What it's REALLY like to shoot a pro event

manutd101 wrote in post #5852610
Thanks. How many photogs are at a British American football game?

Only from my experience, and other than the very few national BAFL-friendly photographers (all of whom produce absolutely superb stuff - check www.imacimages.co.uk or www.grahambeardsleypho​tography.co.uk ) -

Holding a compact camera at arms length to get photos of a boyfriend/brother/son/​etc. - 10 or so.

Using a DSLR but not knowing anything about the game other than when their boyfriend/brother/son/​etc. is on the field - 3 or 4.

Using a DSLR and knowing enough about the game to get a good shot now and again - one?!

Using a DSLR and shooting off about 500 shots per game, getting SOME good stuff - One, maybe two. One of these will probably be shooting at shutter priority because it's a sporting event and ruining the shots they could have got with a huge DOF.

Arguments on the sidelines about who's in whose face/place/space - None!

Free food, parking, media guides, photographers rooms, storage areas, internet, etc. - Somewhere between none and bu99er all.

I actually PAY to be the Blitz' photographer!

Daft, I know.

Did anyone here ever use a Leafax 35?

danaitch wrote in post #5854658
Only from my experience, and other than the very few national BAFL-friendly photographers (all of whom produce absolutely superb stuff - check www.imacimages.co.uk or www.grahambeardsleypho​tography.co.uk ) -

Holding a compact camera at arms length to get photos of a boyfriend/brother/son/​etc. - 10 or so.

Using a DSLR but not knowing anything about the game other than when their boyfriend/brother/son/​etc. is on the field - 3 or 4.

Using a DSLR and knowing enough about the game to get a good shot now and again - one?!

Using a DSLR and shooting off about 500 shots per game, getting SOME good stuff - One, maybe two. One of these will probably be shooting at shutter priority because it's a sporting event and ruining the shots they could have got with a huge DOF.

Arguments on the sidelines about who's in whose face/place/space - None!

Free food, parking, media guides, photographers rooms, storage areas, internet, etc. - Somewhere between none and bu99er all.

I actually PAY to be the Blitz' photographer!

Daft, I know.

You pay them!? Don't do that to yourself

Not quite a pro event, but as an intern at daily in Minnesota, I've covered a few minor league games.

Games don't start till 7, I get to the office by around 2, shoot whatever else they need.

Pack all gear plus 300 f/2.8 into trunk, drive two miles to the stadium. Yep, we're that close

Stadium lacks photo wells, but you are welcomed to shoot from either the dugout, the stands, or the fence.

Should I choose dugout, I have to deal with pissed baseball players who instantly throw stuff, kick stuff, scream, curse and then finally give a really big smile as though I need their mug shot. It's funny, though I got hit by helmets twice last summer shooting for the school paper.

Check watch every five minutes. Check LCD screen even more.

Get a phone call for the paper about a fire a couple miles away. Get out of the building only to receive a second phone call saying that there is no fire and somehow someone convinced themselves that flames were pouring out of a building - OK.

Shoot either till 845 or until you have 2-3 good photos.

Or.... like in my first game, start a downpour in the opening ceremony and end up shooting a feature with bat boys collecting rainwater in cups.

Get back, edit for deadline. Smile.

HuskiesD1 wrote in post #5855569
Not quite a pro event, but as an intern at daily in Minnesota, I've covered a few minor league games.

Games don't start till 7, I get to the office by around 2, shoot whatever else they need.

Pack all gear plus 300 f/2.8 into trunk, drive two miles to the stadium. Yep, we're that close

Stadium lacks photo wells, but you are welcomed to shoot from either the dugout, the stands, or the fence.

Should I choose dugout, I have to deal with pissed baseball players who instantly throw stuff, kick stuff, scream, curse and then finally give a really big smile as though I need their mug shot. It's funny, though I got hit by helmets twice last summer shooting for the school paper.

Check watch every five minutes. Check LCD screen even more.

Get a phone call for the paper about a fire a couple miles away. Get out of the building only to receive a second phone call saying that there is no fire and somehow someone convinced themselves that flames were pouring out of a building - OK.

Shoot either till 845 or until you have 2-3 good photos.

Or.... like in my first game, start a downpour in the opening ceremony and end up shooting a feature with bat boys collecting rainwater in cups.

Get back, edit for deadline. Smile.

Sweet! Thanks.

i started shoooting motorsport early last year, come august i started to get accreditation to local club level stuff, which isnt much to write about, come 2008 it all snowballed, (motorsport, tennis, afl [australian footbal league] all high profile gigs).

