Too many photographers?

[treeman]

I cover polo for all the UK summer season and in that 5 months I’ll be shooting about 150 matches and I’m generally the only photographer there, but there’s a few major polo matches each year where there’s a great amount of interest which in turn, results in a very high turn out of professional polo photographers.

And one of these high profile games, is The Cartier Queens Cup, which I've been covering for both the quarter and semi finals. At both these games, there were at least ten other professional polo photographers there, all shooting from pretty much the same positions,
A. because it was the best position and B. because that’s where you’re told to be.

So I was starting to think, as we’re all using very similar cameras and lenses, aren’t all the images going to look the same, and what exactly is it that’s going to make your images stand out over another photographers?

And then last night, after the last semi, I see this image below, pops up on Facebook and think that looks like mine, and of course it does, why wouldn’t it? We were only 15 feet apart.

Fortunately for me it doesn’t really matter as I’m paid to be there, as were a few others, but what about the freelancers, what makes their shots different from the next guy, is it now just a game of who gets the images out there first?

Maybe other sports don’t have such prime positions, just curious really

 

[KIPAX]

I would ahve thought the same for most sports.. certainly most i cover..

 

[Bebop]

Well of the two, yours looks the better shot as far as I can see - due to the other having flag pole behind and banner at the front.

I was involved in organising a multi sports (and multi national) event a few years ago. Sadly I was too busy to take many photographs which I would dearly have loved to do, and I would have had free access too :-/ Anyway I was struck by the competition of the attending media for prime positions and must say I was quite pleased I didn't have to partake!

 

[Tugster]

And like most sports, the organisers will see the images on FB and before you know it someone will be undercutting you to get the gig.

Cynical? Yes but it's happening all over the place.

 

[dod]

And like most sports, the organisers will see the images on FB and before you know it someone will be undercutting you to get the gig.

Cynical? Yes but it's happening all over the place.

yep. Equestrian stuff now is getting marginal.

 

[treeman]

And like most sports, the organisers will see the images on FB and before you know it someone will be undercutting you to get the gig.

Cynical? Yes but it's happening all over the place.

In this case it was the Polo Clubs own Facebook page and the image was from there own photographer, but I do totally take your point.

It just struck me as a bit odd that you get to a point when you are no longer able to improve over the next guy and can only shine when you can get into different positions or some other quirky angle. Otherwise the only improvement you can make is getting the pics out to publication faster than the next guy.

Maybe thats the way its always been. :shrug:

 

[GooGaBu]

Whether the question is do we have too many photographers, or do we only have a very limited number of sports that gets coverage in newspapers (Nationals - and yes, even regionals)??
In the UK sports pages are dominated by one sport.. so most photographers who work to get images into papers.. are 'forced' to cover that un-named sport.

So where as in some other countries I have worked in, the National papers cover a wider range of sports - this spreads out the photographers to more games and you have more of chance to make your images stand out, as you are not sitting next to 7 guys with-in 7 meters.

And when some (in the UK) minority sports do get coverage in the National media - often you see them using a stock image from three years ago (how do I know this, because some of those images have been mine ) Even if I might have been covering the very event that was reported on.

But how do you break the circle of one sport dominating .. "You get no coverage as there is no interest in your sport. Your sports doesn't generate the interest as it doesn't get the coverage."

Still - covering smaller events/minority sports is sometimes a good way to make a living, as you probably are known around the league/sport and get the work as your clients know your work AND you are not anxiously looking through the Sunday/Monday papers to see whether that great celebration of the 92nd minute winner gets published.. only to see that 'big agency' image showing the backs of players has been chosen over your running towards the camera image ;-)

 

[KIPAX]

Still - covering smaller events/minority sports is sometimes a good way to make a living, as you probably are known around the league/sport and get the work as your clients know your work AND you are not anxiously looking through the Sunday/Monday papers to see whether that great celebration of the 92nd minute winner gets published.. only to see that 'big agency' image showing the backs of players has been chosen over your running towards the camera image ;-)

haha that would be me then

 

[GooGaBu]

haha that would be me then

You just might be one of those people.

And while I am at this replying business here..

One more reason for (in my humble opinion) the amount of photographers in certain games. There seems to be quite a few photographers who are more than happy to attend the games 'on the spec' - so almost willing to work for free. As I doubt that all of them get images published from each game...
And I for one can't think of many other professions where one goes to work - and hopes to get paid.

In turn the number of 'on the spec' photographer means that Newspapers don't deal that much on individual levels with photographers - and why would they, they have a supply of images from 10's of photographers and choose the best from those.

Anyways.. rant over and this is just my opinion..

 

[KIPAX]

and why would they, they have a supply of images from 10's of photographers and choose the best from those.
.

But as you said in your other reply.. they dont choose the best.. it's either who got in there first.. one of the big agencies who they probably pay less to or someone who was commisioned to do the game..

A big premiership match with 50 photographers.. how many newspapers? How many of those 50 are on commision to a newspaper.. all the papers probably covered.. how many on spec with no chance?


I will do some work on spec but I kinda know now what will give me a good chance of being paid... man utd, liverpool and the like = not much chance at all...

 

[Seba]

But as you said in your other reply.. they dont choose the best.. it's either who got in there first.. one of the big agencies who they probably pay less to or someone who was commisioned to do the game..

That's what I've experienced. I covered a game a few months back, the story that came out of the game was how well one of the 'keepers played. He had a blinder.

The big photo in the paper the next day was of one of the opposing players scoring a backheel goal, BUT it was disallowed and didn't show how well the 'keeper had played. I had a lovely shot from down the other end of a striker shooting and the keeper making a great save. Why not go for that?! Because it wasn't on of the big boys' shots!!

(It did make it into the paper a couple of days later.... But that's not the point!)