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Archive 2016 · Your Policy on Injury Photos

  
 
PureMichigan
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


Injuries are a part of sports and sometimes "newsworthy" from the perspective of the outcome of a game. This weekend I had photographed 2 particularly rough injuries -- a broken arm and a vicious hit that resulted in the player being knocked out cold. The former was a high school player, the latter a college player.

In both cases I had locked on and got an extended series the before/during/and immediately after the injury. Both are mildly upsetting photos if you are a parent and neither injury had a direct material impact on the outcome of the game.

Just curious to hear how other folks handle these type of photos. Do they go into your stream? Do you just hold onto them? Do you wait awhile and offer them to the player? Those of you who work for agencies, do you have any constraints in this respect.



Nov 07, 2016 at 01:49 PM
mikephotos23
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I'm fairly new at sports and currently shoot only HS games (for MP) so my take is not necessarily on the "newsworthy" side. This past season, there were two minor injuries at my games, nothing as serious as you described above. I was strictly lens down during both incidents, just didn't feel comfortable snapping away. I wouldn't have added any shots to my upload selection if I did grab some and they certainly (IMO) wouldn't have generate any sales from parents, I'm sure. If I was shooting for the local paper, things might have been a little different, who knows.


Nov 07, 2016 at 02:03 PM
Ralph Thompson
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I don't post them....


Nov 07, 2016 at 07:01 PM
glort
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Your Policy on Injury Photos



I was hesitant to show accident pics when I first started sports work.
Funny thing was, the people, the injured or parents would come and ask if we got them. When we did, they bought them.

I got stuff many times where people were taken to hospital.
I had one call one night from the doctors at a hospital where a girl that had been thrown from a horse that afternoon had been taken. they wanted to know if I had pics of what happened. I had a whole series from start to finish. I sent them to the doc and from them they got info that resulted in the girl being allowed to go home rather than be kept in for days of observation.

To be honest, we loved the accident injury pics because they simply were guaranteed best sellers. I spoke to several parents about it over the years I did it and their response was all pretty much, " you didn't cause it, may as well have something to look back on and laugh or cry about later" Maybe that's just the Aussie way and others may be different but rather than being seen as distasteful or ... whatever, people LOVED the accident shots we got and ALWAYS bought them.

Thinking back to my long past days of sporting and stunt glory, I would give mates my camera's to take pics of me. I always gave them strict instructions if anything happened, to make damn sure they got it. Much for the same reasons. May as well have something to back up the war story with and get a bit of cred or sympathy.

My biggest sale ever was a series of accident pics. A girl got thrown at a national showjumping event and I got the whole series perfectly. At the time she was the Oz champ in her division. Daddy owned the national company that was sponsoring the event. I got the pics and told my son who ran the trailer to go through and print 3 off and put them in frames on the counter. Took 12 min before someone told the girl they were there and her and her father were there looking.

He bought 3 complete sets of I think it was 6 Pics and CD's. Over $500 sale. Also gave me standing exclusive rights to photograph any and all of his sponsored events I wanted and got his personal ph no. if I had any problem with the organisers. Sweet!

Another girl I used to see at a lot of events was basically blind. We got to know her and her mother and liked her a lot. She had real guts and determination and was a bloody nice kid. I remember seeing her come off badly one day and it rattled me a bit. Sure enough, no sooner did the professional first aid people let her go with her bandaged up sprained wrist and she made a B line to the trailer asking if we got pics of her fall. The mother told me a few weeks later when I saw her how she had been showing them off to all her friends and family and how much she loved telling the tale and the happiness and excitement it brought her. I thought it strange but for a girl in her position, it was a big deal.

I shot little kids falling off horses, car crashes, kids getting taken out with baseballs and head clashes in soccer, things that just looked horrific in BMX ( ever seen a bone not only poking through the skin but the clothing as well?) and they ALL sold even when they resulted in broken arms, concussions, blood loss and hospital stays let alone visits.

