Getting in to Shoot Sporting Events

[cmhbob]

I was hoping there might be a FAQ and/or sticky, but there's not, so here are my questions:

How do you do it, especially as a hobbyist? For HS basketball games, it's easy enough to just pay to get in, because the action is right there. But that's not always the case, especially for college and pro games.

I know that at one of the local HS, the football field is very close to the fence, but how many hobby shooters try to get inside the fence? What's generally involved?

Same with racing events. Do you contact the venue? The promoter?

What about protocols as far as where you sit/stand, put your equipment, etc? What are the accepted practices?

What are some other considerations?

 

[Robin Usagani]

Generally you have to work for someone... like a newspaper, magazine, website, the school, etc.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Depends on where you live, what sport, what school... In my area most local rinks (I've done mostly hockey) don't have any particular guidelines for photography. However for usage of your photos (depending on what you intend to do with them) in my experience if it's high school sports and the players are under 18 you'd need permission to use the images; in my experience the coaches have releases already signed by the players' parents. You could try looking at the website for school district's athletic dept.

For colleges you'd contact the SID in the athletic dept. or if it's a big school, the SID for a particular sport (SID is Sports Information Director). For pro sports it's usually the PR director or department (I'm more familiar with minor pro and it varies team to team). In my experience you have to have a reason to receive credentials, but I've found that if they get to know you there may be some flexibility on what they'll allow. You could try training camps, practices - sometimes those are open to the public and it may be permissible to take pictures.

I think good practices as a sport/event photographer include showing that you are sincere in your interest and know how to behave in a responsible way as a photographer, and aren't there just to gain access to the players/team (I think they know the difference, like who's working and who's hanging out in the press room scarfing down the freebies). Stay out of the way of officials, TV crews, etc. etc. and don't hinder or interfere with the game or off-ice (field) operations. Pay attention to what's going on around you like when they're bringing an injured player off the bench (or as I had happen once, pay attention so when the team doctor vaults into the tunnel where you're standing, you're out of the way).

I literally over time got so I can shoot with both eyes open; I'd close one eye long enough to focus, but often when I'm watching the action, framing shots and waiting for the play to move into view, use my peripheral vision to watch for fans in and out of their seats, the guy with the cotton candy, the mascot, etc. etc. I found that you need to stay aware of everything going on around you.

Try looking at Sports Photography and Photojournalism for Professional Photographers and Photography | SportsShooter.com for ideas.

 

[Aakajx]

I'd call them and ask or email them

 

[JoeW]

Depends on the sport and the level. For instance, permission to shoot a Division-I NCAA college football event--unless you are with an accredited media outlet or work for the school, it likely ain't gonna happen.

Start small. Contact a local outlet (like a weekly local paper) and offer to shoot HS football or basketball. Offer to cover the local soccer league's all-star tournament. This does a couple of things:
--it gives you a portfolio to point to (ideally online)
--it gives you some credits
--it gives you media credentials

Expand your level of team. If you shoot for the local weekly paper or the school paper, then it's not that difficult to then connect with a website/blog that focuses on your favorite team. Use them (or your previous media connection) to apply for media credentials to an event. For instance, to apply for credentials to shoot at a DC United (MLS soccer) match, you're going to need to be affiliated with some media outlet and/or have a letter from your editor. And you're not going to get a letter from an editor without a prior relationship.

And as you would guess, very popular sports (top college basketball and football, NFL teams) can afford to be choosy about who they let in. So if you're affiliated with a popular blog or website, that probably isn't enough.

Also, most colleges and many HS will usually have restrictions regarding photography. Check stadium rules, usually restrictions on zoom size (and what you'd need to get decent pictures indoors...like an f2.8 200-300mm zoom). B/c of either sponsorship deals, agreements with photographers, or stalking/minors issues, even many High Schools or sports leagues are not going to just give you permission to show up and start shooting. For instance, I did a shoot of a swim team PRACTICE focusing on just one swimmer (a kid who was a junior Olympian). The venue where the practice was at actually has a policy prohibiting all photos. I got a one-time waiver by having signed forms by the dad of the swimmer, the swimmer himself, signing a form that I would take no pictures of any other swimmers, and also attesting to insurance coverage.

In general, you have a shot if you're affiliated with a media outlet of some sort. Start small and work your way up.

As to who to contact (once you've got credentials), it's going to vary with the event. Concerts--usually it's the band, sometimes it's the venue, sometimes it's the organizer. Sporting event--usually it's the team but if the facility is owned by someone else than sometimes it's the facility. You mentioned HS football--I'd start with the athletic director at the HS. You might get referred to the League that the HS participates in or belongs to.