Tennis

2008 started with the Medibank International Tennis in Sydney, each sport has varying levels and Tennis has to be the most difficult because of the long hours and week long events.

My event started a few days prior to the main draw, it was my first time shooting a professional tournament so wanted to get in as much as possible before the main draw, i went along to qualifiers, got my accreditation and scouted the venues and see where i had access too.

Come the start of the event i arrived about 2hrs before the first match which was schedule for about 11am, setup my laptop in the media room, check out the schedule of play for the day and plan where i was going to go, add some of my gear to my locker (ie flash and shoter lenses).

I got down to the media pit on centre court a good 20min before the match was to start, check my settings and get ready to shoot, after about 7 games and moving along the media pit to get both sides of each player its time to move and go up in the stands for different angles, get the shots i needed of both players then quickly get back to the media room, download my shots, tag, rename, keyword, edit iptc info quickly pp and send 5-10 images to my photo editor for the match then its on to the next match either on centre court or one of the outer courts.

Stop for a quick break at lunch grab some off the free food available to media in the media restaurant then back in the media room and look through my shots again see if there is anything i missed.

Come about 4pm each day the sun creates an awesome shadow and amazing golden light on centre court so i have to make sure im there for that for the 30 or so minutes its available.

At the end of the days play grab a quick bite of dinner which was usually pretty good, was catered for but was not free but reasonably priced (only lunch, drinks, icecreams where free) then get ready for the nights session which started in the media pit and moving around, after the days play get my shots out, do bit more editing and finally leave the media room, some nights it was about 11pm on a few nights when matches went rather late i was out of there by about 2am. When i got home i would backup my shots and upload the rest to a few other sites and be in bed by 2am most nights.

Rinse Repeat for 6 days.

Motorsport

Depending on the track and if i have been before, if not go the day before the event starts, get my passes and check out spots to go and where the sun will be, check out the media room and get ready for a hektic few days.

The days usually start a good few hours before anything starts, ill arrive pretty early (7am) setup in the media room then start by walking around the pits and checking out all the usual suspects getting the stock shots i need before spectators crowd the place, go back dump my shots, catalogue etc and get a few out or online.

When everything is ready to go i like to start with grid shots then move around the track to a variety of different positions, depending on the track and the event i can either drive to the spots i want or i have to hike or i can get the media bus, after i have the shots i need and depending on the race ill go back to the media room, dump and get them out, its pretty straight forward, rinse repeat then at the end of the day do a lot more editing, see if there are any stories i need to follow up on or get shots for for the next day, the day usually ends about 7pm, get home, dump, backup and rest up for another hard day.

Do this for the few days of the event and make sure i am close to the pits for the last few races.

AFL

Much like tennis but only for a few hours and once a week, my only deadline is by the next morning for the newspaper i cover matches for and the league for their website (im the official photog for the league), its a little easier to shoot because i can stay for the entire match and get plenty of shots.

---------------

For me most of my time is spent getting images out, the actual shooting is part and parcel, depending on the sport there can be some research or time spent working out what or how you plan to shoot the next day, it is fun, sometimes not cheap because you have to pay for petrol, parking, food, travel expenses but for the most part i am paid to be there so the stress of making sure i get the right shots isnt there so for me makes it easier to get what i or the client wants.

High school football is a little different, but I've yet to shoot a football game for a paper.

Here goes anyways..

Get there early. Even small schools will have a huge turnout and you won't be able to find a good parking space.

Fight through a crowd of fans, show a security person (I won't say guard because all these people really do is stand there, look at you, and make a joke about yours lens. Every. Time.) only to realize that there are already a half dozen parents with point and shoots, SLR's, and the amazing video camera that will die by halftime in a storm of cursing.

Shoot the game, while avoiding little kids, parents w/cameras, getting photos of ref butt.

For my last game of the season last year, I also learned why its important to at least KNEEL while shooting. A team had the ball at about the four yard line and I choose to sit (and I mean sit) very near to the pileon in hopes of getting a good close photo. The play was a running sweep - right at me. The players were at a perfect distance, camera focused, shutter button halfway down when I felt something coming from my right. A referee plowed into me, knocking me back, leaving my camera somewhere on my side, and tossing my 1.4x Kenko that used to be in my across my chest - literally passing over my face as I fell.

Immediately after this takes place, two players collide right in front me.

Asked by four people if I was OK. I smiled and kept shooting.

