I created a social media brand that allowed me to get credentialed. I shot all the sports that no one really wanted to shoot and built my portfolio. Then I landed a prized internship with the Washington Redskins in 2016 worked through the 2019 season. During the 2019 season I worked for MLB as Live Content Creator and moved on to working for the Air Force later that year which still my current job, but looking forward to getting back into sports. I talk about some of this on my channel.
I first picked up a camera to impress my then film school student girlfriend (not wife), since then I have shot everything from prep sports, weddings, real estate, corporate events, headshots, fashion, etc. I've always been told I need to "narrow what I shoot and focus on that", but I see that you shoot a wide variety of genres outside of sports. How do you properly market yourself so that your wedding clients are thrown off by the sports, and your sports clients aren't thrown off by your portraits? I have 3 separate websites (similar in branding) to split up my weddings, real estate, and corporate. Anyway, really liked this video, definitely subscribing, any advice would be great, thanks!
I picked up my Dad's film camera in college. It was a Pentax and he had a few different lenses in his bag that I would shoot with. People always thought that I was good with a camera but I never owned one myself. Fast forward through the years, when I was 42 years old, my oldest son was playing little league baseball and I was tired of the crappy images that we'd pay $65 for. I had a D3000 at this point, some pocket wizards and 50" umbrella. I offered to the coach to take a team photo but wanted to do something different. I had the kids come out on the field, put the catcher in his gear and sat him on a bucket. Then fanned the rest of the players out from their, laid down on the ground and shot as wide as I could on my APS-C sensor to capture the image. I went home not realizing what I had captured. Edited and posted to my wife's Facebook page and went to bed. The next morning I woke up to see that it was liked more than 300 times, but it had been shared 64 times. A few hours later, I was at work when a business collogue called me over to her desk to show me something. It was my image, and she wasn't even a Facebook friend. A friend of a friend of a friend was one that shared my image. That was when I decided that I could make a buck on the side and really do this. I know do all photo composites for youth sports and high schools, and love working in the business. I've been bootstrapping the business with the hopes of one day making enough to support my family and quit my day job.
@@CharlieKaine Awesome! And yes, a good question and one that you could go a few ways with. There's no real right answer here, and having separate websites as you've done is definitely a sensible option. My thought is always one-stop shopping, so potential clients of all types, from sports to weddings to commercial, can all land on the same website and portfolio and find what they're looking for. And, in some cases, the wedding people like seeing the sports stuff, and vice versa. Again, totally subjective and separating them out is also great! Just how I do things. Thanks so much for watching/subscribing.
@@joeclaymore Awesome, fantastic story! Amazing to hear how a photo can make waves like that, and great to know you haven't stopped since. Enough of those and you'll be gone from your day job in no time :) Good luck with the journey! Thanks for watching.
This is so great! Thanks for all the wisdom you can impart on aspiring photographers like me! Videos like these always get me so excited to take the next step to do what I can for my career
Just found your channel as I was looking for ideas for remote camera use. Really enjoying the videos so far! I got started as a hobby years ago. I started focusing on sports the last few years and picked up some freelance work for local newspapers to hone my skills. Given the odd year, I've mostly shot everything else, but baseball is my passion. I was fortunate enough to shoot one MLB game this year and look forward to more in the future. Can't wait to learn more about you and your staff. If there's a spring training, I'll look for you in Florida and say hi.
Thanks so much for following along! Glad you are enjoying the channel. Weird times right now for sure but things will return to normal for photographers, I'm sure of it! Enjoy the journey.
Awesome video, I loved how you showed your growth over time, sharing even the bad images. It really showed how far someone can go if they stay committed to the craft. I also respect how hard you hustle in the off-season, not many pro sports photogs are shooting weddings on the side! I shot athletics at USC while I was in school and now that I'm graduated I'm starting to look for jobs with pro teams, I'm definitely subscribing to soak up all the knowledge you're sharing about the industry here!
Fantastic story Billie! Found your channel because I've been watching videos to learn how to shoot better sports photography. I shoot mostly indoor at this point which I've found very challenging.(My daughter plays volleyball). Partly because of my equipment. Have to get a faster lens so I can keep that ISO down. Anyway, finding your videos enjoyable and informational. Thanks for the content.
