Tournament Paintball Photography Part 2

Tournament Paintball Photography Part 2: How to get Started in Tournament Paintball Photography

Site Map Okay now that we have discussed the equipment that you will be needing in order to become a tournament paintball photographer. Lets discuss the next aspect of it which is how to get into paintball tournaments as a tournament paintball photographer to do tournament paintball photography. The first thing that you will need to do is build some reputation for yourself. Because with so many people trying to become tournament paintball photographers its not going to be easy to get hired by teams and companies. The way that I started was by going out to Pev’s Paintball in Aldie, Virginia. I originally went out there to take photos of my friend but I was lucky enough to run into DC Arsenal Practicing. After doing photography of DC Arsenal I showed some people my work and they decided to hire me for DC Challenge. What happened at DC Challenge we will talk about later on in this article.

So once you have gone out to a field and done some pictures of a local team or walk ons you can now show these photographs to teams and companies to see if they would be interested in having you do photography for them. One of the things you need to remember is always make sure to get permission from the field owner or manager before you do any paintball photography on their field. You might even offer to give them photos in return for them letting you do paintball photography on their property.

When discussing doing pictures for potential clients you need to make sure to not let them take advantage of you. Always make sure to get some sort of compensation for your time and services that way you don’t devalue your services. It will not be easy in the beginning to get Companies or Teams to sign onboard with you but if you stay persistent and prove that your a quality paintball photographer it will help you to get those higher paying clients.

Okay so now you have one tournament under your belt. What is the next step? You are going to want to work towards getting into the PSP and NPPL events as these are the tops events for Paintball in the US. In order to do that you are going to have to show that you’re a professional and that you’re representing either a media company or a paintball company. For the PSP only the top photographers are allowed to be on the Pro Division field. So in order to get onto that you will have to have a paintball magazine hire you as their paintball photographer or have a paintball company hire you.

The thing to remember when on the field is to always act like a professional. You’re representing another company normally and you want to carry yourself in a professional manner. Always make sure to listen to the Referee’s and to stay out of their way. Don’t reveal player positions by focusing on one player for too long. These are just a couple simple tips to help you on the field. In the next part of this series I will give more tips and tricks. I will start to discuss what to look for while on the field to get that killer paintball photography, camera settings, and other tips and tricks. If you know of a better way to do any of this or have any comments or questions make sure to leave a comment below.