Really want to get into the motorsport photography business
Discussion
I was wondering if I could trouble you guys for some advice. For the last couple of years i've been going along to race meetings/ track days just taking pictures of the cars for fun as a hobby, but i'd love to make it into a career. I've written to some car magazines, sending some examples of my work, asking whether it is possible to do any work experience with one of their photographers, but i never hear anything back.
I was wondering if any one on here is a motorsports photographer? and how you got involved in the first place?
I was considering sending a mail to LAT photographic. Thank you for reading this, would really appreciate any feedback
I was wondering if any one on here is a motorsports photographer? and how you got involved in the first place?
I was considering sending a mail to LAT photographic. Thank you for reading this, would really appreciate any feedback
Read this and then see what your projected earnings might be:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10...
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10...
Simpo is right: almost nobody will earn a good living from motorsport photography.
However, some do.
If you have the talent, the equipment and the drive (no pun intended), it's in your hands.
...just remember, +/- 99% will not make a living wage!
However, some do.
If you have the talent, the equipment and the drive (no pun intended), it's in your hands.
...just remember, +/- 99% will not make a living wage!
Edited by GetCarter on Tuesday 22 June 19:55
Lauren87 said:
but i never hear anything back.
That's par for the course to be honest. A friend of mine who i shoot with regularly has recently given up supplying images to the UK Motorsports Press as the returns don't justify the time & costs involved. He now shoots from the "wrong" side of the fences and enjoys it a hell of a lot more.I do some motorsport photography as I enjoy it as a hobby, but I am under no illusion that I could ever give up my day job to make a living at it. I doubt I could even cover the cost of a couple of coffees at a track 
, let alone all the other expenses.
It will take a lot of hard work and perseverance to make it as a motorsport photographer, but it can be done. I was under the impression that there were very few full-time motorsport photographers these days, and that most have at least a part time job to provide the bulk of their income.
Most of the car magazines will have their own in house photographers, or preferred independants who they can trust to give them the results they need week in, week out.
The weekly magazines like Autosport and Motorsport News will again predominantly use photos from a small number of trusted photographers, who in many cases are commissioned to attend specific events and shoot a certain type of shot for the publication. In many cases, using mobile broadband technology, the editors will already have a selection of images before the end of a race, and certainly before most people have left the circuit.
There are some interesting comments on by some pro motorsport photographers on this thread: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php... Most of the big series like BTCC etc will have their own photographers, and will supply editors with press releases and top quality images free of charge to promote their series, teams, manufacturers etc.
It's certainly not a glamourous lifestyle, with very long hours of travelling, getting up at silly o'clock in the morning to arrive at a circuit at say 7am when the teams are setting up, spending all day walking miles around outside in all weathers (which means investing in pro equipment costing many thousands), eating circuit junk food and then having the pressure to get your images to the publications within a few hours.
Maybe the best option would be to approach some of the agencies who supply the majority of images to motorsport publications?
, let alone all the other expenses.It will take a lot of hard work and perseverance to make it as a motorsport photographer, but it can be done. I was under the impression that there were very few full-time motorsport photographers these days, and that most have at least a part time job to provide the bulk of their income.
Most of the car magazines will have their own in house photographers, or preferred independants who they can trust to give them the results they need week in, week out.
The weekly magazines like Autosport and Motorsport News will again predominantly use photos from a small number of trusted photographers, who in many cases are commissioned to attend specific events and shoot a certain type of shot for the publication. In many cases, using mobile broadband technology, the editors will already have a selection of images before the end of a race, and certainly before most people have left the circuit.
There are some interesting comments on by some pro motorsport photographers on this thread: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php... Most of the big series like BTCC etc will have their own photographers, and will supply editors with press releases and top quality images free of charge to promote their series, teams, manufacturers etc.
It's certainly not a glamourous lifestyle, with very long hours of travelling, getting up at silly o'clock in the morning to arrive at a circuit at say 7am when the teams are setting up, spending all day walking miles around outside in all weathers (which means investing in pro equipment costing many thousands), eating circuit junk food and then having the pressure to get your images to the publications within a few hours.
Maybe the best option would be to approach some of the agencies who supply the majority of images to motorsport publications?
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