What it's REALLY like to shoot a pro event

Shot the redsox once. It was actually quite laid back. Parked, had free food, best seats in the park. We all sat aronud shooting and talking the whole time. I guess it might be different for the photogs that need to get their photos somewhere ASAP. we also had a room out back with tons of internet hookups for our laptops.

dmwierz wrote in post #5845750
Say good-bye to Erin Andrews.

After three references I had to google Erin Andrews just to find out what the deal was.

eddarr wrote in post #5848101
After three references I had to google Erin Andrews just to find out what the deal was.

Me too

Ed - ManU

Aren't you glad you did !!!

Darsk47 wrote in post #5848171
Ed - ManU

Aren't you glad you did !!!

Haha yes

I shoot professional baseball almost exclusively and most is freelance and on speculation. In baseball there are at least six professional levels in each organization -- Rookie, Low A, High A, AA, AAA and the majors. Of these I shoot Rookie, High A and AA minor league baseball the great majority of the time. Here's how my shooting season goes.

I begin preparing for the season as soon as Baseball America publishes their prospect handbook -- a couple months before the baseball season begins. Using it I develop what I call my "To Shoot" database because images of guys in BA's handbook are the best sellers. Games start with Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report to camp in mid February and I shoot a dozen or more ST games. Then the minor league season begins in early April and I shoot the Florida State League Top Prospect card set. To shoot the 24 guys in the set (two from each team) I travel to the 12 FSL ballparks in Florida -- I drove over 2,600 miles in three weeks to shoot this year's set. Then I concentrate my efforts on guys in my to shoot database. This involves tracking pitching rotations because starting pitchers normally pitch only every fifth day and in order to get action shots I need to be at games when they pitch.

The MLB draft is in mid June and images of the top draft picks are the best rookie sellers. So I track top draft picks noting which draftees will be playing in Florida. There are 16 Rookie level teams in the state and I work my schedule according to where the top draft picks are playing. I'm on the road a big part of every week and staying overnight in areas where I'll be shooting.

As soon as the minor league season ends the first of September, I shoot the FSL Championship series. Then Instructional baseball starts and I shoot as much of it as I can because organizations typically send their top prospects to Instructs. Their games are played at the Spring training venues in Florida in September and October.

Immediately after I shoot each game, I download images, add the player's name to each image file, upload images to clients and update my database of guys I've shot. By the end of the season I'll have about 1,500 different players in my database and several baseball card quality images of each guy.

It's a very long season for me -- starting in mid February and ending in late October. I shoot more than 100 games, drive more than 15,000 miles, stay 50 or more nights in cheap hotels, eat too many ballpark meals, miss a lot of meals and get rained out several games during the season. It's a long slog and I don't make very much money doing it but I get the best "seat" in the ballpark free and meet hundreds of players a few of whom make it to the show. I love the game of baseball and being up close and personal to the action plus getting to know the guys before they make it to the majors keeps me going.

Thanks for your experiences!

Erin Andrews = HOT!

I'm no pro, but does it count if i got to shoot with pro photographers?

Pretty much what you guys said about the free food parking tickets etc applied to me as well.

Well, from the perspective of being the team photographer for Britain's National football Champions, my home game day goes something like this -

Check batteries and cards the night before, pack kit and leave it all by the front door.

Sunday morning - Drag my mountains of kit to the bus stop (I really can't justify the expense of a car in Central London) and hope a '253' comes along before a '29' (I prefer not to get verbal abuse and a knife in the guts if I can help it).

Get to Finsbury Park around midday, for a 2.30pm kick-off. Stand around wondering why on earth I continue to get here this early for no good reason. Say hi to those players who aren't wearing their "Keep away, I'm in the zone" face. Say hi to any of the away team I know. Sit on the ground and wait for something to start happening...

Wonder if I'll break my ankle in any of the cracks on or around the playing surface.

Introduce myself to the 'away' coach and officials as they stagger out of the changing rooms (staggering cos it's tough to hold your breath for that long).

Shoot some of the warm-ups, but then realise there's no real point - ugly men starting to sweat just don't make popular images.

Suffer the usual weird looks from passers-by who wonder why their walk through the park is being ruined by the weirdos with helmets and shoulder pads running around and shouting.

Suffer the "Are you a photographer? Take my photo!" challenges from the kids who suddenly accumulate on the sidelines, in response to the sounds of the game. Take some of their photos (the ones with knives, at least).

Turn my ankle and use my face to break my fall, as usual. It sounds worse than it is - the multitude of goose turds across the field usually make for a soft landing.

Shoot the game, trying not to 'verbal' any of the away team if they make a good play. Try not to call the play to the Blitz defense if the offensive huddle is in the endzone.

Realise I've forgotten to bring anything to eat, at halftime. Realise I've forgotten my own bottle of water and steal some from the players bench. Spit out the insects and grit.

Finish the game and rush home on another '253'. Wash my clothes and lower legs. Bandage my face. Process my photos and start to upload them, leaving the Mac to finish off overnight.

Not much different to other versions, really.

Thanks. How many photogs are at a British American football game?

The Sports Shooter web site is a good source of information from those who face the real-world pressures of deadlines and production. There's also useful information at the Rob Galbraith site.

DC Fan wrote in post #5854205
The Sports Shooter web site is a good source of information from those who face the real-world pressures of deadlines and production. There's also useful information at the Rob Galbraith site.

Yeah, I know about sports shooter, but its obviously a place for those who are already shooting sports as a way to make money, so I figured that people on this site would enjoy learning a little about what its like to be a working pro. But thanks for the links

MiLB
https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=520214&high​light=MILB

Whole new situations for MLB, NFL, NHL...

As for getting everything free, not the case many times and you have to pay for parking, pay for food, pay tolls, pay for drinks, where's this person giving away suntan lotion? Never seen them. It's a job, good one, but a job.

MJPhotos24 wrote in post #5854512
MiLB
https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=520214&high​light=MILB

Whole new situations for MLB, NFL, NHL...

As for getting everything free, not the case many times and you have to pay for parking, pay for food, pay tolls, pay for drinks, where's this person giving away suntan lotion? Never seen them. It's a job, good one, but a job.

Cool, thanks for the link Mike (seen it before but still some good info there for ya'll to check out)