You too can make money doing sports photography!

[Gone for Good]

By selling your 300mmf/2.8 and 400mm f/4 lenses!

Here is a piece of advice from BRAD MANGIN, one of the better sports photographers in the USA.

" I joke with young photographers that they need to inherit a big pile of cash, marry someone who has a great job with benefits, and never plan to make any money. That way you will be able to afford the insane amount of money the camera manufacturers are charging these days for top-of-the-line cameras and 400mm f/2.8 lenses that you need to shoot sports with, because it is virtually impossible to pay for the gear, camera insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, rent, car, gas, power, computers, retirement, and everything else you need to run a successful and profitable business on the amount of money that is being offered by end users to photograph sporting events today. I really can’t sugar coat this.

I have been doing this for a long time at a high level, but I am nearing the end of my rope and am struggling to pay my bills each month. I had a really good business model that worked for 20 years. It doesn’t work anymore and if I don’t come up with something new real fast I am in big trouble."

 

[Kung Fu]

Get ready for a dozen angry dslr fanboys chiming in that an iPhone can't do this or that, completely and utterly missing the point.

Oh, and every guy in this forum is suddenly a freelance sport shooter, it's so fascinating! They need ISO 1,000,000 to get the shot of their kid's ping pong match the MLB World Series winning home run. Bam!

 

[Erick L]

Oh, and every guy in this forum is suddenly a freelance sport shooter...

Not me, I'm with National Geographic.

 

[fishy wishy]

I know it sounds cruel and traitorous to say so, but I feel like almost anyone can do sports photography, provided they know that sport, what to look for and expect, and that's the root of the problem now the technological and financial barrier to entry is so low. I admit you have to have patience and have to be prepared to put in some long hours into what might be very routine. Of course sometimes you also need very pricey gear to compete. Maybe the end is near for most dedicated freelance sports photographers who need really expensive equipment, and agencies who pay people a day rate are going to be more dominant. Both players have already been in the market for some time, it's just a question of relative proportions.

Edit: is it possible to have a mature conversation on this, without mention of iphones and iso 1,000,000?

 

[AwesomeIan]

some thoughts:

- With the modern DSLR ISO performance being very acceptable up to 12,800 I think any of the 150-600mm zoom lens would do just fine for most sports events

- The iphone camera has a wide angle lens. Unless you can get close to the players you have no way to get anything that is usable. It might be fine for moments right after the game from the sideline but that's about it.

 

[Donald B]

i think its the same for all pro photography, i my home town where i shoot dance schools ,everyone trys to mussel in on your work, only the other day a photography site was hirering some dance students for practice shoots and putting them on their pages, easy fix just put up an image that bows theirs out of the water then they asked me to give them some tips LOL or worst still that if they could sit in on a studio shoot ;-)

cheers don

 

[Kokopelli_Rocks]

By selling your 300mmf/2.8 and 400mm f/4 lenses!

Here is a piece of advice from BRAD MANGIN, one of the better sports photographers in the USA.

"I have been doing this for a long time at a high level, but I am nearing the end of my rope and am struggling to pay my bills each month. I had a really good business model that worked for 20 years. It doesn’t work anymore and if I don’t come up with something new real fast I am in big trouble."

Well Brad needs to read"Who Moved My Cheese". Fourteen years ago I joined a friend in starting a new business. My friend introduced me into - "Who Moved My Cheese" (Google it) and I agreed this was key in being successful. Then after a few years of being successful, my friend who owned the company, fell into the trap and did not innovate. I finally left, not on bad terms, but did want to stay in what I felt was a stagnant company. Finally after three bad years he is now back innovating again and I hope he is successful.

Brad's problem was similar - 20 years is too long to rely on a business model. Times change and tastes change and the way people do business changes. Twenty years ago, when I was in corporate marketing we payed a lot for custom photography, even with modest marketing budgets. Some of the work we got was great, almost art, some of it it almost crap and barely usable. We still would still pay for custom work. Five years later (and since then) if I suggested using custom photography for a campaign I would have been laughed at and shown the door. Good enough now pretty much is the rule of the day.

