For those wanting to go freelance.....Part 1

[JSPhoto]

Being a freelance sports photographer can be rewarding and fun! It can get you into places you never thought you could, shoot events you never thought you would. It can also be rewarding financialy as well. It can also be taxing on you physically and it's a lot of hard work, occasionally, it can be dangerous as well.

I began my freelance career by simply calling the local papers sports editor and asking if they would take a look at my photos from a local race track. He said put them on a disk and he would get back to me. A week later he called and said they could use me and scheduled me for a football game at one of the 4 high schools in the county.

That first game I was a nervous wreck! It didn't help that the very first play came right at me, almost taking me out. It was my first time on the sidelines of a football field in 26 years .... welcome back!
Once the night was done I took my card in to the paper and they pulled a few shots off it. As it turned out that was their number one game for the night. That meant my photos were the centerpiece of the front page of the sports section. It was an odd night as the game kicked off with smoke from a hog roast blowing across the field making long passes difficult. At halftime the officials told the school the roast and smoke was over with. They shut it down. As soon as the players took the field for the second half fog rolled in, right on cue for the home team!
All this smoke and fog had me worried I wouldn't have anything good for the paper, biy was I wrong! As it turned out the pictures were great, showing the smoke and fog, and led to the stories headline which read "Royals Smoke Triton Central". Not only did I give them great pictures but the headline was my idea too. Talk about beginners luck!

Fours years plus, I am still shooting for that paper as a freelance photographer. It's been a tough four years, lots of driving, and each year I get more and more work from them. I have learned a lot in those years, busting my butt for very little money. Now though I am known not only in the county I live in but, in some crowds world wide because of my photos that appeared world wide when I shot for the AP at the Indianapolis 500.
I have learned the fun side of the business, the sad side, the dangerous side as well.
As I have learned I have gotten more and more work each year, not just with one newspaper but for 5 or 6 of them. Add in internet sites related to sports, and of course the AP. I have shot the state finals of gymnastics, volleyball, football, wrestling and others. I have shot at dirt tracks, paved tracks, 1/4 mile bull rings, all the way up to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in both May and August.

Talking to the editor of the local paper a week or so ago I asked why I was the only freelance photographer he uses anymore. His response was short and to the point: your the only one I can rely on. If I call you ten minutes ahead of time you show up. You never missed a job except when your wheels broke down.
Speaking of that, I just got an email a short while ago to go shoot soccer tonight... that and a change for Fridays schedule adding 80+ miles to the night, and two games to shoot instead of one. And a late night at that. Fridays are long nights during football and basketball seasons (yawn). Some nights aren't bad, especially when I shoot at the school nearest to where I recently moved. It is just 8/10ths of a mile to that school. 10 miles to the next and 16 to the other two schools. After that the drives get a lot longer in flat ole Indiana. I average (this year) 3 days a week of shooting for the paper, but some times I have worked 13 days straight or more. Especially during sectional weeks where we have both football and soccer (boys and girls), tennis and volleyball all going. With 4 high schools they all want coverage. It gets tough on you when your running from town to town, gym, to stadium and dealing with all the different lighting conditions, the different staff who may or may not know you as the photographer for a particular paper. Oh, and hoping they have your credentials ready! Is that ever a bummer, and a pain trying to convince someome that you are there for the paper. Some days and weeks I run around half asleep, like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get shots and get on to the next event.
This year I cut back on my racing photography due to the new house (105 years old but new to me) so I could work around here. Even at that I put 17,000 miles on my van and 12,000 on my truck shooting pictures since last November. Thats not counting personal miles driven. I put 2000 miles on my truck alone just driving to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the month of May, and, after spending all day at the speedway would go shoot baseball, softball and track meets in the evening. It's not a job for someone who wants a lazy job. Many people say " I wish I had your job, just stand there and shoot some pictures and done". If they only knew!

More later... I gotta get ready for work!

JS

[another view]

I don't get over here too often, but I saw your "plug" in the Help forum. I'm glad you wrote this - it probably answers a lot of questions for people wondering how to get started. People skills, once again - give them what they want (make use of what you've got - smoke and all - don't miss a job, etc) and you'll do well.

I'd love to start freelancing, but I don't really have much in the way of options. That surprised me in an area with a population of about 250,000! The daily paper doesn't use freelancers, one weekly doesn't pay, and another pays almost nothing (but at least something) and has horrible reproduction quality. I want to do this part time, and not just sports but PJ work as a whole. Any ideas?!

[JSPhoto]

Oddly enough I am familiar with "your area". My cousin (one of 6 girls) was a teacher in Rockford for many years. From what she has told me the area is really depressed, which probably explains the lack of freelance opertunities for you. At the same time this could open other opertunities to you, especially in the PJ side of things.
Take the initative, do your own investigating into subjects that are "hot" around your area. Things that are causes of the depressed economy, the schools and their problems with influx of non-English speaking students (see I do know whats going on there ) and other things like that. Get photos that show these problems, write up a story and shop it around. You can shop it around nationally as well, the problems there are in other cities and towns too.