Haha, good stories guys. Hopefully your 1.4 was OK!

As for the best seats in the house, sometimes this isn't even true (if you are a low man in photo well so to speak). There are times I might have had a better view for a shot from the first few rows than on the field. There was a also a time I got to my photo hole and setup camp (hockey) only to get pulled away by the team media person who needed me in the locker room. Got back to find my photo hole occupied by another photog who refused to move or share..made for some tense times for sure. As stated already, enjoying the game isn't really a part of the plan usually.

HuskiesD1 wrote in post #5855569
Not quite a pro event, but as an intern at daily in Minnesota, I've covered a few minor league games.

Games don't start till 7, I get to the office by around 2, shoot whatever else they need.

Pack all gear plus 300 f/2.8 into trunk, drive two miles to the stadium. Yep, we're that close

Stadium lacks photo wells, but you are welcomed to shoot from either the dugout, the stands, or the fence.

Should I choose dugout, I have to deal with pissed baseball players who instantly throw stuff, kick stuff, scream, curse and then finally give a really big smile as though I need their mug shot. It's funny, though I got hit by helmets twice last summer shooting for the school paper.

Check watch every five minutes. Check LCD screen even more.

Get a phone call for the paper about a fire a couple miles away. Get out of the building only to receive a second phone call saying that there is no fire and somehow someone convinced themselves that flames were pouring out of a building - OK.

Shoot either till 845 or until you have 2-3 good photos.

Or.... like in my first game, start a downpour in the opening ceremony and end up shooting a feature with bat boys collecting rainwater in cups.

Get back, edit for deadline. Smile.

Do you cover the St Paul Saints? If so, I've seen REAL fires just over the right field wall, as that's where they used to have a fire department training building. Sometimes more interesting than the game.

dmwierz wrote in post #5856458
Do you cover the St Paul Saints? If so, I've seen REAL fires just over the right field wall, as that's where they used to have a fire department training building. Sometimes more interesting than the game.

I got to go to one St Paul Saints game.

It was rained out. Thanks, Minnesota.

manutd101 wrote in post #5856034
Haha, good stories guys. Hopefully your 1.4 was OK!

It was. It later suffered a horrible, horrible accident involving a fall from a ladder while attached to a 70-200 that barely fit in the bag.

It split in half and tore part of the mount of the 70-200.

Good Times. Good Times.

manutd101 wrote in post #5845282
I have to admit, I hijacked this idea from Dennis (dmwierz), but it was just such a good idea it needed a thread. So, without further ado, the question to all you pro sports photogs (or those that have shot pro), what is it really like? For those of us who never have, what don't we know? Feel free to share whatever you like. Thanks!

Depends on the sport and what type of event it is (playoffs/big rival/etc.) I do have to say, if you came to watch the sport, you just missed all your important photos. For me, you do not even realize the game has gone by or some big moments do not strike you the same way as they would if you were a fan of that team. All you are worried about is getting that shot from that key/big play.

In a sense it seems cooler than it is really is at times. Depending upon the event, parking and food can be free or it might not be.

For me, I tend to get nervous for those big events, so I try to be at the location very early. I'm paranoid that something might go wrong if I'm not there early enough and it happens.

I would say my coolest moment was when the great SI photographer, John W. McDonough complimented me on my basketball photos during the NCAA tournament. That was probably the high point in my sports shooting so far.

The coolest thing is meeting the other photogs I think. That is what I liked best. Most of them are very friendly and helpful. Very fun to hang around and then look at the photos they edit and send to their editor once they are done shooting. I think that is probably one of the best parts.

Some games were super fun and then there were a few others that had their annoying parts and sad parts (like witnessing UCLA basketball lose and UCLA women's soccer in the final game lose a few feet in front of me). Oh and big sweaty players falling on you sucks (although much worse to get hit by football players running into the sidelines).

HuskiesD1 wrote in post #5856678
It was. It later suffered a horrible, horrible accident involving a fall from a ladder while attached to a 70-200 that barely fit in the bag.

It split in half and tore part of the mount of the 70-200.

Good Times. Good Times.

Holy crap!

I like to show up halfway through the game shoot a couple shot's in "P" mode then get to the pub in time for happy hour to beat the exiting rush. After a few drinks I head home so I can send in the best two or three shots of the five or so that I took to the editor and watch a little Television while waiting for the editor of SI to call and let me know that I got yet another cover shot.
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All this happens in the last ten minutes or so before I wake up and realize one of the kids is crying in the other room.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)