Press Pass Sports

[LensCrazy]

How to question.

To those with them... how are they obtained, are there limits to how many photographers can attend? I am located near two stadiums in Tampa Bucs and Lightining and would like to go an take some pics on the field/ice. First to pratice my sports photography, Second to sell(if the shots are good).

[JSPhoto]

OK, well the first question is multi part, the second is one big can of worms that can land you in legal trouble.

#1: Media Credentials:
About impossible to get those particular credentials unless you personally know someone with clout or a paper/website, etc. who does have access can get you in. Normally they need some sort of proof that you can do the job before getting you in.

Your best bet is to start small and, like the rest of us work your way up. I have done this 5 years and shot one pro football game last year. I started off at a small race track working a very experianced photographer who had 25 years in at that track. That track runs 90 dates a year, so I got a lot of experiance in that year. After the season ended I took some photos to the local paper to see if they could use me and a couple weeks later I was shooting for them, and have been for 5 years now. I have worked my way up the ladder, gotten to know the shooters all around the state. Now I have people coming to me wanting me to shoot for them at all kinds of events. I do not always take the best paying job though, sometimes it isn't the best choice.

As for selling photos. This is a sticky subject, and one a new person can learn in a hard way. You have to be very carefull selling photos as in most cases dealing with pro sports and organizations you MUST be licensed to sell them If not you can be sued. I have a fantastic photo of Tony Stewart, and a lot of people would pay for it, but i cannot sell it because he requires a licensing fee. He sued one guy not long ago and won. IU - Indiana University is beginning a case right now against a guy who used their IU logo on something, the guy made $36 on the items, but IU is sueing for $9000! Is a $10 photo worth a $10,000 lawsuit?

When I can I'll type the warning that NASCAR uses to keep you from selling photos from races. The IRL does the same.
Even some papers will not allow you to sell photos taken when on assignment for them. The papers I shoot for do allow me to do this however, which helps offset their cheap pay!


More later
JS

[LensCrazy]

More knowledge from JS... man thankfully your here. I though this might be more difficult than flashing my camera "Hey I am here to take some pictures, Open the gates!!". Oh well i will have to look through my client list and see who will have the contacts to make this happen. I would love just to be able to watch the game through my viewfinder!!
I know the NFL is really strict with there copyrights, I figured it would be impossible. Maybe start that the High School up the street.

[JSPhoto]

More knowledge from JS... man thankfully your here. I though this might be more difficult than flashing my camera "Hey I am here to take some pictures, Open the gates!!". Oh well i will have to look through my client list and see who will have the contacts to make this happen. I would love just to be able to watch the game through my viewfinder!!
I know the NFL is really strict with there copyrights, I figured it would be impossible. Maybe start that the High School up the street.

The NFL isn't near as tough as the individual teams. They all want "their" cut though.

Somewhere around here there is a thread with some photos from the Colts game I shot last year.

Oh, you may also want to look at a couple threads on Freelance photographers... something like "So you want to be a freelance photographer".

Glad to help, glad to save someone from problems too!

JS

[swmdrayfan]

For what it's worth, I spent the summer shooting pictures at Southwest Michigan Devil Rays games. I got releases from all the players, and although it didn't start out this way, the team sold my pictures in the souvenir shop. The profits were split between me, the team, and the individual players whose pictures sold. I was asked by many of the players' families if they could buy pictures from me. I told them I don't take money from the families of players. I made sure each player got a cd at the end of the year containing everything I shot of them. I was usually in the ballpark an hour before the gates opened, and had free run of the ballpark (except the clubhouse, and on-field during games). I asked about a press or on-field pass, but since the management and team knew me well enough, I didn't need one.
The difference in shooting baseball and football (or soccer, NASCAR, etc) is the venue. You can get good shooting positions in baseball from the stands or field level boxes, whereas in the other sports it's almost imperative that you get very close to the action. I think it helps to build a relationship with a team in any sport, and make sure you respect the rights of the players/athletes involved. If you're looking to shoot from the sidelines/pit row, I think it's vital to ask the teams involved about licensing restrictions. I wrote Minor League Baseball last year regarding that very question, and they replied that it's up to the individual teams. I'm sure the NFL,NBA,NHL, and MLB are pretty tightly controlled with regards to the legalities. Never hurts to ask though.

[hesaias]

I got my laminate by helping the High School my son attends do a website. Since then, I have sent out some e-mails to local papers. I put my pics out there for free right now. I also give the school free use of any pics I take as long as the pics are used for the school (yearbooks, programs, etc) and I get a photo credit. I also shoot the Panthers Training camp, and shoot Panthers games from the stands. You can get some good shots from the stands.

Just remember, if you sell any copyrighted logo in a picture you take, you better have written permission or you could be sued. High Schools, and local Colleges are prolly the best place to start out.

[Photo-John]

It's a trademark and licensing issue. I believe you can legally sell almost anything to a news outlet. But selling a photo for retail or advertising is a different story. If there's a trademark or the photo was shot ata private event, the trademark owners, property owners, ort event promoters would be able to prevent you from selling. On the other hand, if an event is held on public property, and there are no trademarks, I think you have a lot more leeway. Still, you have to remember. In the United States, anyone can sue you for anything. And they pretty much will.

[masdog]

I got my first start in high school shooting for my school's yearbook. I really didn't do much in the way of sports, but I had access to anywhere in the school and by my Senior year, I never needed a pass to get out of class for a shoot. I also got a press pass to my States high school basketball tournament when my high school went my junior year.

Now that I'm in college, I find that I am having the same experience. The school I go to is small enough that everyone knows who you are, and I don't need a press pass for anything. Not only am I getting a chance to develop my action photography, I get to dabble in portraits while getting college credit for it.

Like everyone has said, start small. High schools can be very anal about who they let take pictures on the sidelines. A local PUBLIC high school wouldn't let me on the sidelines to take pictures because I had a website where I displayed some of my work. I didn't even sell any of my images. My college was much more cooperative, and they seem to be very cooperative with other photographers in the community. One photographer just shoots the men's soccer team and displays all of his images on that site.

Contact some local colleges and see what you can get access to. Chances are, you won't be able to get a media pass to any big name sports, like football or basketball unless it is a very small school.

[chicago]

a lot of good information here