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Archive 2013 · Question for USA Today shooters

  
 
kylehess10
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Question for USA Today shooters


Hey all-

I'm going to be shooting my first assignment soon for USA Today Sports Images and was looking for anybody on here that shoots for them that could pass along any tips/advice before I start. They're sending my contract this week to sign & return. I'm anxious to begin shooting for them, but don't want to make any mistakes, so any guidance/advice that anyone could pass along will be greatly appreciated!




Apr 16, 2013 at 06:14 PM
Russ Isabella
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Question for USA Today shooters


What sport?


Apr 16, 2013 at 06:31 PM
kylehess10
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Question for USA Today shooters


Russ Isabella wrote:
What sport?



Don't they assign for all sports? The USA Today shooters here in Atlanta are seen all over (Braves, Falcons, Hawks, etc)



Apr 16, 2013 at 06:37 PM
Marty Bingham
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Question for USA Today shooters


If you don't already know it, learn photo mechanic. Have your code replacements ready before you start shooting. Double check your captions before you transmit. Keep in mind that everything is old news 30 minutes after the event is over so you need to get your first batch out quickly and accurately in order to optimize sales. Lots of photos are transmitted before the events are over, during halftime etc.


Get to the media center early enough to claim a spot in case there isn't assigned seating. Establish an internet connection early (sounds simple but the passwords are not always prominently displayed nor easily obtained)

Don't expect much if any guidance from the stadium/venue/event staff. Find your way on and off the field/court early.

Hope that helps.

Good luck,
Marty




Apr 16, 2013 at 07:20 PM
Russ Isabella
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Question for USA Today shooters


Yeah, I just thought I might be able to provide more specific advice if I knew which sport you'd be shooting your first time out. Here are a few thoughts, but recognize that each shooter probably has a slightly different sense of what's important, so these are just some guidelines based on my own experiences.

1. Get to the venue early and do your best to figure out what the 'rules' are, what your options/limitations will be, etc.

2. Submit 2-3 pre-game images. These are more or less place-holders to allow USATSI to get the gallery set up and let potential users of the gallery know the game images will be coming. At least some of the editors don't appreciate more than just a couple of these pre-game images. This also is a good way to be sure that your internet connection is working, your uploads to the USATSI server are reaching the editor, etc.

3. Send action images as soon as you are able to do so following the start of the game. With NBA, I usually submit a few images before the end of the first quarter, and you can extrapolate from there to figure out what that would equate to for other sports. After that, I send at halftime and then at the end of the game.

4. Only send your sharpest images. When in doubt about dead-on focus, don't send it.

5. At the end of the game, as quickly as you can send 4-6 images that capture some essence of the game (maybe a couple of shots of the high scorer, intense emotion, jube, dejection, that kind of thing). Once those are sent, work on culling through the other stuff to submit more general images from that last portion of the game (since your last submission).

6. Don't overburden the editors by uploading 25 images at a time.

7. Check, double-check and triple-check your captions. Errors in the captions are a major hassle for everyone and not appreciated.






Apr 16, 2013 at 07:23 PM
kylehess10
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Question for USA Today shooters


This is absolutely perfect advice guys....thanks so much!

And Russ, I'm not certain yet but I'm pretty sure I'd be shooting baseball first since the Braves season is in full-swing now. But luckily I have the most experience shooting baseball.



Apr 16, 2013 at 08:00 PM
mkchang
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Question for USA Today shooters


Have you shot for any other wires? It's the same thing, get images out fast and beat the other guys.

Congrats on the gig though, surprised that they picked you up in Atlanta since it's so big.



Apr 16, 2013 at 08:57 PM
kylehess10
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Question for USA Today shooters


mkchang wrote:
Have you shot for any other wires? It's the same thing, get images out fast and beat the other guys.

Congrats on the gig though, surprised that they picked you up in Atlanta since it's so big.


Never shot for any other wires. My only working experience is an internship I did in the minor leagues last year, then afterwards I shot football & basketball for Georgia State University to fill my portfolio with other sports.

I was surprised too that I was picked up. It did take a few months from when I first submitted my portfolio to hearing back, but I'm glad everything is working out for me.



Apr 16, 2013 at 09:05 PM
mkchang
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Question for USA Today shooters


Its all about workflow, you can practice with images you already have. But if you don't have/know Photo Mechanic, go ahead and buy/demo it and get used to working with it.


Apr 16, 2013 at 09:09 PM
kylehess10
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Question for USA Today shooters


mkchang wrote:
Its all about workflow, you can practice with images you already have. But if you don't have/know Photo Mechanic, go ahead and buy/demo it and get used to working with it.


I've actually been doing that lately (practicing my workflow). I'm on the USATSI site all the time seeing how quickly photogs are uploading their images and also paying attention to how they caption everything.

I don't have Photo Mechanic yet (I've mainly used Lightroom) but I plan on buying it before my first assignment.



Apr 16, 2013 at 09:45 PM
Jim Cowsert
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Question for USA Today shooters


Download Photo Mechanic today and start practicing right now. They have a fully functioning 15 day free trial that converts over once you buy your license.
Learn code replacements and how to edit codes, a big time saver! Always double check your codes since player positions etc change.
Make sure you caption with names everyone that can be identified in the photo. Keep your captions simple but relevant to what happened in the shot.
Read their style guide and understand everything in it.
Double check your IPTC.
Get Insurance if you already don't have it...at least a good liability policy.
And whatever you do don't ask for help on Sportsshooter.



Apr 17, 2013 at 06:33 AM
Russ Isabella
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Question for USA Today shooters


Jim Cowsert wrote:
......And whatever you do don't ask for help on Sportsshooter.






