Getting to the Sidelines Questions

Hi All,

For someone that have never done any sports photography, what will be the best route to get some experience/education?

How do you approach a school/coach to let you shoot from the sidelines/field? What would a coach or who ever is in charge, look in a photographer before allowing him/her to shoot games?

Thank you,

LV

For high school games I would recommend talking to the athletic director. Take a sample of your work with you, if you have any, and offer to make some of your shots available to the coaches, parents and/or the players (whether or not you charge for them is up to you). You might also talk to the teacher in charge of the yearbook and offer to let them use some of your shots.

For any level higher than high school, college and pros, it is much more difficult to get field passes. My son-in-law, who publishes a sports related magazine, gets me field passes to the Texas State games. Of course I give him whatever shots he wants to use in his magazine, but I don't mind helping him out like that. Besides, I get the chance to be on the sidelines at college games and I get to see my photographs published in a magazine so as far as I'm concerned, it's a win/win situation.

Good advice from SNM above. Keep in mind you need to have a legitimate reason for being on any sideline. There are liability issues that schools and teams must deal with and of course the possibility of someone on the sidelines that doesn know the rules getting in the way or interfering with the game in some way. That said take the advice above and start at a lower level like Little League or Pop Warner and build a portfolio that can be used to get you access to the next level. Pro and major college are going to require legitimate press credentials or you will not get on the field. Work on your relationship with local media try to build your reputation with them and press creds may come your way.

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Originally Posted by LAVNames

Hi All,

For someone that have never done any sports photography, what will be the best route to get some experience/education?

How do you approach a school/coach to let you shoot from the sidelines/field? What would a coach or who ever is in charge, look in a photographer before allowing him/her to shoot games?

Thank you,

LV

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I think talking to the AD or yearbook staff is the wrong way to go. There are already enough folks on the sidelines of high school and collegiate games and AD's would prefer to have less out there. In terms of yearbooks, most schools have a contract with a company that shoots individual, team and action photographs and they won't allow freelance work into their publication due to the contract.
I think what you should do is look for a small daily or weekly newspaper and see if you can get on as a stringer or call one of the companies that does event photography for schools and see if there is work available from them.

Chris

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Originally Posted by fidgety

I think talking to the AD or yearbook staff is the wrong way to go. There are already enough folks on the sidelines of high school and collegiate games and AD's would prefer to have less out there. In terms of yearbooks, most schools have a contract with a company that shoots individual, team and action photographs and they won't allow freelance work into their publication due to the contract.
I think what you should do is look for a small daily or weekly newspaper and see if you can get on as a stringer or call one of the companies that does event photography for schools and see if there is work available from them.

Chris

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I guess there are regional differences then. The advice I gave worked for me. As a matter of fact, the teacher in charge of the yearbook at the high school my daughter attends approached her and asked if I would take pictures for the yearbook. Of course he had seen some of my work already, through my website, and he must've liked what he had seen.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. I like the idea of starting at low levels like little league and other kids league to get my portfolio going.
I agree with you the fact that approching a AD or coach depends on demographics, But I guess I could try, If it does not work out I'm right back where I started.

I guess I won't worry about High Schools and Colleges for now....I'll get ready for Little League season in the spring. Thx.

I shoot college level (NAIA) not high school level so this may or may not apply. I shot my sons cross country and track team and showed the coach the photos. Let him use the ones he wanted. He hung some on his wall and when the AD asked he told him a parent shot them. I later approached the AD and asked about shooting all the sports. In return for access to the sidelines, the school is free to use any of my photos on their site, and they do. This is a very serious hobby for me, not a business.

While traveling with the team I shot at a Big 12 meet. The AD for sports information at the Big 12 school saw me shooting and we talked a bit. ( he initiated the conversation, not me) Our conversation ended with an invitation by him to shoot at any of his Big 12's schools events. Give him a call a week in advance and my pass is waiting for me. This has now opened the doors to other Big 12 schools.

Asking can't hurt, but asking with something to give in return is always better. The worst they can do is say no.

For me I had been dabbling in sports photography in youth football and little league because of my son's. When my 2nd oldest hit high school they asked me to shoot on the sidelines. Seriously, at that point I had no clue what I was doing and found PR to get answers.

This is my 4th year has the high school football photographer and I took a job as the youth football photographer. There's about 350-400 kids and I'm the only photog with credentials that can shoot them. That was a tough one and boy is the security high at all of the games.

My son who plays football is now in college and his coach already offered me credentials for any game I want to shoot.

The more I shoot and the better I get the more offers I get from sport teams and leagues.

So I guess what I'm saying is just get your foot in the door somewhere.

Also one of the best and first lessons I ever learned was not to do this at any professional's expense.