Getting Into Sports Photography

[conorblewis]

Hello, I am a young highschool sports photographer wondering what the best way to get a job in this field is. I was wondering if I should talk to local publications about shooting highschool sports in the area. Could anyone give me an Idea of what to do.
I forgot to mention I am the top photographer on YEARBOOK STAFF and up for PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR 06'-07', thanks conor

[masdog]

Hi Conor. I was in your position once, but I didn't have your ambition. The first thing you need to do is keep shooting. If you want to get into the field, shoot every event you can while you're in high school. The more you shoot, the better you will get.

Shooting for your yearbook means a lot now, but it won't mean much in five years when you want to get into photojournalism. Try to get in with a local newspaper. Talk to photographers and see if you can tag along with them on assignments. If you express an interest in photojournalism and sports photography, you should be able to get some helpful advice and experience.

When you go off to college, get in with your school's athletic department and student newspaper. These will provide practical experience shooting, and you might be able to make a little money on the side (depending on how your school has budgeted for the year). You will also be able to get internships at local newspapers.

[JSPhoto]

Conor,

Welcome to the forum. Basically do what masdog says, but realize that it is really tough to get into this and make money. It also takes money, more and more papers are dropping the buying of gear for photographers and forcing them to get their own gear. It's a tough racket with more and more people getting into it daily. Even tougher though is that many papers are using freelance photographers more and more. The problem is to stay on top of the game once you get in. Going freelance is not a good way to go, there are just too many of us to really make good money, and they are making it harder all the time.

JS

[conorblewis]

ok so, i got a job in sports photography and weddings, so im doing good. Just trying to get my name out there. And im just a highschool kid.
thanks everyone
conor

[JSPhoto]

Weddings? Ouch, that is one thing I will keep away from, far away, mothers can be a real pain. Weddings also require a totally different setup than sports, if you do it right you should also have medium format gear.

Good luck though in the jobs, and make sure you hang around here.

JS

[livin4lax09]

one thing you'll want to look into, if you're interested in doing more with it, is get rid of those two lenses you have. Keep the 50mm f/1.8 because it's a very good portrait lens, but ditch the other ones and pick up a good f/2.8 zoom. canon and sigma both make a quality 70-200mm f/2.8, and if you pick up a 1.4x extender, you can make it even longer with only one loss in f-stop.