What is the life of a ski photographer or filmmaker like?

ThePierceStudios

ThePierceStudios

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Is it a good career choice that will provide a decent income or is it a low paying job that you should only do if you are head over heals in love with this sport?

I am loving it right now, and want to know if this hobby could support me later in life.
 
You don't make any money, you get screwed over when you do, companies wont want to pay you and you'll spend years just trying to prove to them they should. Shit aint easy but damn, its pretty fun.
 
Definitely gets better no doubt but its also what you make it. Gotta just keep at it and stay optimistic. I definitely got lucky cause a lot of guys i met in college turned into pretty good skiers haha but just be friendly, meet people, shoot, shoot more and then go shoot again.
 
EVH is spot on. Some companies WILL screw you over, there's no way to avoid it. It's also borderline impossible to break into the film/photography world in "action sports" on a good paying level. BUT, there are great paying gigs out there...

I mostly film motocross (I leave my cameras at home when I go skiing) but to answer your question - it's an awesome life. I get paid to travel and hang out with the best athletes in the world. It's an extremely time consuming, stressful, frantic, and unglamorous life but it's awesome haha

The pay level isn't the kind of info most people are willing to give out. When I first started that was the hardest thing for me to figure out. On multiple occasions I completely undersold myself and even oversold myself right out of a few jobs. I bought my first camera 3 years ago and film and photography is my full time job...so it is possible to bring in a decent income.

Luck and the people you know is about 80% of this business. Of course the more you get out and film the better. If you don't have a solid final product even the people you know will look elsewhere.

As long as you're loving it and having fun with it, keep at it and good luck!
 
I used to work full time as a ski/action sports filmmaker, and quit doing that about 2 years ago to work full time in commercials. Looking back, the ski industry is a terrible, terrible business to be in. Unless you found the next TGR or Brain Farm, you probably will never make any money. There are basically no jobs unless you create your own, and even if someone does hire you, you won't get paid shit.

Working in commercials, I get paid in one day what I used to make over a few weeks in the ski industry. And now when I go skiing, I just go skiing, and I don't have to lug any gear around with me. Plus, winter (January/february) is the slowest time of year so you are able to get a lot of mid-week days in. My 2 cents on the issue.

 
You spend 10 years refining your craft only to lose a job to some 15-year-old kid with DSLR because the target demographic only cares about content, which leaves little incentive for ski companies to spend the extra (i.e. fair) cost on a skilled videographer. Oh yeah, and your ski days take a hit from it all.

That's not to say that this isn't all the videographer's fault (and there are success stories) - just know what you're getting into. Regardless of your career - you're putting yourself in a precarious position when the unskilled, inexperienced under-cutter is a viable generator of return, and believe me, clients in the ski industry will always keep them close.
 
I don't know if someone can really live of filming skiing, unless you have a team or pair with a rider which you follow all year round. I am still studying Cinematography so I can't really say much but I do have a foot in this part of the industry, in Europe though. When I don't shoot strictly skiing, I am either at school, or working out projects with colleagues, at the moment I am on a shoot for cosmetics (they pay good).

But basically, it's just about managing to get into one field, no matter how you get there and you know, do a good job, talk to people, show them what you do, and if you're good, well there's no reason they won't call you back.

 
I graduated from Boulder High in 2012, in my second year off currently. Been filming edits for pros the past 2 years, i've interned at both Stept and Level 1. With all that being said I have made 0 dollars filming skiing so far, nor do I see myself getting paid in the near future. I currently work 2 jobs in Boulder and commute to the mountains 2 days a week to film. I absolutely am loving life right now and am happier then I have ever been. Do what you love regardless of the money, there's always a way to make it work if you're willing to work hard!
 
Professional Ski Photographer here. Basically all the money is in commercial work and getting your product picked up by companies with $$$. The ski industry as a whole doesn't have much money to play with
 
unrelated, but holy shit, serious motocross racers and pros are definitely the best athletes. Throwing around a 200lb+ bike for 30 minutes straight is so fucking hard. I have so much respect for those guys. I would put them alongside triathletes and Tour de France riders but with more speed and higher risk involved.
 
i got my start in the mountain biking world which has substantially more money than skiing does and i currently work full time in the bike industry/commercial stuff... this year i picked up a few contracts in the ski industry... have made nothing off them... compare that to other sports mtb mainly and mix in a couple commercial contracts and you have a full income... skiing is not the place to make money but its a good time for sure!
 
To me its not about getting paid or anything but to be able to sit down with some homies and be like "i shot that segment with him" or be able to call out a shot that you filmed in a movie. Like someone above said, you dont make money so you gotta get another actuallly job and then film for the love of filmiing
 
I did it for a while and found out it wasn't for me. No money, you never really get to ski, and sometimes people can be douches competing in nature. If you really love filming it's great... if you love to ski not so much. I would recommend another film job in another industry and ski in your free time.. Most the people who get filming gigs in the ski industry are close friends to pros or other industry guys anyway.
 
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