Sports Photography

[hotshot1]

I hope somebody can give me some direction. in a few years I plan on retiring. I love photography and would like to learn to become a sports photographer. Those that do it now, are they independent and how do they earn there moneys?
Any insight and comments would be greatly appreciated

[convergent]

Sports photography is a very big field. I work primarily at the youth and high school level, and that is an entry point for many people. You would be hard pressed to work at the college or pro level as a beginner, but I'm sure people have pulled it off. At the younger level, you can easily start shooting at your local games and setting up an online gallery to sell images to players and parents. Or, you could also find one of the larger companies that does tournaments and league pictures and try to get hired to shoot for them. There is not a ton of money in this unless you get to the point of doing big leagues and tournaments.

[Mike R]

Sports Photography is a broad area. Do you mean Major Leauge,Amature,College or High School? If you're interested in High School sports, PM or Email me. Sorry but I cannot help with the other levels.

[AB8ND]

My 2 cents worth is to build your portfolio with the best and a variety of sports. When it is as good as you can make it contact your local weekly or daily newspaper's photo editor to try to get on his/her freelance list. Most papers need extra help covering high school sports, they hate paying staff overtime. This will bring enough experience and tear sheets to try to get into covering college and pro events, for the wire services or bigger media sources. Pro and colleges are very, very tight on who gets media passes, mostly only the bigger agencies or media's will have a chance.
To answer your question, just about all sports shoots, while maybe freelance, represent some large agency

Jack