[Sleepy]

Hi,
how can i get into football and Concert Photography?
Motorsport or even any kind of sports/event photography.

I'm 19 years old and have a D300 and f/2.8 glass, i will also get liabilty insurance when needed.

I would love to do this kind of work, but how? I have never seen any of these kind of jobs advertised,

Are there any agencys that could help me out?

Where would be the best place to look?

Thanks

[Biscuit761]

We are (nearly) all wondering that

Bill

[senu]

Ask Pete ( as in Bristol Pete: He would certainly have a tip or 2)
I though Bill ( poster above) would have an answer or 2 ...
Tobers is another one who is into sports

With all due respect at 19, your AV kit and a D300+ f2.8 glass make me think.. you may just find you can certainly give any venture a go and may well do great at it
Good luck

[Sleepy]

Originally Posted by senu

Ask Pete ( as in Bristol Pete: He would certainly have a tip or 2)
I though Bill ( poster above) would have an answer or 2 ...
Tobers is another one who is into sports

With all due respect at 19, your AV kit and a D300+ f2.8 glass make me think.. you may just find you can certainly give any venture a go and may well do great at it
Good luck

Thank you.

Many months of saving and not pi##ing my money up the wall at weekends

[konastab01]

Gig photography is pretty hard to get into.
Unless you have a portfolio and some to work for to arrange big gig passes it's bloody hard.
Start with small shows first.
I started in barfly in Glasgow.
They were really help with arranging passes for small bands at the venue.
Once you have experience and someone to shoot for.
Pr companies might entertain, my experiences so far have been 70/30
Knock back after knock back and some luck/ being given a break....

But you just have to get up and keep ploding Away.
Good luck and keep at it.

[Biscuit761]

I must admit to having made a small start, in this, the local paper know me and are happy to receive pictures when I go to an event, sometimes they even ask me to go and pay me (£7 per picture ). I basically just kept sending stuff to the sports editor (who is retring this week ) and he eventually called.

Only problem is that my own sport (bowls) keeps getting in the way of the local teams fixtures so just after getting on good terms with the local rugby team I find that I then have to miss a number of games letting someone else in !

In the concert side that is still in its infancy, I have a friend who has a video production company, I help out as a cameraman (full broadcast quality equipment) and occasionally take photo's for use on the DVD covers, a few weeks ago it went a bit further, I was official tog at a Barnado's charity event at the Albert Hall, also the official tog for one of the orchestra's we film has left so I may take that over but problem is my mate does not want to loose me from behind the video camera so it difficult to do both properly.

Still, keep plugging, would be interested to see what route others are taking.

Bill

[chaz 2112]

I've been getting regular local work now for about 5 months.Started by going to a game my brother was linesman,got some good pics and then spent 5 weeks going to local games and badgering the photo guy at the paper.

He kept putting me off(he told me later he likes people who don't give up)but finally gave me some work after we bumped into each other at a game in pouring rain.

It's not gonna make me rich,£10 per published pic(average about 4 per week)but it's nice to see your pics in the paper.I cover Football,Rugby and Ladies Hockey.The local Footy club have asked me to be their photographer(unpaid)so it's another outlet for pics,programmes,forum etc.

My advice would be to put yourself about at games and keep contacting the sport editors.

[paulwIre]

For sport - there are a number of ways to get in.

Press - If you happen to work for a press organisation, or can submit to an press organisation, they can organise access for you to attend an event. This is generally done on a per event basis. Get in contact with the local papers, and especially the sports editor.

Contacts - Who you know can help. If you know someone in a local sports club then start with asking them. If you know someone in a club organisation, they can help too. Asking around is normally a good place to start, especially for lower league games.

Clubs - Sometimes you can just contact the club directly. Ask their administrators or even their PR person about gaining access. This may not always work, but a direct approach can be best.

League - A league body (FA, etc) can directly give permission to cover events. In general, this can be a bit more complicated. Showing your ability or a portfolio may be required.

Accreditation - For some sporting events, you need to register for accreditation with third party companies. Again, having a portfolio is a good step, so they can review your ability.

Organisations - Join a recognised Press/Photography organisation, such as AIPS, NUJ, etc. This will only really work if you already have a body of work behind you, and a portfolio.

Best of luck.

[Tobers]

Contacts contacts contacts. And hard work. And top quality output.

You need to put yourself out there and be prepared to work hard for little or no return until word of mouth gets out and you become known for producing quality results.

For gigs, do you know anyone in a band? If so, go and photograph them. Everyone knows someone in a band, or knows someone who knows someone. It'll be small local stuff but dark venues with strange lighting are the order of the day and once you've shot dingey pubs you'll know how it works. Keep at it and maybe someone will then start asking you to shoot them. You've got to turn in top quality results though - so ruthless editing is required. And think about how your band are going to see the pics. Do you have a web site that you can point them to where their pictures will appear 2-3 hours after you've taken them?

Sport is an interesting one. There's nothing stopping you going to the local park to shoot Sunday football. However, there's loads of sports out there. I do polo in the summer (rich clients!) and have a lot of premiership rugby on this winter. But I also go to local mountain bike tracks and shoot mad jumping loonies with remote flash for example. I spend mornings shooting my son's school rugby team, and the school like the pics so much they've asked me to expand to cover other sports too. There's loads of sports out there - just pick a couple and make them a niche.

For field sports though, you'll need at least 300mm and F4 to start with, and F2.8 if you can afford it. For indoor stuff you need shorter but very fast lenses (F1.8 or better) to handle crappy lighting.

You get none of this without having contacts and working hard. Who do you know that can help you? Why would they help you? What can you give them in return etc etc. Build up your network. Get some quality portfolio pictures put together.

Hard work and perseverance is the key.

Tobers