Wanting to move up.

[FoxShots]

I am new to the forum and have been reeding alot of post. Thought I'd throw this question out and see if I can get some advice. I have been photographing local LL baseball games and Motocross around southern Indiana and would like to know what would be my best bet on getting in to shoot a Pro event? Any Help, Thanks!

[form]

Buy expensive equipment, including a very long and reasonably fast telephoto lens.

[FoxShots]

At many of the local events I can get pretty close to the action. I was looking into to purchasing a 100-400 or a 70-200 and using a 2x con. will this work or do I need to go bigger?

[FlyingPhotog]

I am new to the forum and have been reeding alot of post. Thought I'd throw this question out and see if I can get some advice. I have been photographing local LL baseball games and Motocross around southern Indiana and would like to know what would be my best bet on getting in to shoot a Pro event? Any Help, Thanks!

One usually needs to have the backing of a legitimate publication in order to obtain credentials.

Newspapers, magazines, E-Zines (in some cases) or working for one of the manufacturers shooting PR or advertising-related images are the way in the door at the big pro events.

Start by finding a local track or even some field where guys ride and start to build a portfolio of images with which you can up-sell youreslf to publications.

[FoxShots]

I have been working on getting some shots from around here at local tracks to do just that. I figure sometime next spring I can have something put together. Any suggetions on how to go about selling myself?

[DC Fan]

If the tracks you attend are anything like the tracks I visit, you'll find that there are many photographers around with grey hair and lots of experience, people who started taking racing pictures when the hot film was Tri-X and digital cameras were speculative science fiction. That will be your competition, and you'll have to convince the potential customers that you can handle the job better than them. Also, tracks and racing series tend to have "official photographers" who may not like the idea of a newcomer trying to take their business.

A suggestion: stay small and busy until there's an opening to move up. That means impressing the people in the area with your pictures, and also with your attitude. If you do catch a break, be ready to meet the deadlines of real-world publications, which are far tighter than most hobbyists expect.

[PhotosGuy]

or a 70-200 and using a 2x con. will this work or do I need to go bigger? It really depends on how close you can get, doesn't it? I was pretty close for these: POTN at Waterford Hills - Open Wheel Club Racing. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=543685)

I didn't get the 100-400 because it's at f/5.6 at 400mm & I wanted something that I could use at f/2.8 indoors, too.

[smcclelland]

1. Build a portfolio. Get out to as many events as you can and talk with teams, drivers and marshals to build relationships.

2. Post here for comments/critique, have people be as critical as possible and always take it as constructive. Learn from it and take your learnings with you to the next event.

3. When you've got a good pile of images you think are worthy, start looking around at different magazines/websites and inquiring if they use freelancers for races or events.

From here it's all about marketing yourself and working hard at your craft. As far as gear goes, I've been shooting for the past year using two 40D's with a 70-200 2.8 non-IS and a Canon 100-400 L without any issues. As PhotosGuy pointed out, the 100-400 is not a very good indoor lens as f5.6 makes it hard to keep the shutter speeds up so be sure that you have lots of light if you're looking at the 100-400.