09/11/2026
I’ve actually been considering hiring a photographer to sit out at youth football games, photograph the kids, and give parents the opportunity to purchase action photos afterward.
Then I run across something like this, and I’m reminded why I stopped doing it myself.
That photo is one of mine. I spent my time at the field, in the heat, using thousands of dollars worth of professional equipment to capture it. It was posted as a proof with a watermark so parents could decide whether they wanted to purchase it. Instead, someone screenshotted the proof and the image is now being used without ever being purchased.
I don’t think most people who do this are trying to hurt a photographer. I think there’s a misunderstanding about what a screenshot actually costs us.
When a photographer covers a game without being paid upfront, we’re essentially taking all of the financial risk. We spend hours at the field photographing, then more time downloading, sorting, editing, uploading and maintaining galleries. The hope is that enough parents purchase photos afterward to make that time worthwhile.
One screenshot may not seem like a big deal. But when it happens over and over again, those screenshots represent the sales that were supposed to pay the photographer for being there.
I’ve seen thousands of dollars worth of my images being used from screenshots while some of those same events generated very little actual revenue. Eventually, the math simply doesn’t work.
That’s a big part of why I moved toward charging teams for coverage. It guarantees that the photographer is compensated for the work, and families still get professional photographs of moments that otherwise may never be captured.
Professional photography isn’t free simply because the finished image is easy to screenshot. You’re not just paying for a digital file. You’re paying for the photographer to be there when the moment happens, the equipment, the experience required to capture it, and the hours of work that happen afterward.
I absolutely understand that not every family can or wants to purchase sports photos. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you want the photograph, please purchase it. Viewing a proof is free. Using the photograph is not.
Supporting the photographers who show up is what makes it possible for them to keep showing up.
