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Archive 2014 · Why do you take sports pictures?

  
 
rob4bama
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I'm more of a lurker but I'm curious about the reasons many people post here. I'm not really asking the guys who do this as a job or for a paper but mostly the others.

Are you there taking pictures of your kids and just take shots of others?
Just a hobby you enjoy?
Parents ask you to?
You're a budding photographer trying to make it in the business?

Also, what do you do with your pictures after you take them?
Share them on facebook with parents?
Put them on a hard drive and just put them away?
Upload them to a website to sell?

I appreciate any comments. I really enjoy this board and hope to improvement from all your comments and critiques!



Jan 28, 2014 at 08:56 PM
evillemperor
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Why do you take sports pictures?


It's what I love doing the most. I wasn't good at sports, so this is the closest thing.


Jan 28, 2014 at 11:41 PM
DennisC
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I'll bite I'm one of those "others."

Got started shooting my kids' soccer and swim. I wanted better pictures. I got hooked. It was a hobby run amok.

Nine years ago I had the audacity to think that other parents might be willing to buy this stuff, so I set up an LLC.

Now, my kids are in college and I have an incredible hobby that pays for itself.

I have no desire to shoot college or pro. High school sports is where I live because for most of these kids it is the last time they will ever play a sport. I believe (hope) that those parents who buy (it's not that many) appreciate these photos. Call me sentimental but I have a soft spot in my heart for the mom and dad who are watching their son/daughter play for the last time. I know whereof I speak in that regard.

97% of my shooting is for MaxPreps. There's not much money in high school sports, but I've developed things enough to pay for the hobby and I'm happy with that. I'll be 63 next month; probably retire at 66, and, the good Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise, I'll be able to continue this for a while.

I take my hat off to those who can earn a living doing this.

Long winded post, sorry. But, you asked



Jan 29, 2014 at 08:24 AM
kzoockof
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Me, purely for fun and enjoyment. I will shoot my kids sports and obviously keep good shots of them and their close friends. I'll share shots with the coach or team members, sometimes (rarely). Mostly they sit on my computer for a while, then I go back and delete most of them (many which should have been deleted initially).

Why? I like to. It hopefully will make me a better photographer. I like sports. It's challenging and I enjoy a good challenge. I certainly could never justify my cost of equipment, but I am just a hobbyist.

I think hobbyists are hobbyists. Whether it is knitting, wood working, sculpture, painting, etc. . . Enjoyment and satisfaction that occasionally gets shared. I can live without the sharing and still get as much from it. But when one gets a great shot, it is fun to share that too.



Jan 29, 2014 at 12:19 PM
Marty Bingham
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Two reasons.

1. For me, the hardest part of photography has always been finding something worthy of shooting. Sports has (mostly) young, healthy, vibrant, active people in colorful uniforms doing extraordinary things. Makes getting a good photo easy.

2. It keeps me sharp. After shooting within a few feet of peewee, high school, college football players or a race car running over 100 mph in really bad light, getting a shot of a bride coming down the aisle is less intimidating.

While the money has dried up to some degree in stick and ball sports I still cover them occasionally for the practice, which helps when I'm shooting something that pays a little better.

Marty



Jan 29, 2014 at 12:50 PM
f1photog
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I love Formula 1 and always wanted to get closer to the action. I started by watching races on TV, then attending them, then photographing them and sharing my images with people. I haven't made a dime doing it, but I made some connections that got me into the paddock, on the track, and into the garages last year. Photography was a natural extension of my fanatic love of the sport.

I've shot other racing to stay sharp (ALMS at VIR and BTCC at Donnington), but it's not the same. Seeing photos from testing in Jerez makes my heart pound...I want to be in the middle of it all rather badly.



Jan 29, 2014 at 04:32 PM
rdalrt
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Interesting question. Enjoyed the responses so far.

Just a hobby for me. The reason I shoot sports is probably different than most though.

I have always enjoyed photography and was (am?) a pretty good athlete. So I enjoy sports too.

But I am the least artistic person on the face of the planet. Completely, hopelessly left-brained. So, to me, shooting action doesn't require me to be artistic. The athletes are creating the art and I am there just trying to capture it.

I am somewhat a loner as well. I don't like people much (present company excluded, ). I don't much enjoy interacting with people. Not that I can't for short times, it is just I would prefer not to. So shooting sports doesn't require me to interact with people like say shooting portraits or weddings and such. I show up, shoot, and leave.

Since I shoot mostly high school sports and local motorsports, most of my pictures simply end up online for viewing.



Jan 29, 2014 at 06:57 PM
kirbyhines
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I shoot mainly cause it's fast paced. You're always getting something different.
Started out with action sports because I was into all that(still am) but no one was taking pictures so I figured I would.
Moved into high school sports. Now I go to school for photography.
Made a lot of really good connections and have been shooting for the Columbus Crew(MLS team) all last year and shooting for them again this year.
Highlight was photographing the USA vs Mexico match
Sports just keeps you engaged longer, if you look away for a second you could miss something.

My photos are used for my portfolio/website, as well as promotional items like brochures and posters.



Jan 29, 2014 at 07:42 PM
Jefferson
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Tried divorce photography once … plenty of action … plenty of excitement … but very costly on equipment …

Motorsports provides plenty of excitement packed action … and my equipment is not destroyed by angry participants during a shoot …



Jan 29, 2014 at 09:19 PM
rdalrt
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Jefferson wrote:
Tried divorce photography once … plenty of action … plenty of excitement … but very costly on equipment …

Motorsports provides plenty of excitement packed action … and my equipment is not destroyed by angry participants during a shoot …


. At least you were able to keep your sense of humour.



