Photojournalism has been a controversial subject in esports for quite some time.  Not in the sense of drama, or juicy leaks, but rather, the tangible benefits photographers bring to the table and at what cost.  

Do professional photos bring more value than meets the eye to the scene? Should any of us consider pursuing this field?

Luckily for us, we were blessed to get Robert Paul, one of the most prolific photojournalists in the scene, to answer a few of our questions, starting with inquiries about his day-to-day.

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“My day to day is similar to most freelancers: administrative work (so much administrative work), chasing new gigs, chasing unpaid invoices, fulfilling image requests, spending too much time on social media, etc…”

He then went on to elaborate his story of development in our industry, but decided it best to slim it down to a brief history:

“The shortest version of my development into an esports photography career was more or less a couple years spent doing my own thing, on my own dime, which turned into a couple years of paying clients burning up all my vacation days, which turned into me realizing that if I wanted to do more esports work I’d have to quit my job.  

I crunched some numbers, quit my job, and here I am.”

Robert Paul has covered a wide variety of events, encompassing all of the esports genres.  While he certainly can appreciate different aspects of all of them, fighting game events remain closest to his heart.

“Fighting game events remain my favorite to shoot; they just feel so much more intimate than most other events. Even in Mandalay Bay at Evo 2016, it wasn’t just spectators showing up to watch some enigmatic ‘top players,’ it was a community showing up to support their friends and to watch the conclusion of the tournament that they themselves had played in. I think that makes for a much more engaged audience, and makes even spectating a sort of collective experience.

That said, almost every event has something that makes it special in a way.  The grandeur of Riot’s events, the sheer scale of DreamHack, CSGO’s nail-biting rounds … they all make for a unique experience, and for unique photo opportunities as well.”

Being able to capture beautiful moments of players to the foreground, letting those who have not attended to events experience the atmosphere, creating entire stories on a brilliant capture of emotion during a special moment… these are all wonderful things to look upon.  

However, these things alone aren’t enough to convince others to hire photographers for their work.  In Robert Paul’s “value of photography in esports press”  , he mentions that it “sets the tone for a team’s portrayal, and pushes social engagement which, in turn, benefits the org’s brand.”

Curious, I dug further and wanted a more specific answer. How do these pitches work?  What is the ROI and where does a brand “break even” in purchasing photography services or assets?

High-quality photography is no doubt all well and good, but do those on the receiving end deem this as a “huge asset” as he does? How is this negotiated, especially with far less well-known photographers in the industry?

“I don’t actually have what I think is a proper answer to this yet,” Robert Paul said. “One of the struggles of pitching creative work like photography is that there often is no hard ROI (Return On Investment). I don’t have case studies with before/after showing bumps in merch sales or sponsorship deals.  

But if you look at games like CSGO, where teams stand to make millions from sticker sales, or the upcoming Overwatch League which is also rumored to have in-game team items... sales of that kind of stuff is directly driven by the passion of fans.  And that’s where you come back to what I was talking about in my twitter thread. You’re competing for the hearts and minds of the fans, and that’s done with more than just tournament wins.  You’re selling fandom, and having a strong media representation across not just your own social channels but as well as editorial coverage is going to drive part of that.

Teams like Liquid and C9 are constantly dropping video content. I’m almost certain nobody could tell you what the ROI on that is, but they clearly see value in it. Fans want to see the team, and the players behind the team, and feel like they’re part of the team’s journey. These guys look like movie stars in these videos.  Will my photos sell in-game items? Not really. But we see every day how strongly esports fans react to social media … having a stand-out content plan can steal the show (and as such, gain the mindshare and dollars) from a team that is maybe better than you, but doesn’t have the same presence.

Anyway, over the last few years in the FGC there was this period of realization that to be signed or sponsored by a team you didn’t have to be the best, you had to be marketable.  And if stuff like the OWL works, we’re going to see a big shift toward monetization coming less from team sponsors and more from stuff like in-game items, a stronger push for merch, etc. … and social content is going to be a big part of that.”

I was satisfied in this answer, but then thought to the times where it’s been difficult to get solid photography for freelancers who have asked my assistance in the past, particularly those in smaller communities, such as the FGC (Fighting Game Community).

I mentioned the problems to him, that in smaller scenes, the issue is further exacerbated, where in larger titles like League of Legends, writers have access to resources such as the LoL Esports Flickr. 

“For starters, writers shouldn’t be asked to pay for image contributions to their articles; that seems to me like the responsibility of the publishing outlet. There could be cases where the writer is going above and beyond the outlet’s requirements, but I’m not sure how situations like that work.