To be successful you have to constantly keep track of the changes and in some cases be willing to gamble. I recently moved back to an area I lived in ten years ago. In this are there is a local chain of three photography stores. Sixteen years ago there were four or five different photography stores along with this local group. The owner of the existing chain started investing in digital training for his staff 19 years ago. He started offering digital printing and conversion services. I had started using digital a few years earlier, but still used a lot of film. The two stores I used most would laugh at me every time I came in and joke about digital photography. I switched to the store chain supporting digital. Fifteen years ago the last of the other stores closed. The local chain that reinvented itself is still going strong. They still carry film and support film photographers, but they also have a wide range of digital services.

In business you need to know your customers, and you need to know when things are changing.

 

[AmbleYonder]

in other words he is in the twilight of career and apple offered him a deal he could not refuse as a paid shill and the gullible now believe they can shoot sports with an iphone .

 

[Richard B99]

By selling your 300mmf/2.8 and 400mm f/4 lenses!

Here is a piece of advice from BRAD MANGIN, one of the better sports photographers in the USA.

"I have been doing this for a long time at a high level, but I am nearing the end of my rope and am struggling to pay my bills each month. I had a really good business model that worked for 20 years. It doesn’t work anymore and if I don’t come up with something new real fast I am in big trouble."

Well Brad needs to read"Who Moved My Cheese". Fourteen years ago I joined a friend in starting a new business. My friend introduced me into - "Who Moved My Cheese" (Google it) and I agreed this was key in being successful. Then after a few years of being successful, my friend who owned the company, fell into the trap and did not innovate. I finally left, not on bad terms, but did want to stay in what I felt was a stagnant company. Finally after three bad years he is now back innovating again and I hope he is successful.

Brad's problem was similar - 20 years is too long to rely on a business model. Times change and tastes change and the way people do business changes. Twenty years ago, when I was in corporate marketing we payed a lot for custom photography, even with modest marketing budgets. Some of the work we got was great, almost art, some of it it almost crap and barely usable. We still would still pay for custom work. Five years later (and since then) if I suggested using custom photography for a campaign I would have been laughed at and shown the door. Good enough now pretty much is the rule of the day.

To be successful you have to constantly keep track of the changes and in some cases be willing to gamble. I recently moved back to an area I lived in ten years ago. In this are there is a local chain of three photography stores. Sixteen years ago there were four or five different photography stores along with this local group. The owner of the existing chain started investing in digital training for his staff 19 years ago. He started offering digital printing and conversion services. I had started using digital a few years earlier, but still used a lot of film. The two stores I used most would laugh at me every time I came in and joke about digital photography. I switched to the store chain supporting digital. Fifteen years ago the last of the other stores closed. The local chain that reinvented itself is still going strong. They still carry film and support film photographers, but they also have a wide range of digital services.

In business you need to know your customers, and you need to know when things are changing.

Whether or not Brad has read that book, what is apparent is that he has reinvented himself. He was a successful freelance pro sport photographer from the film and into the digital era. In recent years with pressure on rates and rights he found he increasingly couldn't make a go of it and reinvented himself using the iPhone and the immediacy of the web and found he could make a living again with that model. He's just a guy trying to make a living and all power to him for adapting. It's clear from his own narrative that he's not sure how long it will last and that is clearly tough for anyone trying to make a living out of photography now.

Whether or not he succeeds commercially, one thing is clear; he is a very good photographer and it doesn't matter if its SLR, DSLR or iPhone, he captures the moment.

 

[fishy wishy]

Whether or not Brad has read that book, what is apparent is that he has reinvented himself. He was a successful freelance pro sport photographer from the film and into the digital era. In recent years with pressure on rates and rights he found he increasingly couldn't make a go of it and reinvented himself using the iPhone and the immediacy of the web

I think you mean "He hit upon an easy gimmick that gave him mileage for a while before others caught on".

Whether or not he succeeds commercially, one thing is clear; he is a very good photographer and it doesn't matter if its SLR, DSLR or iPhone, he captures the moment.