Jan 29, 2014 at 09:22 PM
Roger Lauzon
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Hello,

Fun,fun,fun...action garanty and lot of emotions from the athletes.

Roger



Jan 30, 2014 at 08:34 AM
OntheRez
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Because I'm getting rich shooting for a small town, rural paper? (Ah, that would be a no ) Mostly so the kids that are doing positive things get noticed for doing so. Also, sports are so different from my normal work (landscape and "art") that I've had to learn (and continue to do so) new techniques and even use different equipment. Even at a high school level a truly good pix is a real challenge. I guess in the end it is the challenge.

Robert

(Jefferson: Tried divorce photography: expensive, hell on gear, and never a decent shot . Tried it once. Pass.)



Jan 30, 2014 at 11:32 AM
sleepy717
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I also played sports in high school and a year in college. I started actively photographing anything and everything in middle school. My first SLR was a Miranda with a 50mm in the 70's. I started taking racing pictures in the 80's and when my three boys came along, I was there with a DSLR. Had to, I couldn't afford film. I still do H/S sports and racing for fun. I think I do it stay around sports and make a few people happy. I have been heavily involved in local circle track (dirt and asphalt) on a race team that has seen our driver start out with one car (at age four) and progress through quarter midgets, legends, late models, and dirt mod's. As a crewman, I rarely had time to actually be taking pictures (and I don't want to take $$$ away from the local track photographer). Our driver went away to college and got an engineering degree and just joined the Patron ALMS team. My hope is to start traveling to see the Patron team at various tracks.

Have I sold images? Yea, a few, here and there. Would I like to do it on a professional basis? Sure, some day when I produce that quality of images. For now, it;s just for my walls, to see my friends, meet new friends, and make a few people smile and possibly say "Hey, I saw that too".

Sorry, that went way too long, didn't it?



Jan 30, 2014 at 06:10 PM
gome1122
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I love looking at the results I get and how much it pleases people to get good quality sports pictures. I come from a small town where the high school (grades 7-12) has 500 students. I was asked to do it by one of my teachers and it just kind of went from there. My wallet probably doesn't like it but I love it.


Jan 31, 2014 at 12:25 AM
andyz
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Started shooting my son and liked it. Bought expensive gear and have to use it so after making a friend on the teacher in charge of the annual and a small town local paper, I keep shooting. I shoot some high school and some college. I WISH I could garner enough sales to make this hobby pay for itself. Sales are rare though as it seems everyone has a smartphone now.


Jan 31, 2014 at 12:49 AM
lhryshko
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Why do you take sports pictures?


It has taken me 10 years to become reasonably competent at shooting my kids doing gymnastics.....so now they have decided to branch out into volleyball, dance and horseback-riding. Back to square one and loving it. I enjoy sports photography because it's damn hard to be good at it. Youth is fleeting and many of the photos I see here on FM do an outstanding job of capturing it. That's the magic part for me.


Jan 31, 2014 at 02:00 AM
thebmrust
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Why do you take sports pictures?


I started because no one else was shooting action youth sports in our town.

I ended up getting decent images, bought better equipment, better at anticipation, capturing peak moments, then, I sold a few ...you can all recognize the trend.

Time went on (almost a decade) and I realized how well I fit in on the sidelines, how much I truly enjoyed being there. Even my wife (also a photographer) watched me at a football game recently and said "you belong here".

I shoot action sports because of the people and because I love the challenge(s).
I shoot action sports as my personal outlet and a hope that those subjects will contact me for other photography jobs (portraits, weddings, high school seniors, etc).



Jan 31, 2014 at 11:59 AM
yoshidude
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Hi Everyone,

I am a hobbyist, and can relate to nearly all of the responses so far. I won't restate what's already been said, but I do have something to ad........

I started with soccer pictures of my kid, and as I got better at it, he, his friends, and their parents began to notice. This has allowed me 2 things:

1. To be able to give photos to parents who do not take pics of their kids, or do not have a suitable camera to do so

2. To hang around my son on the weekends, even while he's with his friends!

By shooting his passion for longboarding, he and his friends include me in their adventures. Because they all love to see photos of themselves, I'm not the nerdy dad tagging along with all the 15-20 year olds. It's really my "free pass" to some quality time, where I wouldn't normally get it.

Regards,
Scott



Feb 01, 2014 at 10:26 PM
crteach
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Why do you take sports pictures?


Easy to answer....I'm a teacher!




I get pictures of my students working in labs and send them to parents!






Then I get pictures of the students in extracurricular activities and give a picture to them!




Feb 02, 2014 at 12:17 AM
basehorhonda
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Why do you take sports pictures?


It all started with me just as something to do during my wifes bball games. She coaches freshmen girls Bball, and needless to say, its pretty boring. So I took the camera just as something to do to kill time. Afterwards, Id throw them up on FB to show what I had shot recently, and then kids and parents liked them and then someone wanted to know if they could buy them. I never had planned on making a biz out of it, it just kinda happened.

Now a days, I try to get the photos of kids in athletics that I wish that I had of myself back when I played HS and college sports.

For me, its not a full time job, so I really dont push it, the business side of things, as hard as I could or should. From sports, it has gotten me into senior photography, and I also have the account to shoot dance formals for a number of schools in my area.



Feb 02, 2014 at 12:44 AM
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