Description of assignment?

Ink84

Hi there

I am planning to shoot a sporting event in the coming months, I went and emailed the media executive and they sent me a media request form to fill in.

Seeing as this is my first 'pro' sports shoot I'm applying for, what should I put as my 'Description of Assignment'? Do I put that it is a personal freelance shoot intended to build on my portfolio or what my overall goal is for the shoot, such as a story to show the event in a certain way?

If you can help me, that would be much appreciated.


Thanks!

termina3

They want to know who you're working for and what you're doing with the photos. Not the "story" you're trying to convey.

Angelo

Ink84 wrote: »

Hi there

I am planning to shoot a sporting event in the coming months, I went and emailed the media executive and they sent me a media request form to fill in.

Seeing as this is my first 'pro' sports shoot I'm applying for, what should I put as my 'Description of Assignment'? Do I put that it is a personal freelance shoot intended to build on my portfolio or what my overall goal is for the shoot, such as a story to show the event in a certain way?

If you can help me, that would be much appreciated.


Thanks!

a pro sports organization big enough to warrant a media relations department probably won't be all too accommodating to requests for "personal portfolio building" but please let us know how it turns out. good luck

.

Ink84

Thanks for your help... I figured it would what I'll be doing with the images.

I will! The chance of me getting a pass is slight, but I thought that I might as well try as there isn't a lot I can really loose and I'd prefer to try everything (almost ) to get where I want.

Aerialfilm1

Ink84 wrote: »

Thanks for your help... I figured it would what I'll be doing with the images.

I will! The chance of me getting a pass is slight, but I thought that I might as well try as there isn't a lot I can really loose and I'd prefer to try everything (almost ) to get where I want.

:soapbox
At this stage in your career one of the main reasons they don't just let anyone behind the velvet ropes has very little to do with your intentions. You are more of a liability to them since you don't know how to conduct yourself in a pro environment. You can't be in the way of other photogs, tv crew, paying fans etc. etc. or the game itself. Sounds easy but it's a learned skill. Also who are you? Can you be trusted in a pit where working pros have a trust of one another not to trip over or steal their gear? There's also protecting the integrity of the working pro's images. This is how those guys make a living and letting just anyone have access to the advantages the pros have, only waters down the talent pool.

The form you received is probably meant for the media outlet the team expects you to be working for. The team or organization doesn't give a rat's keester about photogs. Instead they approve what media outlets have access to their product. Then the media outlets are on the hook for the actions of the photogs they hire, either staff or freelance. If one of their guys screw up then the newspaper or magazine could have it's future credentials denied. Could you imagine if Sports Ill. or the NY Post couldn't get any photogs into a ball game? Imagine a game winning play at home in the 9th and the next morning the Post doesn't have the pics and the Time does. Heads would roll, careers would be ruined. I've seen top network execs clean out their office and then be escorted to their car by security over less.

Give it a try cos stranger things have happened. Your best bet is to pay the price for upfront seating and get some shots you can use to impress a genuine media outlet who will send you to the sports events on their behalf with a working credential. You can't jump the line and walk in just because you're a nice guy with a decent lens. It's a tough and cutthroat business, with strong emphasis on the business. Good luck with that..

One more note. If you do get in and you career is launched, ten years from now remember how much you wanted this when your knees are shot from kneeling in endzones for hours on end, your back is ruined from dragging around all that pro glass, and you are so pissed off because the game ran into overtime, you missed the last flight home, and your daughter's first steps, your wife is always mad at you because she has to do everything when you travel, and you dinner is out of a hotel vending machine... again, plus you're feeling unfulfilled because you never get to shoot what you want anymore, and you wish 15 years ago you had taken that job at your father-in-laws insurance agency.

termina3

x2 there's no stock in becoming a full-time pro sports photog. Hobby, great; profession, tough life.

Aerialfilm1

Ink sorry for the grouchy rant. Insomnia sucks.
It wasn't my intention to rain misery on your plan, but rather to give you some insight to how serious the teams and leagues are about who gets access. This is the stuff schools never seem to teach. They are great at teaching you how to do the work, but don't seem to teach you how to get the work. You will have less doors slammed in your face if your knocking on the right doors to begin with.

My work is on the tv side but I have many friends snapping stills on the sidelines and endzones, doing just what I though I wanted to do when I was younger. Sure I like to do it maybe for a game or two, but that's hard physical work what those pros have to do to stay on top of the pay scale.

I posted this pic on another site for a similar discussion. I dug through a box of old credentials to find one with lots of legal conditions printed on the back. Take a look at only some of what you need to know and be aware of just to make a living at pro sports.