The greatest sports photos feel somewhat unbelievable. They are the rare images that make you gasp—capturing the fraction of time mid-score, leap, or lap—that would have otherwise existed only in an athletes’ memory. 

For many passionate photographers, making a living from seeking out, witnessing, and capturing these moments would be a dream come true. 

But like with any craft, making a professional career out of sports photography requires meeting the demands of a competitive industry and challenging conditions. 

Luckily, GeoSnapShot’s Shoot Your Shot guides are here to break down your path to success. From networking, to gaining experience, to making a name for yourself, we’ve got you covered in this guide to making sports photography your career—including some coveted tips from the pros. 

Dive Into Your Niche

It’s no secret that sports photography is a coveted career—so if success is a photographer’s goal, it’s not about being good, it’s about being great. 

Exposing yourself to a number of different sports can challenge your talents and broaden your technical skills. However, like with any career, if professional success is really your goal, it’s important to find and dedicate yourself to a niche that you’re truly passionate about. 

In the words of action sports photographer and Canon Ambassador Richard Walch, choosing a sport you find fascinating and sticking with it will allow you to immerse yourself in its world and make a name for yourself: 

“You need to become part of that scene or culture, and then you can start shooting from the inside. To break it down, find a sport you like, become as good at it as you can, and make friends. Then you can get access to athletes and to events and, because you understand the community, you photograph the sport better." 

 -Richard Walch, Canon Ambassador

The question on every photographer’s mind, though, is how niche should I go? 

The more commercial your sport, the easier it is to sell your images, and the more varied the number of athletes you’ll have the opportunity to capture. On the flip side, making a name for yourself shooting a super-niche sport gives you the upper hand in familiarizing yourself in a sport with less competition and attention, and making important network connections. 

There’s nothing wrong with setting the goal of shooting professional football games and championships as soon as you can. 

However, it’s also worth remembering that you can only make one first impression for yourself in these incredibly competitive spaces once. 

Shooting local games offers a low-stakes environment in which you can experiment with technique and hone your skills while expanding your professional portfolio. 

Finding games is easy—often, local leagues will advertise games on social media and in local papers. Just make sure to get in contact with the organizers first and get their permission to shoot on the big day. Even if it isn't necessary, they’ll always appreciate the ask—and it goes a long way in establishing yourself as a reputable, professional, and respectful photographer.  

The next step? Get on the local pitch and practice, practice, practice—rain, hail, or shine. Literally. In the words of sports photographer Eddie Keogh:

“You can learn so much more by photographing football, rugby, hockey or tennis at your local park. Get out in all weather—not just when it's sunny, because rain can make pictures more atmospheric—and practice, practice, practice… there are so many great pictures literally just around the corner. If you have an eye for photography, you'll see it—you don't need to go to big stadiums to learn your craft."

Networking can be a loaded word. But for photographers it might just mean the difference between getting and missing that golden gig opportunity. And the best sports photographers know that games—big and small—are just as much of an opportunity to make connections as they are to capture those perfect shots. 

So, how do you put yourself out there as a sports photographer and potentially make that career-changing connection? 

First, try to avoid simply 'selling' yourself at events. Instead, enter networking opportunities with the goal of forming a genuine connection and learning something new about the people involved in your sport. Remember that you've already got something in common: a love of the game!

A great rule of thumb to keep in mind at every game is the 'rule of two.' Although usually only applied to dedicated networking events, using this formula on the ground can put you ahead of the networking game. To follow the 'rule of two,' aim to leave each event with two quality contacts—and follow up with them that week.

Going out on a limb can feel intimidating, but try to ask yourself: what is 10 minutes of feeling a little nervous compared to the potential for new opportunities for success?

Finally, it should go without saying that every motivated sports photographer will always directly introduce themselves to the event organizer. You never know when you might run into them again—or whether they know about a great gig for you! 

Find Clients Online and Offline 

The digital revolution means that the majority of your potential clients will be exposed to your work for the first time online: and first impressions count. Ensure your website and social media channels showcase the work you're most proud of, and speak to diversity in the clubs and organizations you have worked with in the past. 

In the eyes of potential customers, the quality of your website is what draws the line between an amateur and a pro photographer. Here are some of the features your website needs in order to be an outstanding home for your work: 

• A high-quality, frequently updated gallery featuring your best work 
• An about-me page that showcases your style, personality, and passion for the sport (testimonials never go astray!) 
• Detailed contact information 
• A transparent services page
• Bonus: adding an FAQ section could be a great option if you’re receiving similar questions over and over again from potential customers.

The most important of these? Your Gallery. 

Using a digital media hub such as GeoSnapShot allows you to showcase your best work on your website—without the laborious process of manually uploading photos and updating your pages. 

After creating an event for your images on GeoSnapShot, you’ll be provided with a unique link to your event gallery. Sharing this with athletes and organizations allows them to view all photos from an event and select images to purchase in your user-accessible gallery—without slowing down your website. 

From there, easily embed your gallery into your website by seamlessly copying and pasting your custom piece of code into your website. 

Doing this will ensure that your website has a custom-branded, automatically-updated portfolio of your work securely stored and visible to potential customers at all times. 

The most dedicated sports photographers minimize their workload off the field so that they can spend more time on it: making connections, expanding their networks, creating opportunities, and finessing their craft.

These are the photographers who succeed. 

Get the world’s largest dedicated digital media hub for serious sports photographers to work for you and start crushing your goals with GeoSnapShot today: create your first event gallery here.