Interesting video Billie would be good if you done a video of how you use the other photographers on match day where they go and how all the work from the other Guys in used on a game basis. From Jeff a soccer photographer of a semi pro team in UK
Your story is just amazing. So happy for you that you get to live your dream. Great stuff! I’m currently a freelance photographer(weddings, family portraits, events) and have a day job as well and I wanna have a shift on my career and be a sports photographer. Any tips on how should I start my journey to being a sports photographer? I would to hear from you! You earned a new subscriber!
Congratulations on over 1,000 subscribers! I’ve become a subscriber and enjoy what you’re doing. One question, when you critique your first portfolio, what do you see to think it was not good? The photo of the guy running the snow blower for instance, told a story as he was covered, so my untrained eye says, “wow!” A second question, I guess would be what do you see on current work that meets your standard? I did watch the video to note the clean background and action. It all looks great to me, and you’re a natural on presentation.
Thank you Terry! Appreciate you following along. Primarily I see that there was no in-depth/extended storytelling. It was more just comprised of one-off pictures, but I never really dove deep into any of the subject I was shooting. I also just see a lot of technical flaws in the cropping/toning/editing which I would correct if I was to shoot/edit again now. For current work, I am still hard on myself and always critiquing, but as general guidelines, clean backgrounds and peak action ( like you said), great highs and lows of emotion, bold, vibrant, larger than life aesthetic quality are the stylistic elements that guide my photography. After a long time, each photographer has those few stylistic pillars that become their "go-to's". Hope that helps, thank you for watching!
Hi Bill, since you're the official photographer for the team, how does hobbyist like me go about getting access to take photos of the team during a game? Is it not possible, and you have to be an employee for the Red Sox?
Ayyyyy yes sir!! Parents are still down in the 410. Miss it every day - now I'm nostalgic at you mentioning it. Thanks for the nice words and following along.
Absolutely love this!! I’ve just made the step up from a D850 and got a D5 (no idea what I’m doing with it) and want to get into sports photography. Would you ever do a zoom call or something like that to get some specific tips and tricks from you?
@@billieweiss7681 , continued success! I an no longer able to shoot major pro events due to health. I look back with fond memories, I truly enjoyed the journey! I pass that advice on because it is easy to get caught up in the stress and rigors of the job, thus losing the joy of photography.
Hey Billie, I have the Nikon D5 and bought a used Nikon 200-400mm from B&H. It's a beast of a setup, and I don't want to drop it! Would you please recommend a tripod and ballhead/gimbel setup for this kit? Thanks for any advice. I have a Sirui monopod (P-204S) and tripod (W1204) and head (K-30X)
I'm a big fan of the Manfrotta tripods with the fluid head system. A good affordable option is the 290 XTRA Kit, Aluminum 3 section tripod with fluid head. Sturdy enough to hold the 200-400. They also make some nice ball heads like the XPRO series.
Just found your channel. I really like the images you capture from your team and I wish you all the best for your other projects in these demanding times. As an amateur my main concern (when it comes) to sports is to find a lense for my Fuji X-T3 that allows me to shoot soccer games. 400mm/2.8 is ...well ... far to expensive and my 70-200 FF equivalent hasn‘t got enough reach. I suppose 70-300 with 4-5.6 will habe to do. Anyway: all the best for you
Thanks very much for the nice feedback, Sven! Yes, the Fuji system can be tough to find the right sports lens for. Have you checked out the Fuji 100-400mm? It is a pricier lens, but I believe would work great with your X-T3. A little pricier than some lenses, but not nearly what a 400 2.8 would run!
@@billieweiss7681 Thank you for your answer! Yes, 100-400 might be a good choice, but it‘s something like 4-5.6 - that would work great at sunny days. But I learned that I need at least 1/640 to freeze the players, better 1/1000 or more and I fear this would push up ISO over 6400 on cloudy days. The lense is around 2.000 Euro ... I think I might try the new 70-300 first that has similar aperture values, is more portable (=versatile) and will only set me back 800Euros.