I'm amazed by comments like this. A sports photographer's job is to be there and click away. There's nothing talented about that. I've done it enough to know. Try being the photographer on a fashion shoot instead for a bit more creative input. We're going round in circles to the fact that DSLRs make sports photography an easy area to conquer, and that's why people are taking to gimmicks. But the gimmicks are also easy. People will copy the gimmick too.

 

[Kung Fu]

Whether or not Brad has read that book, what is apparent is that he has reinvented himself. He was a successful freelance pro sport photographer from the film and into the digital era. In recent years with pressure on rates and rights he found he increasingly couldn't make a go of it and reinvented himself using the iPhone and the immediacy of the web

I think you mean "He hit upon an easy gimmick that gave him mileage for a while before others caught on".

Whether or not he succeeds commercially, one thing is clear; he is a very good photographer and it doesn't matter if its SLR, DSLR or iPhone, he captures the moment.

I'm amazed by clueless comments like this. A sports photographer's job is to be there and click away. There's nothing talented about that. I've done it enough to know.

I don't see how you 'clicking away' in an untalented way (bold of you to admit), has anything to do with pro sports photographers. Or are you claiming you're an untalented pro sports photographer also? Can you please link to your SI shots, I'm dying to see them.

 

[fishy wishy]

I would not seek to connect my identity and work with online trolls, especially people who keep making accounts on dpreview to have them rapidly banned.

Sports photographers are having a lean time because once somebody grabs a few thousand dollars of equipment, it's easy to get up to speed with it. You don't have the creative influence or input of most other areas of photography. That's why sports photographers find it hard to make a living when amateurs are let in, willing to provide stuff for photo credits.

The fact that you challenge me with an account you had here for one month on something so basic tells me you have no clue and are likely a troll too.

 

[Kung Fu]

I would not seek to connect my identity and work with online trolls

That's smart, your potential clients would take one look at your "fishy wishy" posts, and pass.

Sports photographers are having a lean time because once somebody grabs a few thousand dollars of equipment, it's easy to get up to speed with it. You don't have the creative influence or input of most other areas of photography. That's why sports photographers find it hard to make a living when amateurs are let in, willing to provide stuff for photo credits.

That's not what the actual pro said in the article.

The fact that you challenge me with an account you had here for one month on something so basic tells me you have no clue and are likely a troll too.

Name-calling won't win arguments for you.

 

[Richard B99]

Whether or not Brad has read that book, what is apparent is that he has reinvented himself. He was a successful freelance pro sport photographer from the film and into the digital era. In recent years with pressure on rates and rights he found he increasingly couldn't make a go of it and reinvented himself using the iPhone and the immediacy of the web

I think you mean "He hit upon an easy gimmick that gave him mileage for a while before others caught on".

I have no issue with him finding a way to feed his family and making a commercial go of being a photographer. It seems to be increasingly tough for anyone to make a decent living at any form of photography, especially freelance, and maybe that's just the way the world is going to be. I don't make a living from photography but I have some respect for those who do make a go of their chosen craft because just taking good or great photos is only a (small) part of that job. I can only guess you don't either because I'd be really surprised if you would be so snarky towards a fellow professional.

Whether or not he succeeds commercially, one thing is clear; he is a very good photographer and it doesn't matter if its SLR, DSLR or iPhone, he captures the moment.

I'm amazed by comments like this. A sports photographer's job is to be there and click away. There's nothing talented about that. I've done it enough to know. Try being the photographer on a fashion shoot instead for a bit more creative input. We're going round in circles to the fact that DSLRs make sports photography an easy area to conquer, and that's why people are taking to gimmicks.

No doubt that the improvement in gear has moved the game forward in all areas of photography and pushed standards up across the board but to suggest that sport photography is simply all down to the gear is shallow in the extreme.

But the gimmicks are also easy. People will copy the gimmick too.

"Gimmicks" Hmm, sounds like you give little credit to the guy that goes out and does something a bit different for the first time. Others will copy no doubt but that doesn't devalue it and he may just retain that first mover advantage.

What really amazes me that so many folks continually have to find reason run others down and not instead say, "Yeah, he/she had the balls to do something a bit different and he/she make a ago of it. Respect that."

 

[Steve Moore NYC]

Good clip on sports photography -

and