As a Sports Photographer Leeds, I can usually be found sitting near the touchline of a football pitch somewhere around the Leeds area. Being a professional photographer is not always as glamourous as it sounds, there is a lot of preparation work, a lot of setup, and usually a lot of work to get anywhere within the profession! Here are some of things to think about when starting out as a professional photographer:
You will need experience, knowing you can take good quality shots every time you pick up the camera is a must, if people are paying you for a product, you need to make sure you can deliver on time, every time. Having a good reputation in the industry is key, people will not hire you if you show up late, don’t show up at all or are not present in the shoot itself. Being “on” all the time is one aspect of professional photography that is mentally taxing, especially with sports photography Leeds. Having the mental fortitude to carry on when things are not going your way and adapting to the environment around you is a must.
The weather will throw everything it has at you, it can be sunny one moment, then raining the next. Learning how to adapt your photos and your shoots around this is a must! Sitting on the touchline at this time of year, it can be quite cold and sometimes wet, but at least you get to watch a game of football from one of the best seats in the house!
Being ok with working in all different types of weather and whatever the world can throw at you is one of the hardest parts of being a photographer in my opinion. If you are just starting out as a photographer, then you must learn if you are happy being in the rain for a few hours at a time!
You must be willing to travel, the shoots will not always be on your doorstep, you will have to work on many different locations. Travelling around is one of my favourite things about being a sports photographer. I get to see so much of the country, mostly the glorious Northwest of England, in places such as Leeds, Manchester and a few other counties in the area. I feel like it is one of the perks of the job to travel around all the time rather than being tied to one specific location all the time. If you are thinking of becoming a sports photographer, then this is one factor you should think about; whether you enjoy travelling a lot and pretty much every job is in a different place with different people.
Even though I really enjoy photographing sports that are live, there is another side to being a sports photographer Leeds that is also enjoyable. Having worked in the sports field for a long time, I am lucky enough to be invited to PR shoots and events based in the sports world. Some of these are even inside out of the winter weather… but only if we’re lucky.