High School Sports

[pyterps]

I was wondering if I need permission to take pictures at High School sporting events? The reason I ask is that the principal of the school told me I was not allowed.

[gramps]

If you were in the stands and shooting pictures of a son, daughter,nephew, etc...........I'd tell the principal to take a hike. If you are down "on the floor" shoot as a hobby then I'd say yes you do need permission.

[Dandaman_24]

lol

In the UK, rules are a bit tougher now due to paedofiles.
I've just applied to be checked out by the criminal records beuro, which will issue me with some sort of certificate or card saying im no threat to kids, as i will be takin photographs for a swimming competition in a couple of months, thats the way its goin in the UK.

[cecilc]

It's been my experience that as long as "somebody" knows that you're there and what you're doing and who you're doing it for .... then there's no problem.

I shoot high school sports all the time - field sports, indoor sports ..... I've never had a school "official" tell me that I can't shoot .... in fact, I've never had anybody tell me I can't shoot .....

Good luck with that, though - hope everything works out for you.

[pyterps]

Cecilc,

Where do you shoot from? Do you stay in the stands or are you able to get down on the floor? I think I will just show up to some upcomming events and take some shots.

When you say "somebody" knows your are there. Do you mean you are taking photos of one of the kids.

Thanks,

Dave

[MT]

I've never shot from the stands, I've always been on the floor. Normally, I'm shooting games/matches/meets where I know at least one of the parents (and usually most of them - for the home team anyway). Generally I just up and start shooting, and I've never had a problem.

That said, there are occassionally events that require credentials - for example the state high school wrestling tourney is going on this week. To shoot that from the floor requires permission from the state high school athletic association.

[Hydro]

I've shot five games now, and half of them are away games where no one knows my kids are playing. I shoot from the edge of the floor----I just try to be as unobstrusive as possible---and have not had anyone say anything yet. Course it could be becuase I'm wearing my Hell's Angels denim (Just joking).

But here's a question for MT and Gramps, who among others have taken great shots with the 85MM. I got that lens, and am enjoying it, but a lot of the time it seems a little tight. The high school gyms let me get close enough, but the crowds or bleachers don't let me back up, so I find myself turning my camera on end or otherwise having trouble getting full length shots when I want them. Do you think the 50 1.8 has the same quality?

[gramps]

I've shot five games now, and half of them are away games where no one knows my kids are playing. I shoot from the edge of the floor----I just try to be as unobstrusive as possible---and have not had anyone say anything yet. Course it could be becuase I'm wearing my Hell's Angels denim (Just joking).

But here's a question for MT and Gramps, who among others have taken great shots with the 85MM. I got that lens, and am enjoying it, but a lot of the time it seems a little tight. The high school gyms let me get close enough, but the crowds or bleachers don't let me back up, so I find myself turning my camera on end or otherwise having trouble getting full length shots when I want them. Do you think the 50 1.8 has the same quality?

I'll tell you the truth..............if you have to stay in tight to the baseline the 50 might be a good choice (on the 20D or a 1.6 crop). I have not used, nor own the 50, but I'm thinking it might be a good buy for under the basket shots. Most of the shots with my 85 are from the corner or about 20 feet up the side.

[Avalonthas]

For a highschool, if u dont have a student in attendance, then go to the student council and they will grant you permission as long as you provide them with some pics for there yearbook or school paper/newsletters (I usually take about 150-300 shots per game at the local high schools in my area, and i usually give 10-20 of the good shots to the student council to distribute to there yearbook committee or anything else. For permission, i went directly to the student council in all the local schools, and so the principle can ban me if he wants, as he has high authority in terms of inforcing the law, and keeping the safety of the school, however im good friends with most of the administration of 10 or so schools so i usually have no problem.

If he says u cant go in, the easiest thing to do is to go in anyways and if anyone asks what ur doing just say ur taking pics of ur son or daughters game (make sure u say there from the enemy team, so that they wont know if the person trully exists unless there paranoid enough to check the roster list, which is 95% unlikely). If they ask you to leave....whats the harm. You cant be arrested for taking legit photo's wether u have direct permission or not. As long as the principle hasnt said "Your banned from entering the school" then ur in the green.

[22littlereasons]

In my neck of the woods, access to high school sports or any sporting event held in a public place that doesn't have a gate, or rather where you have to buy tickets, is fair game. (Excuse the pun!)

On the other hand, if there is a gate, then you have to ask permission because the sporting event is the property of the league or club. Generally, these type of sports are pro or semi-pro... but definitely not amateur sports at the community level.

Now, where you can get into trouble is if you start shooting into the stands. I think you run into the same issues as shooting candids in public places - invasion of privacy, blah, blah, blah. Especially these days with stalkers, etc. In fact, for these type of reasons I never shoot cheerleaders, etc. at sporting events unless I have express permission.

Anyway, my two cents is unless the parameters of the event are duly posted - then just start shooting until you're told to stop. It's always easier to ask for forgiveness, then secure permission. Again, my two cents.

[IndyJeff]

If he says u cant go in, the easiest thing to do is to go in anyways and if anyone asks what ur doing just say ur taking pics of ur son or daughters game (make sure u say there from the enemy team, so that they wont know if the person trully exists unless there paranoid enough to check the roster list, which is 95% unlikely). If they ask you to leave....whats the harm. You cant be arrested for taking legit photo's wether u have direct permission or not. As long as the principle hasnt said "Your banned from entering the school" then ur in the green.


