Prospective Photographers

Icon Sportswire is always looking for talented and experienced professional photographers interested in regularly covering sports events on deadline. Icon Sportswire selects new photographers based on need in a geographic or metropolitan area or specialization in covering a particular team or sport. If you are interested in working with one of the most respected agencies in the industry, we would love to hear from you.

The following is required for all prospective photographers:

Prospective photographers must possess and be competent in the following:

Ability to capture, edit, caption, and transmit digital images on-site and on deadline during events
Digital camera bodies and a variety of super-telephoto lenses

Expectations of an Icon Photographer:

To acknowledge and follow all instructions and guidelines set forth by the Icon Sportswire staff and photographer contract
To understand and accept constructive feedback
To adapt your shooting style and/or camera settings to meet our quality standards
To be accurate with your caption data, and accept that IPTC data is as important as the images
Perform and behave professionally and adhere strictly to our Photographer Code of Conduct

A portfolio may be requested. Portfolios will be judged on the following qualities:

Sharp focus and focal point
Use of light
Strong composition
Use of depth, field and shutter speed
Thoughtful picture selection
Dynamism or movement
Creativity
Consistency across a portfolio

Submissions will be carefully judged based on the strength of the portfolio. In addition, a review of several raw and edited takes of sports events might also be requested when evaluating your application. This will assist us in judging your ability to light properly and frame images in-camera, as well as your editing and captioning skills.

Approved camera bodies are:

Canon, Nikon, and Sony professional DSLR and Mirrorless cameras made within the last 10 years

Lenses required for specific sports:

A 300mm lens that is either a prime or a professional-grade zoom is required, no matter which sport you shoot. A 70-200 with a 1.4x teleconverter or a zoom lens that lacks a fixed/constant aperture is not accepted as your “long” glass
Basketball: Minimum 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Football: Minimum 300/2.8 (400/2.8 or longer preferred), 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Hockey: Minimum 70-200/2.8 at ice level, 300/2.8 in an overhead shooting position, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Baseball: Minimum 300/2.8 (400/2.8 preferred), 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Soccer: Minimum 300/2.8 (400/2.8 or longer preferred), 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Auto Racing: Minimum 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8. Longer telephoto lenses may be needed depending on the track size and shooting position.
Golf: Minimum 300/2.8 (longer preferred), 70-200/2.8, and a wide-angle zoom lens such as a 24-70/2.8
Super telephoto zoom lenses (200-400, etc) are also permitted for all sports so long as they are professional grade.

Other equipment requirements:

Laptop computer with WiFi capability and/or Ethernet. The latest Mac or PC operating systems installed (where applicable)
Photo Mechanic 5 or 6 with the latest updates installed (preferred workflow and metadata software and used by Icon Sportswire staff)
Adobe Photoshop CC, CS, or Elements
Adobe Lightroom
Software capable of sending images via FTP - Photo Mechanic, Transmit, Cyberduck, Filezilla, etc.