Over the past few months, I have ventured into a new territory within photography: covering sporting events. The idea emerged out of both necessity and practicality. As the Traveling Filmmaker, I have been looking for more mobile ways to generate income—something that can accompany my travels and help finance the equipment I use along the way. The camera I carry with me today, for example, is still being paid off.
I started working with platforms specialized in selling sports photography, mainly FOTOP and Foco Radical. The concept seemed simple: photograph the events, upload the images to the platform, and allow the athletes themselves to find their photos—usually through facial recognition—and purchase the ones they liked most.
In theory, it sounded perfect.
In practice, not so much.
Frustration Is Part of the Process
On the last weekend, I photographed yet another sporting event. As of the moment I am writing this article, I have not made a single sale.
It is disappointing. Frustrating, even.
Basketball games, in particular, have not been financially worthwhile for me. The time invested, the travel involved, the image selection process, and the post-production work do not always translate into financial return.
There is a commercial aspect to it that I am still trying to develop.
The Photographer and the Salesperson
My biggest weakness in this context may be my difficulty approaching potential buyers.
I always imagined that the ideal process would be to arrive at the event, do my work with excellence, upload the photographs to the platform, return home feeling at ease, and watch the money automatically appear in my account.
But things rarely work that way.
There is a difference between creating something of quality and being able to sell it. And while I deeply admire the artistic and documentary dimensions of photography, I am realizing that I will need to develop more of a commercial mindset if I want to sustain my travels and continue creating.
The Risk of Turning Passions into Professions
This is not the first time I have gone through this.
Years ago, I made the same transition with 3D animation. What began as an escape during my school years eventually became my profession. I went to college dreaming of working in animated film production, inspired by the great entertainment studios.
But in the real market, advertising is often the most accessible path for those who are just starting out.
I managed to work with both national and international clients. I made money from it. Not enough. And throughout the process, I realized that I had lost some of the enchantment I once felt for animation itself.
Partly because of the nature of the market, partly because of the expectations I had created for myself.
I hope to recover that spark one day. I still deeply admire this art form and continue to believe in the value of handcrafted digital work.
Photography as a Reunion with Myself
Photography re-entered my life at a time when I needed to reconnect with myself.
There was a period when I became disconnected from almost everything—including photography. I sold my old Nikon D7200 and spent nearly two years without a professional camera in my hands.
It was during my backpacking trip through Southern Brazil that I began to rediscover that way of seeing.
Without major commitments, I started documenting landscapes, people, and small stories from everyday life. I continued producing projects through ALUF Pictures, but those videos ceased to be merely audiovisual products. They became travel memories.
Later, they gave rise to the Traveling Filmmaker project.
And that is the path I intend to keep following in the journeys ahead.
Not All Sports Are the Same
Over the past two months, I have been covering different sports here in my region.
In CrossFit, the financial results have been quite positive. Perhaps because I lived intensely within that environment for two years of my life. I understand the dynamics, I know the people, and I can anticipate the important moments of the competition.
With road races and, especially, basketball, however, I have faced greater challenges.
This taught me something important: it is not enough to enjoy taking photographs. You need to deeply understand the community you are documenting.
The photographs that sell are not necessarily the most technically sophisticated ones. More often than not, they are the images that carry emotional significance for the people who experienced that moment.
Documenting Remains My Instinct
Whenever I photograph a sporting event, I automatically shift into documentary mode.
I am not simply searching for the most beautiful image.
I look for the photograph that tells the story of that encounter: the focused gaze before the competition, the unexpected celebration, the exhaustion written across someone’s face after the final whistle.
Perhaps that is why I continue to persist.
Deep down, my interest was never purely commercial.
I have always believed that documenting people in moments of effort, celebration, and overcoming challenges carries a value that goes beyond financial gain.
But the Money Also Needs to Come In
At the same time, I need to deal with a very practical reality: bills need to be paid.
I continue to work with clients through ALUF Pictures, although with less intensity than before, especially because of my own professional choices and my desire to preserve a more handcrafted approach within audiovisual production.
Sports photography emerged precisely as a more flexible income alternative, one that aligns with the lifestyle I have been building.
I am still learning.
Learning about the market. Sales. Expectations. About the differences between passion and profession.
And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of this entire experience.
Moving Forward
Next month, I will be back on the road.
New destinations, new stories, and probably new attempts to discover sustainable ways of financing this journey as the Traveling Filmmaker.
I do not know whether sports photography will become a consistent source of income for me. Maybe it will. Maybe it will not.
But regardless of the financial outcome, it has already taught me something valuable.
Making a living through art requires sensitivity to create, discipline to persist, and humility to recognize that there is still much to learn.
Including about sales.