Wasn't what I would have expected and some high level horse events I did made me literally sick to the stomach with the sound of people hitting the ground every 10 min, 3M in front of me.
I spoke to people about it and they kind of looked at me like I was a pussy and said that's what happens at this level of competition and pretty much seemed to think it strange I should be worried or expect different.

And as always, They bought the pictures every time.





Nov 08, 2016 at 10:07 AM
mikekeating
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I will not share them with the athlete or the team. I really don't need the kid or parent reliving that horrible time in their lives and thinking of me . . .that is what I have an ex-wife for. That being said, I don't delete them. I just don't share them with the team.

I did post one injury picture in the last thread I started (shameless plug), but that was to kinda give some context of the game and athlete.



Nov 08, 2016 at 01:23 PM
innaeddy1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


High School and below, shoot them dont post them give them to the parents, Above HS, shoot them post them, make sales off of them

Andy



Nov 11, 2016 at 11:33 AM
scottl
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I shoot motocross and typically don't even shoot crash photos. (Bad Karma)

I will say that I have a series of recent images that include an riders injury that I did not post but saved in case the rider wants to see them when he recovers from his injury.



Nov 11, 2016 at 07:30 PM
John Skinner
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


If it's kiddies.. Nope.

If it's a place where people are getting paid to play a sport.. 'if it bleeds -- it leads'.

Faces, teeth, broken whatever.. Oh yea, I'm in! You can't imitate those facial expressions.



Nov 16, 2016 at 01:33 AM
WillWeaverRVA
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


If the injury is key and highly relevant to the game itself, I'll use the picture. Thankfully I've only been in two of those situations thus far.


Nov 16, 2016 at 03:53 PM
pedwatt
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I shoot a lot of amateur level motorsports. I tend to not post wreck pictures. I do keep them if I capture them until I know the driver/rider is OK. I shoot a fair amount of Motocross and the like with sub-18 year old riders. I found that they would figure out what corner/jump I was on and then start doing tricks or pushing to hard in those areas. I tell my riders, no matter how awesome the trick photo is, if the don't land it then they didn't ride it, and I delete it.



Dec 21, 2016 at 12:01 PM
RussHons
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


As has been pointed out here, if it is relevant to the game I use it. A couple years ago I got a series of photos of a star college basketball player blowing out her knee. It was big news since it possibly could affect her future pro career, I sold it to her town's newspaper who ran it.

Other times I have shared them with the athletes later. I always take the photos though, then decide what to do with them later.



Dec 21, 2016 at 10:39 PM
sklar
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I've been yelled at by event staff at Red Bull events for shooting injuries. Its part of sport and sometimes a nasty one. Typically, they don't leave the hard drive for me.
Shooting a ski even a couple years ago, I shot a sequence that at the time I thought may have been the moment of impact of a fatal crash and injury. Scary stuff. Haven't really looked at it since TBH.



Dec 22, 2016 at 01:13 PM
DejanS
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


If I'm shooting editorial, I would submit the images to the editor assuming it is news worthy. Newsworthy? A noted athlete, decisive moment, etc...If your shooting on spec and hope for sales, then you have to use your best discretion...meaning, there is a social stigma associated to posting gore for the sake of a shit show. If you are part of an athletic community, it could be the start of being blacklisted by decision makers and you could be branded as taking a cheap shot for likes and views. However, this is just one scenario that does happen.

There are exceptions where some athletes want those photos as a memory and don't mind being posted on social media (myself included). I also find these images do sell. Here is my take, if in doubt, contact the athlete and ask if he or she does not mind if images are posted for the general public after the adrenaline has subside and medical treatment is done. Most athletes are media hounds and like the attention (fact).

Dejan



Jan 20, 2017 at 06:57 AM
graham_martin
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Your Policy on Injury Photos


I was at one HS football game last year when a player was injured. He was on the ground a long time and they took him off on a gurney. The kid did a thumbs up as he was being wheeled off the field. I did send that one in to the paper I was freelancing for, but I didn't send in the photos I had of him lying on the ground.


Jan 27, 2017 at 11:00 PM





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