How to become a sports photographer.
So you want to shoot sports?
Sounds great! One question. How do you get started?
Ideally, if you are still in school, you want to start by joining the school paper or the school yearbook staff. Being involved with one of those organizations gets you an immediate “in” into the world of sports photography.
If you are not currently enrolled in school, then your path is slightly different. What seems to work out well for most people getting into sports photography is starting small and building up. This snowball effect works well because it allows you access at the ground level and allows you to build up you skills and your portfolio as you try to move up in the game. So what exactly is “starting small?” Little league. Maybe even high school. It really depends on where you can get in. With youth sports, as long as you talk to the league or the individual coaches, you likely won’t get any pushback. Just don’t be the guy with the floppy hat, shades, and sketchy mustache who seemingly is trying to sneak shots. Nothing screams “STRANGER DANGER” like a random unknown person taking photos of other people’s kids! Get clearance, it should be pretty easy as most parents would love good photos of their kids youth sporting days!
*PRO TIP* This is a fantastic chance to network. Mingle with the parents, talk to them, get contact info and offer your services! This is key in all aspects of photography.
OK, so you got a gig shooting little league and the photos came out well. Now what? Now, assuming you have a bunch of good shots, you take your top 10 photos and put them into an easy to access digital portfolio. Once you do this, your next step should be contacting the athletic directors at your local high schools/ colleges and offering your services. Get their email and send them your portfolio so they can see what caliber work you provide! By reaching out early and often, you stand a better shot of getting a chance at shooting for the school. Again, networking is key and will carry you farther than just your talent alone. Now that you’ve been cleared to shoot for the school, you’re going to “rinse and repeat” and do the same thing you did with your little league photos. Find your best 10 shots, put them into a digital portfolio for ease of access. Are you sensing a pattern here? You should be!
All in all the process is relatively the same. Improve your portfolio, network, ask for the work! If you keep doing that, you will eventually find a home and be a working sports photographer!
Please be clear that this is a simplified version and the path to success is rarely ever a straight line. Your journey might be a bit more complicated, but it’s the same general idea!
Future blog posts will focus on the specifics of shooting various sports, so keep it tuned!
-MA