Bad advice, totally bad. Here in Indiana and a couple of other states that I am aware of, if you are on school property and asked to leave by a school offical and refuse or re-enter the property you can be arrested. Now I am not talking about getting cuffed and spending an hour or two being processed. You will be arrested and charged with trespassing on school property, a class D FELONY. Resulting in a higher bond and if convicted you will lose a lot. If your regular job is one which requires a license, forget it. Your a convicted felon and you can't hold that license. You lose the right to vote, and will forever have a felony conviction on your record. Try explaining that to your next prospective employer.

Trying to do an end run on the principal or any other school offical is not going to do anything but hurt you in the long run. In fact it may make you seem more like a threat and give them reason to call the authorities and then you are in too deep to walk away.


Anyway, my two cents is unless the parameters of the event are duly posted - then just start shooting until you're told to stop. It's always easier to ask for forgiveness, then secure permission. Again, my two cents.

Again, bad advice. Just walking out there shooting is a great way to draw attention to yourself, especially if no one knows who you are.

You want access, approach the coach and explain that you are a photography buff and wish to give a shot at high school sports. Assure him that you have no plans to sell any of the images, you just want to give it a shot and see if you can do it. Maybe get something to show the local paper and be able to cover more of their games and get them some images in the paper. Offer to bring in the laptop after the game and show him what you have. An offer of using a few for their website will make him feel like he is getting something from you.

Another approach would be to find a parent before approaching the coach. Explain to them what you want to do and ask them if they would like for you to cover their child in the game. Once you have a parent on your side, approach the coach and inform him that Johnny's mom and you have talked and you will be taking some shots during the game of her son to give her some images if he has no objection. If he does, thank him for his time and tell the mom the coach doesn't want you to shoot. She will either say "Oh well, thanks for the offer" or "Well let me talk with him".

If you want access the first thing you have to do is to project an impression of being professional about it. Sneaking around and doing a backdoor move on the school officials will assure you of one thing......YOU WILL NEVER BE ALLOWED ACCESS.

Always speak with the game officials before the game. Explain that you will be shooting the game and ask about the use of flash, where you are allowed to go and any other things which you might do that they might frown on.
I saw a photographer at a high school basketball game last year, off to the side of the basket flashing each drive. He kept moving closer to the backboard until he was right behind the basket. The official asked him 1 time not to stand under the basket for his own safety as well as that of the players and fellow officials. In the second half he was right back under the basket. The official didn't notice him the first time down the floor but he did on the second. An official timeout was called and he asked which team he was shooting for. The official then went over to that coach, spoke with him briefly and then blew his whistle and issued a technical foul. The coach was on that guy in a flash, no pun intended, waving for security and he was escorted out of the gym.

[22littlereasons]

Perhaps I was too lighthearted in my response. I'm not saying be wreckless or arrogant in your approach. Common sense and manners always apply. But giving away your photos or bringing in equipment to verify the shots your taking seems a bit much in terms of preproduction set up.

Fact is, I have over 20 years television experience in local and regional news and sports programming. I started shooting digital stills as a hobby as my job keeps me more behind a desk rather than in the field these last few years.

My experience has been that generally local amateur and semi-pro sports will welcome pretty much anyone that is willing to chronicle their activities - amateur or professional. If you come to the scene looking professional and behaving in that manner, generally you can go anywhere within reason using common sense.

But you have to leave a little wiggle room and take a little risk from time to time in order to get the positioning to get the shot you want. The example of the shooter sneaking and gradually making his way under the basket are thngs you sometimes have to do to get that type of postioning. However, if you're told to move you must have the regard to respect the officials wishes. And you should never have to be told something twice!

Anyway, 2 more cents... that makes almost a nickel. *s*

[MT]

Hydro, the 85 is a little tight, particularly in small gyms. I've got the 50 f1.8, but I haven't used it for basketball - not for any particular reason...next game I'll have to switch to it for a half.

[cecilc]

Cecilc,Where do you shoot from? Do you stay in the stands or are you able to get down on the floor? I think I will just show up to some upcomming events and take some shots. When you say "somebody" knows your are there. Do you mean you are taking photos of one of the kids.

I'm always down on the floor for basketball, usually back and forth on the baseline underneath the basket (but I don't move around when the play is at my end of the court).

By "somebody" ..... usually the booster club, a parent, the coach, .... "somebody" knows that I'm going to be shooting that game ..... plus, when I get there, I make sure to introduce myself to security, the refs, and anyone else who controls access to the floor so they know who I am and what I'm doing. After a couple of games, they'll just "expect" you to be there shooting .....

And let me disagree with Avolantas about how best to go about shooting a game - don't lie to people! Tell them straight up what you're doing and why. I'll tell you, most high schools welcome the exposure (no pun intended!) and most will allow you to shoot as long as you don't get in the way of the players, the refs, or anyone else that has a real ligitimate reason for being out there. But don't lie to people .... man, that's just not cool ....

[timmyquest]

Just talk to the Athletic Director and/or coach before the game. Obviously the principle is the head hancho when it comes to things in his school, but chances are if his AD says it's ok, then it's going to be ok in his book.