Once you've been given permission, there will often be a public affairs/press/media/PR person who will be your contact...tell you where to park, what entrance to use, where to pick up your press pass, etc. You'll be told what areas you're allowed in. In terms of equipment, if it's outdoors then bring a hat, rain gear (especially a sleeve for your camera) and a monopod besides all of the stuff you'd typically think of as a photographer. I know a couple of guys who shoot outdoor sports and they swear by kneepads (the kinds a contractor would buy at Home Depot). For indoor sports, you're going to need a minimum of an f2.8 200mm zoom. And forget about using a speed light.

 

[Steve5D]

It totally depends on the venue.

I was just starting to dip my toes into the motorsports shooting pool when I moved to Portland, Oregon. Wanting to continue, I simply e-mailed PIR and asked for permission. In exchange, I offered them a few photos from each shoot to use on their website. They were very accommodating but, let's face it, we're not talking about Indianapolis here.

A few years back, I bought what was called a "photo ticket" for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in California. It was a bit spendy (I think it was $240.00), but it permitted access to garages and pits (during practice), as well as platforms which the general public could not use. I got some pretty good shots from that one and, as a bonus, I even got to shoot Steppenwolf after practice one night.

I think the best way to do it, in a small market, anyway, is to write to the track manager. If there's a local speed shop in your area that's involved with the track in some way, you might try working through them, as well. The bottom line is that if you don't ask, no one can say "yes". They'll say "no far more often, but every so often "yes" will be the answer.

Good luck...

 

[imagemaker46]

Pretty much all professional sports are controlled by the teams and getting an accreditation as a freelance photographer, regardless of how good you are is next to impossible. Even if you do manage to get a local paper to back you there is still no guarantee of a pass. I have worked as a team photographer for 2 professional football teams and was given the task of who gets passes and who doesn't, not too many people got them, partly because the league doesn't want a bunch of people on the sidelines, the risk of injury is higher when people don't know what they are doing and finally, they just wanted a pass to tell their friends they were at the game free. F1, NBA, NHL,NFL images are controlled by the leagues, Getty has input with some of them as well. Professional photographers working sporting events have no time to be tripping over amateurs, I've spent a lot of years and have seen way too many people on the sidelines of football games getting run over because they are more excited about standing there watching and not paying attention, it is easy to get distracted. For the professionals it's a job, and a very tough one.

For the time being I would be content with just enjoying yourself shooting high school sports, if the opportunity comes up that you are able to shoot something at a higher level then great, if not, that's life.

 

[table1349]

Let me offer a ray of hope along with a little personal experience to the OP.

I've been shooting sports for 40+ years. Started in high school, shooting from my school. Getting into games was a breeze. I also was a high school kid with a high school kid's mentality. Got some good shots, but it was a bit hit and miss.

After high school I got a lot more serious. I shot for various entities, publications etc. Yes, that did make it easier. Keep in mind photography was not my main employment. I enjoyed photography too much to want to ruin it by making it my job. It was here that I truly learned the craft of Sports Photography.

When our kids were born and being raised I did a lot less. As they grew I got back into it shoot them and their teams. As they were getting older, going off to college getting married etc. I ended up with more free time on my hands. Two of the kids were okay athletes. the middle son however was a good track and cross country runner. He received scholarship offers from several schools and choose to go to one of them and run. Fortunately, it was a home grown college so shooting cross country was a breeze. I talked to the AD at his college and after discussing it for a while he let me shoot any of the sports I wanted from the sidelines/court side. He realized I knew the craft and knew what to do and what not to do.

The cross country coach believed in challenging his kids every year with at least one really big meet. A Division 1 meet with teams ranging from the smallest of private colleges to programs like Arkansas, Stanford, Arizona, Colorado etc. and everything in between. They were in between. The meet was only a couple hours away so I took a day off from work, went and shot the meet. While I was doing so, I watched a lot of Parents with cameras all fumbling around trying to get a shot of THEIR KID. Me, I didn't even pay attention to the fact that my son was running in the meet. I was there shooting sports. Because of this, I was one of the few that knew what needed to be done, how to do it and how to stay the hell out of the way.

As the girls race was getting near the end I headed toward the finish area. There was a mass of people in the spectator area and it was a poor place to shoot from. This meet was being handled by a professional crew who had brought in their own timing equipment as well as finish line chutes etc. The perfect place to get the shots I wanted of the finishers and the race to the finish was from this crews side. I politely explained to the person who I was and asked if I could shoot from their side of the finish. The person I talked to had no problem as long as I stayed in a particular area which would not interfere with his crew getting the finishers in proper order through the chute. I readily agreed.

