Turning Motorsport Photography into a Career?

[StevieBee]

Tony1963 said:

Before she ditched her old job and went pro, she was on about £50k/yr working for a company. After a few years as a photographer, she estimated that to equal that pay, she needed to pull in £150k/yr.

Scary.

But once she took into account pensions, travel costs investments in equipment (ongoing) etc etc, that’s what she came up with. I certainly wasn’t in a position to argue.

So, £150k divided by 48 weeks (four weeks for holidays?) is £3,125 per week. Every single week.

I'd suggest that her pension pot must be exceptionally healthy on those metrics Equipment can be a significant expense but the big ticket stuff is normally purchased at the start-up phase. I'd say £100k a year turnover would give you a £50k wage with sufficient left over for marketing and basic operational costs. That's assuming you work from home. If your friend has a studio of commercial space then the £150k may well be realistic.

A lot of pro-photographers now include video as a service. There's some cross-over on equipment and core skills and typically, the cost-per-assignment can be three to four times that of a photoshoot so this can expand earning potential for minimal additional overhead.

[some bloke]

I enjoy photography but I have already turned two hobbies into jobs, and that took the fun out of both of them. I don't want to do that with photography.

The first was cars - I did a panelbeating apprenticeship and after working on other peoples cars all week the last thing I wanted to do was fix mine or even talk about them. It took me about 20 years for the interest to rebuild to the stage I got an interesting car.
The second was paragliding - I loved it and thought it would be good to become an instructor. Pretty soon paragliding for me was just standing on a hill shouting at people.
I think it takes a certain type of person to do something they love as a full time job, so all the best with it.

[Junglebert]

I’ve just applied for and been accepted for my media accreditation at an MSV event this weekend, and thought of you when the confirmation came through. I’ve got no tips on how to get any ins to help with accreditation, but just wanted to say that without decent public liability insurance you won’t be getting anywhere. I need 5 million cover to gain entry to the stands and 10 mil for paddocks/pits/trackside. This is non negotiable. I get my PLI at a reduced rate through a professional guild that covers my area of the business, I’m sure there will be one for photographers. So, if you’re not a member already, find out what that guild/institute/association is, and join it.

[Craikeybaby]

Kneedragger95 said:

Thanks to everyone once again, every reply has been really helpful and I'll take everything on board.
Especially thanks to those who have painted a realistic picture of what the photography world is truly like in terms of effort and income, I think it's important to try and go into this with realistic expectations about the dedication required to make any money from Motorsport photography.

Instagram is something is used quite a bit in the past, Flickr I've dabbled with and a website of my own is completely new to me. I'll get to setting up Instagram and Flickr as soon as possible, is there anywhere else anyone would recommend uploading images to?

Wherever the customers are - if it is a race series, they probably have a Facebook group etc.

I shot for a series for 3 years, and covered a few events for Autosport/Motorsport News, as I was already there covering the main series. It was hard work, on top of a day job, and I didn't make much money when you factored in kit/travel to the circuit etc, but it was fun.

Also, there aren't many of us shooting motorsports on Fuji, as the cameras aren't really suited to it, although it is much better than the Canon system I was using back in the day.

[andrewcliffe]

If you're going to adopt a race series, choose one without official photographers, or you'll end up with enemies.

When I'm at a circuit, unless a friend is racing in another series, or I've been specifically asked by another photographer to help, then I leave it alone. If I'm using the session as an expermient to try different angles, or to get to grips with new kit, then I don't publish those shots.

[Kneedragger95]

Craikeybaby said:

Also, there aren't many of us shooting motorsports on Fuji, as the cameras aren't really suited to it, although it is much better than the Canon system I was using back in the day.

I didn't know that, why is Fuji not typically used?

andrewcliffe said:

If you're going to adopt a race series, choose one without official photographers, or you'll end up with enemies.

When I'm at a circuit, unless a friend is racing in another series, or I've been specifically asked by another photographer to help, then I leave it alone. If I'm using the session as an expermient to try different angles, or to get to grips with new kit, then I don't publish those shots.

While I'm certainly not going to set out to intentionally make any enemies, I don't feel like I'll get very far in this game if I have a mindset like this.

[Derek Smith]

Kneedragger95 said:

While I'm certainly not going to set out to intentionally make any enemies, I don't feel like I'll get very far in this game if I have a mindset like this.

If you'll excuse the pun, the one noticeable characteristic of all the pro photographers in the press room at Le Mans was how focused they all were. I mean most were fat as well - I fitted in - and less than smartly dressed, but if you tried to talk with one, or, all the gods forbid, looked at their laptop screens, you were lucky to be told to clear off.

It would be easy to upset them. Just think how irritated you are if someone walks in front of you as you were taking a photo. Multiply that by the largest number you can think of, and you've got a pro. As a group, very helpful, pleasant, and ready with a bit of advice. Obstruct one - well, I wouldn't know, but it would be nasty.

I do videos, and created one of all the people who walked in front of me at Silverstone, entitled, 'See if you can recognise yourself'. I often can't stop a comment coming. And it's a hobby with me.

[andrewcliffe]

Kneedragger95 said:

While I'm certainly not going to set out to intentionally make any enemies, I don't feel like I'll get very far in this game if I have a mindset like this.

