How did you do it?

[Donnell McAllister]

How did you go about becoming a PAID motorsports photographer? What tips and tricks have you learned that would be valuable for someone trying to get started? I'm trying to do this professionally, but honestly, I don't even know where to start. Who do I go to to sell pictures? Who do I talk to? How can I get my travel expenses covered? Anyone have advice for someone like me?

[Dennis Murray]

I, probably like most others here, started as a race fan going to races and taking a camera. You get interested, take more pictures, get better, show them to others, get compliments, and get motivated.

My tips:
1. Go. Shoot (a lot). Post here, get tips for improvements.
2. Find outlets interested in what you shoot. If it's SCCA club racing, find who covers it and who needs coverage from your area. If it's something else, there's a club magazine, newsletter, etc. that might be interested.
3. Be totally shameless about plugging yourself and showing your work to anyone who will even tolerate you for a few minutes.

Everything is gradual. Just like any other business, you start off by shelling out a lot of money and hope to make it back.

[John Thawley]

It is a slow process. And.. it is always a work in progress. You can not sit back for a minute... every opportunity must be explored.

And... I say this with all candor, it is not for anyone who likes to "cruise." You must work.. and to get started, you must bleed. I'm not kidding.

Start at a local track... shoot club races. Shoot alot. Show your work to those around the track. If you can sell some, fine. But that is not the means to the end. Seek out the local racer that travels to a few regioual races. As if you can shoot for them... for the experience and perhaps a credential. So, if they're traveling to the next "tier" of track and level of racing, you've not go better subject matter. It should begin to show in your work.

This will also expose you to other teams that are purusing higher levels of racing. They're on a ladder system just like the rest of us. Ultimately, you should be approaching those teams too. Especially the ones that are moving up to the next level of racing.

You just have to keep pushing your way forward to the next level... AND make sure your work is always improving. Trust me, I'm never satisfied with my work. It must get better. Improve or die. LOL

JT

[Jacob Leveton]

for me, i was an intern in the marketing department at a major publishing company. I hung out with all the editors because they were all car nuts (most of the business people i worked with weren't much of car nuts). I always went to the events and shot my own pics, and one time, one of the editors asked to see what I had. He liked what I had, published a handful of shots, and broke me off with a portion of his paycheck. From there, I was given another opportunity while working for another magazine (again, doing business-related work) to write an editorial piece to see how I did. It was slated for 2000 words, it ended up being 3200, and the editor made room for it because he felt it was so good. I did work for that magazine for 2 full years until they went under :(

a lot of the other jobs I got came from asking people at events who they shoot for and if they need coverage of other things.

[Todd Spoth]

donnell you know me, but i just put my name out there.

i was lucky to befriend a few older shooters as well. you have to grind and make it your everything. you will have to work, possibly for free a lot of the time. dont expect to just buy a 30D and BAM people are going to fly you every place to take photos. i have a good friend and mentor who is a Reuters staffer, and through him ive got to work for an MLB team shooting publicity and games, and assisted a lot of really great sports photographers. its all about getting your name heard,

[Francis Tsang]

I get paid a different way. Not directly for the photos I take but through the website that the photos appear on.

HI.com allows us to travel to any event due to the advertisements. It is definitely a nice perk and a great way to experience new locations. I never plan to pursue professional photography as I have an engineering career that is taking off but am very appreciative of the freedom HI.com allows us.

[Todd Spoth]

I get paid a different way. Not directly for the photos I take but through the website that the photos appear on.

HI.com allows us to travel to any event due to the advertisements. It is definitely a nice perk and a great way to experience new locations. I never plan to pursue professional photography as I have an engineering career that is taking off but am very appreciative of the freedom HI.com allows us.


and we love you for it. yay for HI! the only forum has stuck through all the rest. ive been banned and banned and forums have shut down or changed names or mgmt, and HI has been there woohoo!

see you sunday franny.

[Jeff Boerio]

I started in the stands, and now consider myself semi-pro at best; I have a day job that allows me to shoot on the weekends. My first exposure to shooting motorsports was at an NHRA drag racing event. I stood side-by-side with the pro photographer who was essentially my mentor in the music industry. He said my photographs were better than his ("kicked his ass" were his words), and compliments like that are not easily given.

Then I started taking pictures at local, open track days. I gave the pictures to my friends in the Corvette hobby.

Then opportunity knocked, and I approached a local race team. They wanted to see a portfolio. Ummm, what portfolio? I showed a couple shots from the NHRA and a couple from open track days. They said great.

Opportunities continued to present itself. Like others have said, you have GOT to take advantage of them. You cannot skip a beat. It's hard work to make money at this. I don't expect that I will ever become a pro photographer. First, I don't know if I'm good enough. Second, I don't know that I'll ever be at a point where I make more money at it than I do at my day job. Perhaps, if I get "the one" shot that no one else ever has, I might make more money, but I'm in it because I love to take photographs, and my interest in motorsports is ever-increasing.

- Jeff