While I was shooting the finish, another photographer comes up next to me. We exchanged greetings, worked to stay out of each others way and talked a bit between the girls race and the boys race. Nice guy.

As I was packing up to leave after the races were over a cushman pulls up next to my vehicle and the driver is the same guy I was shooting with who happened to turn out to be the Assistant AD in charge of publicity for this very large University putting on the meet. Well Shut My Mouth.

He asked who I was shooting for believing I was there for one publication or another and I explained to him I was just shooting for me and the kids at the school where my son ran. He was surprised and expressed it telling me that my attitude, knowledge etc. was very professional and he thought I was there for a publication. We talked a bit and long story short, he offered to let me shoot at any and all sporting events at that University. Well needless to say, I took him up on his offer and have shot some of the best football, baseball, and other sports that University has to offer, and they have a lot to offer in the Collegiate sporting world.

He also offered to call other AD's or the appropriate Assistant AD's at all the other Big 12 Universities if I wanted to shoot at other Division I events. Not one of those schools ever turned me down. I have shot and continue to shoot field side and court side for some of the best teams and best College sporting events that the NCAA has to offer over the last 8-10 years.

There are some limitations. I can't shoot certain championship games or meets and it is a bit tougher shooting at the "neutral site" games as they are generally held in places like Chiefs Stadium, Cowboys Stadium, etc. but hey, I don't mind. I shoot for me, not a publication so to me it is no big deal.

If you want the opportunity to shoot something besides high school sports then here is my advise. First, start shooting at the local high school. Talk to the person in charge of athletics there and explain to them what you would like to do and what requirements they have to let you. From there, work very hard to learn your craft. That is not easy. It isn't just about taking pictures. You need to learn the ins and outs of every sport you intend to shoot. Not just the rules, everything about the game, including what and how the individual officials will be working the game. You need to learn the players, their strengths and weaknesses. You need to learn your gear and buy or rent the best gear you can afford for the various sports you want to shoot. Finally you need to learn how to get the shots you want with out impacting the event in any way shape or form. IE: you need to learn to be a professional.

Once you accomplish that then call the AD or Assistant AD at the local college or university and speak to them. Take some of your work to show them. The worst that can happen is that they will tell you no.

Keep in mind, if you are serous about this, it is hard to look like a MWAC and end up getting permission to shoot at these kinds of events. The basic tools of the trade for me these days is a 1 Dx, a 1D MkIV, lots of fast glass for indoor, and outdoor. That includes a 200mm f2, a 300mm f2.8 and a 400mm f2.8. All expensive glass, but if you plan right and watch around you can get some great glass at a good price. My 400mm I bought new. The 300mm I got slightly used from a local doctor who bought it when his daughter was in high school. Once she graduated he quit taking pictures at the sporting events at the high school she had attended and decided to sell it. The 200mm I got at a local camera store for about the same reason. Again used, but in excellent, hardly used shape for about 1/3 of what it cost new. I still have a chunk of change wrapped up in what I use, but it could have been worse.

 

[striving4mediocrity]

That is AWESOME.

 

[TheLost]

I know that at one of the local HS, the football field is very close to the fence, but how many hobby shooters try to get inside the fence? What's generally involved?

Each area (School District) and region (High School Activities Association) will have their own rules... but i would assume they are all similar. For example, In my area each school's football sidelines are locked down by local police. You need a field pass to get anywhere down on the field. Field passes are only given out by school administration (principle, head coach, booster club) and can be tricky to get.

Most of the schools in my area partner with an individual photographer. This photographer donates his time and 'skill' taking pictures of sporting events, team photos, awards ceremonies (..etc) in exchange for the rights to sell his images back to the parents. The teams get pictures they can use in programs, facebook & twitter and the photographer makes money off the parents.

If this is going on where you are... good luck getting on the field (unless you are that guy/girl). The Booster club / head coach do not like jeopardizing the relationships they build with these photographers and its VERY rare they let other 'non press' photographers on the field/court.

I'm a board member on our local High Schools football booster club (i donate more time to them then i'd care to admit) and it took me 2 years before they would let me on the field with a 'fancy looking' camera in my hand. I had to build a relationship with the head coach and a friendship with the team photographer.

My advice would be to learn about your areas high school politics and learn to play their game.

Same with racing events. Do you contact the venue? The promoter?

Most of the time you need to be associated with some type of media outlet to get ONTO the track. As a hobbyist your stuck behind the fences/barriers for liability reasons. My local track has a very/very firm policy on letting people around the track to take pictures. The last thing they need is for some joe-schmoe to get plastered by a car because he doesn't know where to stand or what he's doing.