Another, often overlooked area is internet news papers that may be in your area, and those weekly or monthly publications. Also check the major publications such as Cox Papers, Gannett and so on as they will sometimes publish help wanted listings on their sites for temporary or part time help in PJ and so on.

I am very fortunate in that I am in (well, a county that is basically a suburb of ) the Motorsports capital of the world, and I basically shoot sports only. And we also have every major sport covered as well. Most of the papers around here use "stringers", and in fact, with the main paper I shoot for they are using me more and the staff photog less as it is saving them money in the long run. It works for me in other ways as I get more for my portfolio. Indianapolis and the surrounding area has it all.

JS

[another view]

Gannett actually owns the local daily, and I've talked to the photo editor there. He told me that they don't have a budget for freelancers because they have staff photographers (4 or 5, actually). I've found this to be the case because the credits are always from their staff.

Yeah, it's kind of a depressed area but it's not that bad! Years ago, we were the machine tool capitol of the world, but almost all of those companies (some very large) are gone. Like a lot of areas, we have an over-abundance of discount stores and fast food restaurants and those career opportunities hardly equal what used to be here. But there are bright spots as well, such as a new mayor who finally wants to get our riverfront downtown going. He's putting his money where his mouth is, in one way buying an old house in need of much repair in the downtown area. I've lived here for 34 of my 36 years, and things are changing.

I had a talk with a friend last night who works for the weekly (that doesn't pay). I've done work for them in the past, and may try it again. My initial plan was to shoot for them to build a portfolio, then talk to the daily, which is when I found out they weren't interested in freelancers. If the weekly gets me a press pass and access to concerts, then I'd do it - as much for me as for them, I guess. Maybe I need to start talking to papers from smaller towns in the area, but I'd rather do something right here. Probably worth a shot. Thanks for the reply.

[masdog]

Thanks for the great post, JS. That has a lot about what I will need to know for approaching my local paper.

I live in East Central Wisconsin. There isn't much around here in the way of newspapers, especially in terms of competition. Most of the papers in my area are owned by Gannett, and they don't seem to be too interested in covering local sports (my town has two colleges with active athletics programs - the local will rarely print blurbs from the press releases and no photos). I attempted to contact the photo editor at this paper once and got no response. Now, after a few weeks of shooting sports non-stop, I'm gonna send something to the sports editor.

Even if that doesn't pan out, I am still in a good position. My college, right now, is relying on me to shoot everything from head shots and team photos to action shots for public display. I've got half a mind to try and turn it into an internship to get college credit for it. I'll have to make sure I talk to the SID about that on Monday or Tuesday.

[JSPhoto]

masdog,

In your position an internship would be the best way to go. Gannett papers do use interns.

We had the same problem here w/gannett papers not wanting to do local coverage... news or sports. Now they do cover local sports and do a descent job. They could do better, but ,,,, they won't use a freelance photog who shoots for any other area non- Gannett papers and they still won't cover the weekly racing in the area - how dumb can Gannett be? Racing IS Indiana and they won't cover anything but IRL, NASCAR and NHRA. Thats sad as they are missing out on a huge segment of Indy area would be readers.

Glad there was some ideas in there for you, that was my hope that this would help omeone out. I'll have more later, too busy this weekend to think straight!

JS

[opus]

Steve, another idea, maybe not quite PJ work but it could get you some work and exposure ...


Cover the events around your town from the aspect of why someone from another city might be interested. For instance, you have kayak races, etc? Take photos and then write up a tourist piece (why a tourist would want to come). Or come up with a "subject", such as gardens, water activities, downtown events, etc. and then write up an article centering around a "garden tour" of your city, or activities in the water park and the river, or a weekend at a downtown festival.

Anyway, my point is, now you can shop your photo/story package around to newspapers around the country. Most big cities have a travel section and they need to fill it weekly. They're usually open to freelancers.

[masdog]

JS,

I was thinking more along the lines of turning my current situation with my school into an internship for now. I need about 300 hours to get course credit for it, and if I include all the time I've spent editing photos for them, i would have about 100 already. I might as well use this as a starting point, and then in December after I graduate, see if I can get an internship with the local Gannett paper when I won't have to work around class. Then I would already have photography experience on my resume.

I'm always thinking.

[another view]

I'm always thinking.

Sounds like a good plan! Besides the experience, you've got something really good to put on your resume.

Kelly, thanks for the idea. I have thought about travel brochures, especially ones put out by cities, counties and states to start with. I've never really written anything but that sounds like an easier sell.

"Dear Editor, here's a complete package ready to go" - instead of "I've got some pictures, come up with a story so you can use them". If I was a busy editor I know which one I'd look at first...

[JSPhoto]

JS,

I was thinking more along the lines of turning my current situation with my school into an internship for now. I need about 300 hours to get course credit for it, and if I include all the time I've spent editing photos for them, i would have about 100 already. I might as well use this as a starting point, and then in December after I graduate, see if I can get an internship with the local Gannett paper when I won't have to work around class. Then I would already have photography experience on my resume.

I'm always thinking.

Good idea, only one possible problem. Most papers, Gannett included take on interns two times a year. Spring for the summer months and fall for the winter. Check around and find out when they will be taking apps for interns.

JS