Most media photogs are friendly, and will give hints and tips to a newbie - up to a point. I'll happily chat to photographers either side of the fence, until its a session I've got to cover and then its work mode engaged.

[jurbie]

andrewcliffe said:

If you're going to adopt a race series, choose one without official photographers, or you'll end up with enemies.

Honestly, I've never known such a thing to happen. The only surefire way to upset other photographers is to give your pictures away for free or even just undercut them with a completely unsustainable price.

You need to be professional in all your dealings and get to know the other photographers, if you can show yourself to be reliable and a generally decent sort then you'll find a fair bit of camaraderie and willingness to help others out.

Spend time learning the craft, so stop moaning about fences getting in the way and learn how to deal with them. Even with accreditation, I'd still shoot through a fence if I needed to, often some of the best angles are from the spectator areas. I'm more impressed by a good portfolio that's clearly been shot spectatorside then anything I see shot trackside.

Learn what is required from a photographer as well, it's not about turning up, doing what you please and delivering a load of pictures sometime on Wednesday evening. If working for a media outlet then you need to be able to shoot newsworthy images, that are delivered promptly and if you're really unlucky, fully captioned.

If you're shooting for a team, driver or sponsor it's more than just generic pictures of the car on track. Can you shoot driver portraits, how good are you with off-camera flash? You've got a 10 minute slot to get the car, drivers and mechanics posed on the grid. Could you organise that and then have the pictures uploaded to the marketing department's Dropbox within the next hour? Don't forget all the guests in hospitality who'll need their pictures taking. I once got a complaint from a sponsor that I didn't supply any pictures of the car with a trophy. The car finished midfield somewhere, there were no trophies to be had but I still should have got a picture somehow!

There is money to be made but the turnover of photographers is huge, every few years there's a fresh crop of eager young faces in the media room all determined to make it but most won't get near especially when the pressure of mortgages and young families starts to tell.

If that's the group you fall into then it's going to be tough, if you're older with a few quid to spare then go out and enjoy it. I never made much money but I've shot all around Europe from tin pot championships to FIA WEC and even Premier League and European championship football. It was certainly an experience and I'm glad I did it but eventually it does just turn into another job.

Edited by jurbie on Wednesday 26th June 22:21

[andrewcliffe]

jurbie said:

Honestly, I've never known such a thing to happen. The only surefire way to upset other photographers is to give your pictures away for free or even just undercut them with a completely unsustainable price.

You need to be professional in all your dealings and get to know the other photographers, if you can show yourself to be reliable and a generally decent sort then you'll find a fair bit of camaraderie and willingness to help others out.

Sadly I've seen it a couple of times. Fortunately. those guys didn't last long before they found it was harder than it looked..

[Craikeybaby]

Kneedragger95 said:

I didn't know that, why is Fuji not typically used?

Their autofocus isn't up to the standard of Canon/Sony/Nikon, the X-H2S is pretty close though. The other reason is lack of telephoto lenses the 50-230mm that you have is a good starter lens, but there isn't much in the way of long fast lenses, other than the mega expensive 200f2. The telephoto zooms are quite slow.

However, I like Fuji for other photography, so use it for motorsport too:

LRCX2544 by Lewis Craik, on Flickr

[GravelBen]

andrewcliffe said:

Most media photogs are friendly, and will give hints and tips to a newbie - up to a point. I'll happily chat to photographers either side of the fence, until its a session I've got to cover and then its work mode engaged.

I've found most rally photogs are pretty friendly and keen to have a chat in the downtime between cars or waiting for a stage to start etc, even discussing the merits of different angles/shots or other corners scouted. I got some useful advice sharing corners with more experienced photogs, especially earlier on.

But you do get the odd asshat in any field, over many years of rally photography I've come across one or two long-time established pros (the same ones on multiple occasions) who seem to think they are above everyone else - I've seen them do things like deliberately setting up right in front of another photographer who is already in place (especially if they're an amateur without a media vest) to spoil/take their shot, or trying to tell amateur photographers they aren't allowed to be there.

[Arkose]

andrewcliffe said:

Media passes are there to aid journalists and photographers to report the news via publication. Its not really for selling photos to competitors.

Edited by andrewcliffe on Tuesday 25th June 11:22

Sadly some large organisations that run large motorsport events in the UK only accredit photographers working for a print / online publication or a driver / team, if you're from a professional media / photo agency you're out of luck

so average Joe can just get accreditation by shooting for a team or driver for free

anyway, good luck OP

sometimes its worth going on a spectator ticket, approaching a team and ask if they want photos for free, go to media centre and wave your PLI in front of them saying your shooting for the team

[StevieBee]

Arkose said:

andrewcliffe said:

Media passes are there to aid journalists and photographers to report the news via publication. Its not really for selling photos to competitors.

Edited by andrewcliffe on Tuesday 25th June 11:22

Sadly some large organisations that run large motorsport events in the UK only accredit photographers working for a print / online publication or a driver / team, if you're from a professional media / photo agency you're out of luck

What they are looking for is evidence of 'reach and impact'. What they need are evidential metrics that they can use to demonstrate the number of people who will or have had sight of a championship, series or event. This is used when those organisations pitch to potential sponsors and partners.

If you're an amateur photographer but have several million following you on Instagram, you'll likely be able to get accreditation.