What are some other considerations?

High School sports are your best chance. My tip would be to offer to shoot non-varsity events (Sophomore & JV) where they are a little more relaxed on who gets on the field.

 

[hirejn]

You generally don't get into professional events unless you're working for someone, like a publisher, or if you're lucky enough to pay for the best seats. When I was a photojournalist, for state sporting competitions I had to sign up for credentials in advance under the name of the paper I worked for. I had to show a pass to get in and there were security checks. Locally everyone knew me so I was just able to show a press pass at HS events, and like you said HS events are pretty easy to shoot. Professionally, however, you won't get near the action without having credentials and working for someone. College would be similarly difficult. You would have to talk to someone about why you're shooting and get permission to get near the action.

 

[HurleyPhoto]

I agree with most here. I started doing photography when I was young. I shot my first wedding at 14. My mother used to babysit for a photographer and when she would pick up her daughter in the evening, she noticed some landscape and portraits on a poster board. She asked who did them and my mother told her. She started hiring me to do jobs for her. Anything from Little league, weddings and odds and end jobs. My father drove me to a lot of them since I didn't even have a license at the time. I once did a job at a bar when I was 16. I also did work for myself too. By the time I was graduating high school, I was referring jobs to her. I did a lot of kids sports and weddings locally and eventually opened a studio. It was one day a family was in the studio and the man asked me if I did outside jobs. He raced at a local track and won the race that weekend but the track photographer had quit a few weeks before. I called the owners and started the next week. Shot that track for about 20 years. In that time I met a lot of people. Also, I can remember some wives of the drivers carrying babies in their arms to the track and those kids are now grown and was bringing kids of their own by the time I left. I was able to use these contacts to meet others and make friends along the way.

I've shot anything from the World of Outlaws, NHRA, AMA Supercross to Nascar. One of those drivers you see today behind the wheel of a sprint cup car. And he will be racing in the Daytona 500 again in a few weeks. I have photos of his first feature race win in a sprint car. I've know his dad many many years. But even if you know someone, you still have to talk with someone in a management or promoter position. Luckily I had friends that could drop my name in with the right person.

But at these events you have to be aware 360degrees around you. As TheLost said..."The last thing they need is for some joe-schmoe to get plastered by a car because he doesn't know where to stand or what he's doing." Over the years, I've seen people get hit, close calls, near misses, freak accidents and things that were hard to believe even after seeing it in person.

And as far as those freak accidents....I'm not joe but I did get plastered one night. Things happen quick and I never saw it coming. It wasn't by a car but of all things a "safety" device. A car flipped and landed in the catch fence. Broke a cable loose and that cable got wrapped around other cars and come across the pit area like a 90 mph steel whip. All I saw was a black line coming at me, and before I could lower the camera to see what it was it hit me. Drug me about 40 feet before I could get it away from me. Broke my jaw, ruptured several disc in my neck and several severe lacerations. Freak accident and would never happen again. Well, three years later it did but at the opposite end of the track from where I was standing. I know exactly what vintagesnaps means by saying "shoot with both eyes open". That's the way I always shoot. And I'm sure many others do as well. But sometimes that still not enough.

As far as school sports, I had several parents contact me to do shots of their child playing. At high school football events I was able to go in, and in most cases the gate is watched/manned by parents and if you tell them you are there at the request of another parent, they usually told me oh ok, then turn around and ask me if I would do some shots of their kids. So extra business for me. Not sure how other areas in other states run their athletic programs. The best I remember I did about the same for basketball events. But it all goes back to; start local, get experience and go from there and work your way up.

Again, not to overstate it, but a good lens is most of the solution. I know you are wanting info on how to get into the events and not the tech side of it but just saying. As most will tell you that photography is all about light.

We were traveling onetime and stopped at a cave attraction. I think it was in southern Missouri. Anyway, they pull you thru the cave on a small train. Basically a open top trailer being pulled by a small jeep type vehicle. When it gets to the back of the cave they want to show you what it was like back in "old time days" when it was discovered. They turn off all the lights and its total darkness except for one little speck of light that the explorers was trying to reach cause they knew it has to be an open to the outside. Anyway, while the lights are out, my youngest son, maybe 10years old is "wow; hey dad... take a picture so we can show how dark it was" a few seconds pass and everyone starts laughing. I had to explain to him it would just be black. Thought I would throw this story in.

 

[HurleyPhoto]

Oh and by the way..... if anyone is interested, I probably have enough equipment to start at least 3 complete color darkrooms. And several,(6 or 8), backgrounds and muslins. A complete portable studio.