How do I get into a certain area of Photography? (Football)

Sightaridis

I'm studying Photography at the moment and a huge Football fan. I was at tonight's Ireland v Bulgaria game, terribly dull match so I found myself watching the Photographers more than the game. My envy shot up as Stiliyan Petrov celebrated inches away from one of the photographers. At half time I tried to somehow get in touch with these guys. I asked many stewards if they could walk over with a small piece of paper containing my E-Mail address but none of them would leave their posts and I was forced to forget about it. I noticed how a lot of them were young and this made me more interested as before I thought you had to study for like 10 years to get to this.

So yeah, how do I be like these guys?

Ricky91t

one of them in a member on this forum(don't know if he's in the shots)

Basically i'm in the same position as you,You need money to get good kit,Then you need time to get out and shoot as many games as possible so you build up a portfolio you then maybe get in contact with a local paper and ask them if they need a freelance sports photographer meet up one day and show them your portfolio if they like it then they'll be getting you to cover local games from their they can then get you into bigger games like club games etc you build up a portfolio of club shots you can then possibly get accredated by the club and you can go to all their matches etc etc.Basically work from the bottom and work your way to the top.

Paulw

I was sitting in the area of the photo you took, but was not there when you took it.

I think there were about 10 photographers from boards there tonight.

So, I'm one of those guys who was out there tonight. Damn it was cold. I should have stayed home and kept warm.

Post your questions about sports photography, and you'll get loads of advice. I also have some sports photography tips on my website, if you're interested.

Sightaridis

Ricky91t wrote: »

one of them in a member on this forum(don't know if he's in the shots)

Really? Do you happen to know his username? I'd love to see some of his pictures from tonight.

Basically i'm in the same position as you,You need money to get good kit,Then you need time to get out and shoot as many games as possible so you build up a portfolio you then maybe get in contact with a local paper and ask them if they need a freelance sports photographer meet up one day and show them your portfolio if they like it then they'll be getting you to cover local games from their they can then get you into bigger games like club games etc you build up a portfolio of club shots you can then possibly get accredated by the club and you can go to all their matches etc etc.Basically work from the bottom and work your way to the top.

It's very difficult to get anything decent from the stands. Do you mean Sunday league games and kiddies games? I've got plenty of time on my hands so that's not an issue. It's the first time I've ever felt serious about pursuing an area of Photography so I'd really like a go at it. Do you reckon those guys I photographed worked for a newspaper or the stadium? Thanks for the advice.

Paulw wrote:

I think there were about 10 photographers from boards there tonight.

Wow, lucky I signed up here then. Apologies for snapping shots of you lot, though I am POSITIVE that one of the Photographers pictured has a picture of me because I had lenses pointed in my direction before kick off. :P

Damn it was cold. I should have stayed home and kept warm.

Tell me about it, I'm still feeling the cold now.

Post your questions about sports photography, and you'll get loads of advice. I also have some sports photography tips on my website, if you're interested.

Very interested, thanks for the links. Good to know I'll get good advice here.

Dodgykeeper

Ricky91t wrote: »

one of them in a member on this forum(don't know if he's in the shots)

Basically i'm in the same position as you,You need money to get good kit,Then you need time to get out and shoot as many games as possible so you build up a portfolio you then maybe get in contact with a local paper and ask them if they need a freelance sports photographer meet up one day and show them your portfolio if they like it then they'll be getting you to cover local games from their they can then get you into bigger games like club games etc you build up a portfolio of club shots you can then possibly get accredated by the club and you can go to all their matches etc etc.Basically work from the bottom and work your way to the top.

Thats how I started, I dont know where you live but if you send me a pm I can give you a few pointers of local clubs etc.

I am in your pic and my pics from tonight are here

RoryW

Dodgykeeper wrote: »

Thats how I started, I dont know where you live but if you send me a pm I can give you a few pointers of local clubs etc.

I am in your pic and my pics from tonight are here

Some nice photos on the set Fergus

But your tagging had a typo - unless it was intentional !

Coke Park rather than Croke Park :pac:

Sightaridis

I am in your pic and my pics from tonight are here

Great pictures there! Makes me want to pursue this area even more. I'm not really sure where to start though. Paul Walsh's site is a real help, I guess I need to get to work on a portfolio. Honestly my biggest challenge right now is finding events to shoot.

melekalikimaka

where bouts ya study photography?

Paulw

Sightaridis wrote: »

Honestly my biggest challenge right now is finding events to shoot.

Look around you. There's bound to be a football, rugby or GAA club in your area. After that, have a word with them about taking photos at their games.

Mostly there are clubs in local parks that are right beside you.

Sightaridis

melekalikimaka wrote: »

where bouts ya study photography?

Griffith College Dublin. I'm actually on a break for personal reasons but I'll be returning in October.

Btw, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is so expensive! ;_; I already spent 80% of my money on my Canon EOS!

Sightaridis

Look around you. There's bound to be a football, rugby or GAA club in your area. After that, have a word with them about taking photos at their games.

Mostly there are clubs in local parks that are right beside you.

I actually live near Railway Union, if you know where that is. I'm sure I'd find games to soot there, though I'd have to figure out when. I also need to save for that lens first.

