Kids, Parents, and Police

du8die

So, tonight, there was a Pee-Wee football practice at a park a block from my house. I grabbed my camera and started shooting. A brave parent came up and asked me if I worked from the newspaper. I said "No" and that I enjoy shooting sports and was just taking some pictures. I could tell that my presence there generated a little buzz. After the practice, a parent came up and asked if I had some good shots, etc. The coach asked me what I was up to afterward as well.

Part of me thought the parents were going to call the police. Obviously, I had every right to be there, but my question for you seasoned pros, how do you handle these types of situations. I understand where the parents were coming from, here's a stranger taking pictures of their kids. What could / should I do differently next time? Any thoughts?

I got an e-mail address from one of the parents asking me about the shots, so I'll send some to him. That's a good thing. I'd like to do more of this, and maybe see if there's a small income potential there, but I want to know how people handle the "ackward" situations.

Thanks
d8

timgangloff

business card
get some business cards for your site. hand them out and tell the parents what you are doing and give them a card to check out your site and images. Also, next time you go, you could give the coach a picture or 2 to showcase your work.

sportsshooter06

Did you have a child playing?
If you did not, you probably should not have been taking photos.

What do you consider a small income potential 25 dollars.

Can you shoot, do you have experience. are your photos just run of the mill or are they exciting and different?

What makes your photos saleable, sorry for the rant, I am just tired of seeing out of focus, poorly executed photos. Bad cropping, no detail, to loose, etc etc. Do you know what a good sports photo looks like. Just a question, nothing personal.
what kind of equipment do you shoot with?

ok, good luck in your new career, again nothing personal, just a long day.

South Shore Snapshots

As the above poster mentioned, unless my kids are playing there, I'm not photographing such an event (children). The potential for issues with parents in this hyper-sensitive world is too great versus any potential income.

jonh68

I tend to lean towards it being a bad idea to just go to a random practice, especially kids under high school age. Personally, I would never do it unless I was asked, it was my kid, relative, etc that was practicing. It is just better if you already have a contact there as it make you legit.

[Deleted User]

If you wanted to shoot this game or any similar game where you don't have any of your own children taking part then you should ask the person running the event if they will allow you to take pictures. That way if any parents have any problems with picture being taken of there kids he is likely to know about it.

Tim

hindsy

I think the best idea may be to speak with the coach or promoter. I don't think you have to, but it may help you get into a better spot to shoot from as well as give you an answer for those parents who may be protective of the kids. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a public event such as a sporting event open for photo shooting? If I can go and watch the event first hand I can take shots of it? right? I'm just curious about this. I plan on doing this exact thing. I have a few friends that coach and I've talked with them to get some chances to shoot the teams.

nobody

My first thought on this issue is next time you do something like this, get a business card and create a password. Give that to any interested/concerned parents. Generally speaking, another important issue is what sport/event is involved. I would not think shooting kids in football or baseball uniforms would be much of a concern to anyone.

On the other hand, if it's an event with kids swimming, dancing, cheerleading, etc. and you don't have kids in it or an invitation, then I would forget it. In that situation, you risk having people draw dangerous conclusions, such as the idea that you are a pedophile or are working for some kind of "soft" pedophile website and then your very life is in danger, even though you are legal and pursuing legitimate business with the parents. I mentioned that because I have read news reports of people hanging around parks and snapping pictures of random kids. You DO NOT want to risk being associated with those types.

jonh68

My first thought on this issue is next time you do something like this, get a business card and create a password. Give that to any interested/concerned parents. Generally speaking, another important issue is what sport/event is involved. I would not think shooting kids in football or baseball uniforms would be much of a concern to anyone.

When little league events are staged, it becomes a tight knit community and parents know who belongs and who doesn't. It REALLY helps to have some groundwork laid already. Yes, its OK to shoot in a public place at a public event, but if the idea is to make money, showing at random events is the wrong way to go if the goal is to make money. I just wouldn't want having a reputation that's close to being a street window washer.

Also, there may be a paid league photographer who has exclusive rights to sell photos. The OP asked the best way to handle the "awkward" situations. The best way is to handle it before the game. If there are questions by parents who don't know the situation, it's easier to say "I know the parent of player x and they wanted me to take pictures of their kid." Of course, there isn't a written rule, but I just would not show up to random little league games.

nobody

jonh68 wrote:

When little league events are staged, it becomes a tight knit community and parents know who belongs and who doesn't. It REALLY helps to have some groundwork laid already. Yes, its OK to shoot in a public place at a public event, but if the idea is to make money, showing at random events is the wrong way to go if the goal is to make money. I just wouldn't want having a reputation that's close to being a street window washer.

Also, there may be a paid league photographer who has exclusive rights to sell photos. The OP asked the best way to handle the "awkward" situations. The best way is to handle it before the game. If there are questions by parents who don't know the situation, it's easier to say "I know the parent of player x and they wanted me to take pictures of their kid." Of course, there isn't a written rule, but I just would not show up to random little league games.

Good points. The question to ask is how much photo coverage the event gets already. If it's a new league just getting started with nobody lined up, then you have an opportunity. On the other hand, if you just show up at some random event like 5k road race and start shooting, chances are that nobody will object, but you're not likely to sell many either because it's a bunch of the same people showing up time after time at local events and these events are often well covered already. Even if you are the "official" photographer at an event like that as I have sometimes been, there may not be much demand because your pool of customers also has access to photo galleries from other photographers at similar events they do elsewhere. Those who do buy photos can shop around and/or wait around until somebody produces one they really like. In that situation, you might shoot something in May and sell it right before Christmas, if they even remember. If you want to become the "official" photographer of an event, then starting small is one way to go.

du8die

Thanks for the feedback
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I guess this falls under the category of "just because something is right doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do." While "just showing up" and clicking away is most likely perfectly legal, I certainly don't want assumptions made as to my intentions.

You're all probably well aware of this, but my wife's cousin pointed me to this reference. http://www.kantor.com/blog/Legal-Rights-of-Photographers.pdf He keeps a copy in his bag, just in case any issues arise. It was helpful for me, and I'd imagine it would be helpful to anyone interested. Not that this is license to be a jerk, but it gave me some idea of what I can and cannot do from a legal perspective.

Again thanks. This discussion has been most helpful.

d8