Apr 17, 2013 at 08:12 AM
mikepmcs
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Question for USA Today shooters


This is exciting stuff. Congratulations!!!!



Apr 17, 2013 at 10:32 AM
kylehess10
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Question for USA Today shooters


Jim Cowsert wrote:
Download Photo Mechanic today and start practicing right now. They have a fully functioning 15 day free trial that converts over once you buy your license.
Learn code replacements and how to edit codes, a big time saver! Always double check your codes since player positions etc change.
Make sure you caption with names everyone that can be identified in the photo. Keep your captions simple but relevant to what happened in the shot.
Read their style guide and understand everything in it.
Double check your IPTC.
Get Insurance if you already don't have it...at least a good liability policy.
And whatever you do don't
...Show more


I almost forgot they had a free trial! Thanks, I'll download it today and start getting used to it.

And I guess it's a good thing I don't post on SportsShooter! I occasionally read, but never write. It seems like more photogs are there to bash each other instead of helping.



Apr 17, 2013 at 12:05 PM
Jon Uhler
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Question for USA Today shooters


All the above is great advice.

I am not very good/fast with the captioning process so I like to do up a Word/text doc with captions that I can cut and paste as they apply. Of course if my preplanning doesn't work out at least I have a good reminder of the caption layout.

I also get text versions of the rosters, of course this isn't an issue if you use a roster replacement service.




Apr 17, 2013 at 02:08 PM
dmwierz
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Question for USA Today shooters


Kyle,

All of the above is good advice, so let me take a slightly different tack. Being ABLE to shoot the sport is important. Knowing HOW to review your images and select the keepers (AKA, sellable shots) is important. Knowing HOW to caption is important. Knowing HOW to edit/tone is important. Knowing HOW to resize is important. Knowing WHERE to stand, sit, or squat is important. Knowing HOW to FTP is important. Knowing what NOT to do is important. However, being able to do all these things simultaneously under the pressure of a deadline is a much, much different thing. Without a doubt, learning how to do this was the most challenging thing I faced when I first started shooting for USPW/USATSI, and I had worked for another (mostly non-deadline) wire service for a couple years.

Therefore, I'd offer the suggestion to practice your workflow over and over again. Baseball is the one sport where you have to ingest/select/edit/caption/transmit DURING the action of the game. There are no real breaks (like between quarters or periods, as exist for football, hockey, basketball, etc.). Absolutely learn how to use Photo Mechanic; learn how to utilize the Code Replacement function (a real and undeniable life saver - believe it).

Here's my workflow, FWIW:


  1. Shoot images and tag the ones in camera that I think I'll like.
  2. Ingest images using Photo Mechanic between innings from the photo well - some like to ingest only tagged images - I do this sometimes
  3. Select keepers in the lightbox view of PM
  4. Perform basic editing on selected images (straighten, minor toning as required, minor sharpening if needed, resizing to 1-1.5MB./image) in PhotoShop
  5. Review to ensure images are sharp in PM
  6. Caption selected images in PM
  7. FTP selected images in PM


While you're doing all of the above, you need to continue to cover the action on the field, especially if runners get on base or something else interesting occurs. I transmit at the end of the first inning; a couple innings after that; maybe in the 5th or 6th inning and at the end of the game, and ANY time in between when something important happens. I can send images as many as 6 or 8 times in the course of an action-packed game.


You should receive a style guide from USATSI - if not, ask for one until you get it. Try to get it early enough to read it over several times. If you have any questions, contact the USATSI Director of Photography, or if you can't reach him, you can PM me (or other FMer's who shoot for USATSI - there are quite a few on here).

Good luck, and don't forget to have fun.

Dennis



Apr 17, 2013 at 07:53 PM
kylehess10
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Question for USA Today shooters


dmwierz wrote:
Kyle,

All of the above is good advice, so let me take a slightly different tack. Being ABLE to shoot the sport is important. Knowing HOW to review your images and select the keepers (AKA, sellable shots) is important. Knowing HOW to caption is important. Knowing HOW to edit/tone is important. Knowing HOW to resize is important. Knowing WHERE to stand, sit, or squat is important. Knowing HOW to FTP is important. Knowing what NOT to do is important. However, being able to do all these things simultaneously under the pressure of a deadline is a much, much different thing. Without
...Show more


Thanks Dennis, this is great advice.

When I worked for the Braves Triple-A team last year, I did work with deadlines, but definitely not as fast as USATSI will be, having me transmit every few innings. I've been working with PM all day today and plan on practicing my workflow every day until my first assignment. I definitely want to speed up my transmission times and impress them from the get-go.

The code replacements seem very useful; I'm already getting those ready. Also, I've been in contact with Jerry recently, so I have his contact info. He was very helpful with getting back to me to let me know when they would review my portfolio. Very nice guy.





Thanks again everyone; I'm glad there's very helpful USATSI shooters on here that could help a rookie out. I appreciate it a lot! I'm jotting down so many notes from everything posted in this thread and going over it again and again so I'll be well-prepared.



Apr 17, 2013 at 09:10 PM
Carl Auer
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Question for USA Today shooters


When I have been able, I have had my computer next to me (hockey, soccer) and been able to transmit from the sidelines and still keep shooting. One of the USAToday shooters here has an iPad mini and connects it to his camera and downloads 2 or 3 images, modifies a prewritten IPTC and sends it off that way, and can keep shooting if need be.


Apr 17, 2013 at 09:39 PM
mkchang
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Question for USA Today shooters


I know this is an old thread, but with football starting up I'm curious if you have any updates.


Sep 04, 2013 at 11:32 AM





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