Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

T

T-1000

Active member
I love photography, and I'm wondering if any of you guys actually do freelance for newspapers or magazines or something like that. Does anyone have one of those "Media" passes that lets you get into football games/events for free so you can photograph them? I'd love to do this on the weekends or in my spare time. Just wondering if anyone uses photography as a side job.

T-1000
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

Those passes are no good really...I shoot PRO football, basketball, Hockey games here in Philly. The passes for say the Eagles, have dates on them and they change the color of the pass for each game. Now I shoot for a TV station. I would think that it might be hard to just get a pass and start shooting some PRO games as a freelancer unless your actually shooting for a company and hired as a freelancer. I have bunch of passes that I have hanging on my wall. I created a "Wall of Fame" as I call it and has passes that I have collected over the years from shooting various concerts, the President and other Political events and sports events.

You can contact ESPN or maybe Comcast Sportsnet or maybe even one of the networks to see if they would hire freelancers.

Do you live in a town with a college team that plays their games on TV? If so, there's your connection! You would need to make arrangements well in advance of the crew coming to your town though. You might get lucky and show up the day of the event and sell yourself to the right person and they may put you to work who knows.

Another thing you can do is shoot stuff on your own and if it is compelling video then you can sell it to the TV stations like a fully engulfed house fire before the fire trucks or news crews get there.

After 9/11 security is pretty tight so I am not sure if trying to get a media pass is a good idea or not. Especially if you don't work for a TV station or Production company. I guess you could make your own picture ID and wear it around your neck!
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

That's pretty interesting.  So it's a little harder than I thought it would be.  Oh well, I'll see if I can find a production company to shoot for.  Thanks for the tips!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I live in Virginia, which means I could easily go to GMU, Virginia Tech, or UVA, and several others to shoot games. Would the "Media" pass be good enough to get in?

T-1000
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

I do occasional beach weddings, but that is it. Usually it is about 30 minutes of work, everything is digital, and I get $100.00. Some Saturdays I'll shoot 3-4 when the Chapel is busy, but I only go when they are short handed and I am not video taping a wedding.
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

[quote author=T-1000 link=board=Offtopic;num=1097280037;start=0#2 date=10/09/04 at 11:19:58]That's pretty interesting. So it's a little harder than I thought it would be. Oh well, I'll see if I can find a production company to shoot for. Thanks for the tips!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I live in Virginia, which means I could easily go to GMU, Virginia Tech, or UVA, and several others to shoot games. Would the "Media" pass be good enough to get in?

T-1000[/quote]


no.
sidelines are crowded enough as it is.
passes are issued to credible media outlets on a game-by-game basis.

i'd suggest you start by shooting a local high school. you can usually walk into those without much trouble. shoot some games, put a sample reel together then seek some production companies out NEXT year - BEFORE the season starts....
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

That's cool, since I was going to start shooting the High School games first, anyway. It's nice to get information from professional people in the news and media business. Thanks,

T-1000
 
Re: Any of you guys Freelance Photographers?

I love including still photography in my day to day work ;D
 
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