Any freelance photographers on here?

number41 · 27 May 2007 at 19:23

I'd like to try a bit of freelance photography but am confsed by all the press association stuff! Could anyone explain what it involves getting a press pass so I can take photographs at events? Do you have to work for an established company or is creating your own online site OK? What are the prices, etc invloved with getting a press pass?

Thanks for any advice! I'm overloaded with info and cant make sense of it all!!

^^Gord^^ · 27 May 2007 at 19:47

I'm not a freelance but i've looked in this questions before.

There really isn't such a thing as a press pass as most people think of it. If you want to get press access to an event you will need to apply to the organisers for a press pass for that event, which if succesfull will be issued by them.

To be successful with your application depends on how high profile the end is and therefore how much demand there will be for press passes. Usually you will need to prove that you are either working for / or on behalf of a paper or magazine or have generated pre-event publicity.

Bit of a catch 22 really.

SDK^ · 27 May 2007 at 20:37

To get accreditation you need to be working for a publication, website or photog agency.

Raider · 27 May 2007 at 21:19

I recently applied for a Press Pass for the Royal Show, and they seem to be giving me one. Not exactly a huge event, but I go every year and it'll nice to be able to get into all the special places

I just emailed and asked nicely, seemed to work!

mark35 · 27 May 2007 at 22:24

Is it best to just look for up coming events in your local area and give them a ring or e-mail and see what they say ?

number41 · 28 May 2007 at 11:13

So basically the best thing to do is get the website up and running, start off with local events who just give away press passes to build up my portfolio, then just aim larger when its established and I can start earning money from it? A huuuuge step from my 9-5 job which would probably never happen, but would be nice to try as leaving IT to become a photographer would be heaven!!

SDK^ · 28 May 2007 at 15:53

number41 said:
A huuuuge step from my 9-5 job which would probably never happen, but would be nice to try as leaving IT to become a photographer would be heaven!!

The grass is always greener.....

Pro photograhers covering events typically work from 6am-11pm+ stuck in field in the middle of nowhere in freezing wet weather. Still sound like heaven ?

Mohain · 28 May 2007 at 16:50

SDK^ said:
The grass is always greener.....

Pro photograhers covering events typically work from 6am-11pm+ stuck in field in the middle of nowhere in freezing wet weather. Still sound like heaven ?

A few months back I was coming home on the 11.24pm train out of London, the one full of **** heads come home after a Friday on the lash, and there was a rather nervous looking bloke dragging a huge Lowerpro trolly/bag with him. He opened the bag and had 3 x 1D MK II bodies & 2 x 70-200 F2.8 IS L lenses amongst other stuff. He was frantically loading up a pocket full of cards onto a laptop. I chatted to him and he said he had been covering the Guardian Film Festival all that week. He had to arrive at 7am to get his spot. Sometimes he would arrive at 7am to find all the good spots gone. The film festival didn't open till 3pm and he had to cover everyone arriving and everyone leaving. He had done 5 x 18 hour days at the venue then had to come back to process and upload all the images to the agency. Two of the days that week it poured with rain all day long. None of the kit was his, it all belonged to the agency, he said he had bought a 350D 6 months back but hadn't had a chance (or the inclination) to use it yet.

I wasn't envious of his job ;-)