Edit: Sorry for double post, I thought the board would have the Auto-Merge feature.

melekalikimaka

Sightaridis wrote: »

Griffith College Dublin. I'm actually on a break for personal reasons but I'll be returning in October.

Btw, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is so expensive! ;_; I already spent 80% of my money on my Canon EOS!

will see ya there. And yes sports is prob the most expensice area to get into... i think when starting... maybe something cheaper will be grand... just mash the noise up and play round with it... getting framing and the like, i'd think getting that down to a tee will stand to you and when ya do upgrade you will be right up there from the start

Sightaridis

melekalikimaka wrote: »

will see ya there.

Are you starting Photography in October or are you currently there?

just mash the noise up and play round with it...

I assume you mean image noise here, why do you say up the noise?

I just remembered that I have a zoom lens for my film camera so I should make use of that. Though I'd definitely prefer to be shooting on digital, I simply don't have the money for a suitable lens right now. The lens is a Tamron 80-210mm, if my memory serves me correctly, it's a long time since I used it.

PaulieC

Sightaridis wrote: »

I actually live near Railway Union, if you know where that is. I'm sure I'd find games to soot there, though I'd have to figure out when. I also need to save for that lens first.

Edit: Sorry for double post, I thought the board would have the Auto-Merge feature.

if I remember rightly, railway union is off Park Ave. in Sandymoint? if that's the case, then you are close to Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA on Sean Moore road and also ringsend park. you'll get games here most evenings

Dodgykeeper

Check the Junior Soccer section of the Star or Herald and will see some fixtures go along anddont be afraid to make images available to the clubs for Brochures etc!

Sightaridis

cambo_gueno wrote: »

if I remember rightly, railway union is off Park Ave. in Sandymoint? if that's the case, then you are close to Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA on Sean Moore road and also ringsend park. you'll get games here most evenings

You are correct, I am very close to Clanna Gael, I never thought of going there though. Can I just turn up one night with my camera or should I be asking someone for permission?

Dodgykeeper wrote: »

Check the Junior Soccer section of the Star or Herald and will see some fixtures go along anddont be afraid to make images available to the clubs for Brochures etc!

Sounds good, I'll definitely look into this.

Paulw

Sightaridis wrote: »

You are correct, I am very close to Clanna Gael, I never thought of going there though. Can I just turn up one night with my camera or should I be asking someone for permission?

Never hurts to ask. Clubs normally love the attention. Just contact the club (media officer if they have one), and ask for permission to photograph.

Sightaridis

Paulw wrote: »

Never hurts to ask. Clubs normally love the attention. Just contact the club (media officer if they have one), and ask for permission to photograph.

Well if I turned up to a local game, the only person I could ask would be the coach right? And he's hardly the right person to ask. It's different if I know which clubs I'll be going to of course. Do these junior clubs have their own websites. I'm just thinking of ways to get in touch.

Borderfox

Talk to the clubs P.R.O. for GAA and ask them if you can take some shots

Paulw

Most clubs have a website, or else drop by the clubhouse and ask who you should contact - team manager, coach, etc

Sightaridis

Alright then, thanks again lads. I plan to get started as soon as possible, I've some other things to take care of first so it wont be immedite. In the mean time I'll just keep looking at Sports Photography.

Sightaridis

Apologies for the bump.

I want to get my hands on some film to help with my portfolio. What ISO would you guys suggest?

Paulw

Ok, I don't use film (not sure if any of the other sports photographers who post here do either).

Basically, you want the fastest you can get. For daytime (well lit) sport, you can get away with ISO 200 (digital), but there are even decent days when I shoot ISO 400 to get high shutter speeds.

Sightaridis

Paulw wrote: »

Ok, I don't use film (not sure if any of the other sports photographers who post here do either).

Basically, you want the fastest you can get. For daytime (well lit) sport, you can get away with ISO 200 (digital), but there are even decent days when I shoot ISO 400 to get high shutter speeds.

I'll be bringing my digital too. I'm going to use film as I have a zoom lens for my old camera which may come in handy.

I'll most likely be shooting at night under floodlights, would ISO 400 do for that?

Paulw

Sightaridis wrote: »

I'll be bringing my digital too. I'm going to use film as I have a zoom lens for my old camera which may come in handy.

I'll most likely be shooting at night under floodlights, would ISO 400 do for that?

At night under floodlights - wow. No idea how the pro film photographers do it.

I generally shoot ISO 1000-1600, depending on the location. Croke Park on Saturday, probably the best floodlights around, and I was using ISO 1600 (1/800 sec and f/4) for the vast majority of my shots.

Sightaridis

Paulw wrote: »

At night under floodlights - wow. No idea how the pro film photographers do it.

I generally shoot ISO 1000-1600, depending on the location. Croke Park on Saturday, probably the best floodlights around, and I was using ISO 1600 (1/800 sec and f/4) for the vast majority of my shots.

Ah right, perhaps I'll reserve my film camera for daytime events. The zoom lens is not a big deal, I'll likely be close to the action anyway and my basic 18-55mm should do the trick. I hope.