# GAMEFACE MEDIA...



## Steve5D (Jun 3, 2014)

Anybody here ever shoot for this outfit?

I got a Facebook message from an old friend, and he said that he's shot for them and was pleased with how everything went. It was a little odd, though, because this guy came from out of the blue; I hadn't spoken to him in over five years. He is a photographer, though, and he is someone I've known for a very long time.

Be that as it may, though, I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with them.

Muchos grassyass...


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 4, 2014)

I thought the name sounded familiar, just saw something about it not long ago on a sports photography site. Opinions seemed mixed. 

Apparently it's work for hire, photographers get paid for the hours worked and that seems to be it. The company apparently gives photos to event participants for free, so I don't quite get it - I don't see the advantage for photographers to work for them and not being able to make sales. 

There were comments that made me think they'll hire anybody with a camera that's alive and breathing and knows how to point it at something. (Yes, that was sarcasm but that's the impression I got.) 

Maybe your instincts are right in wondering why you got contacted out of the blue. Made me wonder if they offer something to photographers to bring someone else into it?? d'ya think? - I don't know but that came to mind...


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## Steve5D (Jun 4, 2014)

vintagesnaps said:


> Maybe your instincts are right in wondering why you got contacted out of the blue. Made me wonder if they offer something to photographers to bring someone else into it?? d'ya think? - I don't know but that came to mind...



Well, according to the guy who contacted me, he no longer shoots for them. When he did, though, he said it went well.

Point taken, though...


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 4, 2014)

If it's work for hire then I think the company owns the images. Guess it would depend on what a photographer wanted to be able to do with their photos. I didn't get the impression they got paid all that much but I didn't see an hourly rate.


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## curtyoungblood (Jun 4, 2014)

Here's a link to a recent thread on sportsshooter: SportsShooter.com - WARNING -- Gameface Media

The common feeling seemed to lean towards them being a decent group that doesn't pay well.


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## leeroix (Jun 4, 2014)

Im signed up, had to decline a few events due to conflicting schedules.


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## Steve5D (Jun 4, 2014)

Fifty bucks an hour and all I have to do is dump the cards?

Hmmmmm.

I signed up and requested a race not far from me. We'll see how it goes...


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## pixmedic (Jun 5, 2014)

If i had any inclination for shooting sports, i would give it a go. 
$50 an hour is not bad considering you don't have to do any processing work. 
im assuming its as a sub contractor so  you are responsible for  your own taxes and such....
but I moonlight as a medic for a company that does stand-by work for events, and i dont get even _*half*_ that much and i _*still*_ have to pay my own taxes out of it. 
you don't get any portfolio fodder, but you also don't have to do any work on the pictures. 
assuming you can get it mostly right in camera, this doesn't sound like a bad gig at all. I would at least give a shot and see for yourself.


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## vintagesnaps (Jun 6, 2014)

Now I get it. Found this article - Gameface Media tracks toward millions in revenue this year as national, international customers grow - Boston Business Journal As the first paragraph says the company has figured out how to make big money. It was a startup in 2012 and is projecting revenue in the millions. 

Instead of photographers taking photos at the event and selling them, this company gives race participants free photos - with a sponsor's logo on them. I looked at the galleries on their site and each one goes to the sponsor's site or FB page (where people need to 'like' them to access their photos). Some of the pictures look like the people with cameras who shoot for them don't necessarily need to be good at framing shots or even necessarily holding a camera straight, as long and they can aim and shoot... Of course it seems like people will take just about anything that's free, and I suppose the photos are better than crappy cell phone pictures. 

The company has given away millions of dollars' worth of free photos. How much do you think the photographers make?? This seems to be underpriced photos and underpaid work that I think will probably cost photographers opportunities to work and make money. At least it seems like it will for photographers who in the past have sold photos to the 25,000+ participants of the San Francisco marathon (see article) who will be given $1.2 million worth of free photos.


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## 12sndsgood (Jun 8, 2014)

vintagesnaps said:


> Now I get it. Found this article - Gameface Media tracks toward millions in revenue this year as national, international customers grow - Boston Business Journal As the first paragraph says the company has figured out how to make big money. It was a startup in 2012 and is projecting revenue in the millions.  Instead of photographers taking photos at the event and selling them, this company gives race participants free photos - with a sponsor's logo on them. I looked at the galleries on their site and each one goes to the sponsor's site or FB page (where people need to 'like' them to access their photos). Some of the pictures look like the people with cameras who shoot for them don't necessarily need to be good at framing shots or even necessarily holding a camera straight, as long and they can aim and shoot... Of course it seems like people will take just about anything that's free, and I suppose the photos are better than crappy cell phone pictures.  The company has given away millions of dollars' worth of free photos. How much do you think the photographers make?? This seems to be underpriced photos and underpaid work that I think will probably cost photographers opportunities to work and make money. At least it seems like it will for photographers who in the past have sold photos to the 25,000+ participants of the San Francisco marathon (see article) who will be given $1.2 million worth of free photos.




Advertisers are paying by the likes generated.  They found a way of getting everyone to like them. They likely don't care to much for the picture as long as they get that like.  But honestly for $50 an hour it's something that would make good filler work for some photographers.


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## Steve5D (Jun 8, 2014)

vintagesnaps said:


> At least it seems like it will for photographers who in the past have sold photos to the 25,000+ participants of the San Francisco marathon (see article) who will be given $1.2 million worth of free photos.



If I shoot the San Francisco Marathon, there's no guarantee that I'm selling anything. I've shot events like this before and have made absolutely zilch.

I'll take $50.00 an hour if I've got nothing else going on...


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## b.doscher (Jun 10, 2014)

Hi all, I'm one of the photography directors at Gameface. We're a new race photography company that's working hard to change the way race photos are made, both regarding our business model and regarding how we develop relationships with our photographers.


We work hard to only hire the best photographers we can. Once you're on our team, we try to foster a rewarding work experience through many factors including creative freedom, prompt and appropriate compensation, clear instructions, not having to edit or upload a single image (yaay!) and other perks just for being a Gameface photographer.




If you have any questions about working with Gameface, please feel free to reach out to us.  We are more than happy to answer any questions that you might have about being a Gameface photographer or simply about the Gameface Media product. We look forward to hearing from you!


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## Steve5D (Jun 10, 2014)

b.doscher said:


> If you have any questions about working with Gameface, please feel free to reach out to us.  We are more than happy to answer any questions that you might have about being a Gameface photographer or simply about the Gameface Media product. We look forward to hearing from you!



Thanks for chiming in!

The buddy who referred me had only good things to say about Gameface, which is probably the only reason I applied...


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## Designer (Jun 10, 2014)

Tevo needs to see this.


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## b.doscher (Jun 10, 2014)

Steve5D said:


> The buddy who referred me had only good things to say about Gameface, which is probably the only reason I applied...



That's great to hear!  We have quite a few photographers who join up once they talk to their friends about Gameface.  We think that's a wonderful thing, and we are continuing to enhance our photographer experience so more and more people want to shoot for us!


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