
I think you've shot yourself in the foot with that paper at least. Not likely that they'll decide to start paying you once you've been so keen to supply copy and images for free. Why would they? They'll just take the next guys photos that are sent in for free.

If you had a contact involved in racing then I would have thought your best plan would be to follow that route and shoot for his team, no doubt they'll know who deals with media where they race and be able to put you in touch with the right people.
Click to expand...

We did visit the media centre as the team had asked me to take pictures for them, however apparently the circuit requires copies of recent articles and letter from a publication (along with necessary PLI) to gain Media Access
 
So if you need accreditation etc how did you shoot the photos that you sent to the paper?

I'd say you should have had PLI yourself anyway if you were attending public events to photograph.

I'm not telling you how to do anything, each to their own, but I guess if motor sport is anything similar to other sports, most people would start at the bottom of the ladder, go to events that they had access to and improve their skills, and as they did that work up to bigger events. However, you have a great contact, my advice would be to follow that route. Try to get hold of the media officer, see if your mates team wants some imagery for promo purposes (they sound like they might if they are keen to pay you for what you already did), there must be some scope for photographers not shooting for a paper to be there? Go to any football game there'll be people shooting for the club, for the sponsors, for the league itself etc etc...

Where there's a will there's a way! :-)
 
gibtheo said:
So if you need accreditation etc how did you shoot the photos that you sent to the paper?

I'd say you should have had PLI yourself anyway if you were attending public events to photograph.

I'm not telling you how to do anything, each to their own, but I guess if motor sport is anything similar to other sports, most people would start at the bottom of the ladder, go to events that they had access to and improve their skills, and as they did that work up to bigger events. However, you have a great contact, my advice would be to follow that route. Try to get hold of the media officer, see if your mates team wants some imagery for promo purposes (they sound like they might if they are keen to pay you for what you already did), there must be some scope for photographers not shooting for a paper to be there? Go to any football game there'll be people shooting for the club, for the sponsors, for the league itself etc etc...

Where there's a will there's a way! :)
Click to expand...
Thanks Steven, my plan now for future will be to attend whenever, wherever I can and to try and use my friend and single article to try and get improved access at his races, promo shots may be an option. If I did want to approach the media, would you offer pictures along with pricing options?
 
If I write the odd bit of copy to accompany images it's 10p per word, I know guys that get 20p but I also know some that write heaps of stuff for 5p.......................just saying
 
Editors love pics with written copy as it saves them doing anything other than fitting it into the page.
I know of a number of editors who would only take a pic if it were exceptional and exclusive but if it had an article with it too, your chances of publication and getting paid are significantly increased. Just make it clear that you require paying before sending anything.

Mention you require at minimum published NUJ rates.

http://www.londonfreelance.org/rates/w1000new.html
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
As a side note, I have just received an email from my friends company offering to pay me for the article in recognition of the time and work I have put in :)
Click to expand...

Well that's a nice bonus and they may be able to assist you in some way in the future :)
 
Not a chance of getting the NUJ rate I'm afraid, but you should be able to get some sort of payment out of them if they ask you to supply pix. Set up a meeting with the sports editor and talk it over. Don't order a Porsche just yet, though. If you can get £20 per image you will be doing well!
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
This was my next plan for future races, I've obviously got my original submission email along with content, so I can prove it is mine.
Click to expand...

It's your shot though. You've given away no copyright. Nothing to stop you using it in a portfolio, surely.
 
Excellent, well done! Maybe next time ensure to state that if they decide to use the images then they have full permission providing that you are credited. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top