That said, my default reaction to an image request isn’t always 'Eff you, pay me' either. I often contribute images to smaller / community sites and tournaments at no cost. But the reality is that many of the events I cover simply don’t pay me enough to require I outright make the images available at no cost, so having licensing rights helps me fill that gap.”

Robert Paul made comparisons to the regular sports industry, where unfortunately, alternatives wouldn’t be quite as feasible.

“...But esports’ model of free images is also unheard of in pretty much any other industry.  Sports and other news images almost always come from wire services or an outlet’s staff photographers. I’ve had a number of discussions about whether something like an esports wire service is feasible, and the answer is simply that it’s not.  

With almost every major event organizer making so many press images available for free, the market for photographers to make residual income from their work is almost nonexistent. It’s a tricky situation that seems unlikely to change.”

Satisfied with answers regarding tangibility and financial prospects, we move onto dissecting the technical methodology behind esports photography.  Sometimes misinterpreted as an easy feat that anyone with a camera can accomplish, Robert elaborates.

“At its core you’re approaching it the same as any visual art -- pre-visualizing or working into an image through light, composition and gesture.”

Unfortunately, there seems to be some privileges in other industries photojournalists that are restricted to those in esports.

“Esports being what it is, you’re restricted on one or all of these in different ways,” Robert continues on, “The light is what it is, and frankly, very often not, photo friendly. Composition has more leeway, but you’re often limited by access, stage design, venue layout, etc. Players are often elevated stages, behind elaborate desks and large computer screens, and so if your goal is to photograph a specific player, you’re immediately forced into a certain selection of shooting positions.  

That leaves gesture as the remaining element, and one where I think a good esports photographer needs to be most in tune. You have to be patient, and you need to carefully observe the players you’re photographing.

Notice who is emotional, who has what tendencies at different points during a match. When most people think about capturing “moments” it usually involves the excitement of hoisting a trophy or a hyped up crowd, but even something as small a head turn can turn into a dramatic photo.  There are just so many interesting images to be made in the small moments.”  

Robert continues on to mention one of his peeves in the industry, “My single biggest thing is just avoiding the ‘player staring blankly at a computer screen.’  We have player cams for that, we don’t need it in a photo gallery.”

We covered some of the difficult technical aspects to shooting photographs in esports, so I was curious to hear if it was any more difficult for Robert to acquire press access to events relative to other forms of journalism as he grew. I was surprised to hear that it was quite the opposite. “One of the advantages of esports is that spectators often have the same access as press. This is less true for bigger stadium/arena events, but for stuff like DreamHack, MLG, FGC, etc… there’s not really anything stopping you from going and doing your thing. “

Shifting focus and moving to a lighter tone, I ask Robert what led him to become a photographer, and an esports one at that.  I had believed that it may not have been his initial dream job, and wondered his trajectory prior to this path.

“I had been in IT for ten years before leaving to become a full-time photographer.  But I enjoyed it less and less, to the point where for the sake of my own sanity I just had to get out … and fortunately, my esports work was really winding up at the same time.”

On becoming an esports photographer specifically, Robert answered, “But I’ve been a gamer my entire life, and while I was never into esports proper until later in life, I’ve always enjoyed competitive titles like Starcraft, Quake, Street Fighter, etc. But as I got more and more into competing, I found I simply couldn’t keep up the time commitment needed.  I didn’t enjoy the grind, but I still loved going out to stuff like Street Fighter tournaments.

I’ve also always had a creative streak … I spent years in a band and did a few albums. I had a web design and development phase. So I picked up photography right around the same time I realized I couldn’t cut it in tournaments, and it became a way for me to remain involved without actually competing. I found that way more enjoyable, anyway.”

Having answered that he enjoyed the games but not the grind, I was curious as to just how good he was at current esports titles and what he actively plays. “Lately I hardly have time for gaming,” he replied, “At the moment I’m playing Breath of the Wild, when I do have time. My competitive roots are in FPS games … Q3, CS, etc. I spent a couple years playing Team Fortress 2 competitively. So naturally, I was binging Overwatch for a while.    

These days, I’m probably not very good at any of the major esports titles.  I’ve taken matches in Street Fighter tournaments, but I’m hopeless in Smash. I really want to enjoy Dota, but putting in 1000 hours just to be “not awful” doesn’t really appeal to me.  I do honestly think I could be competitive in Overwatch, but I struggle in Comp mode so maybe it’s just my ego.”

Interestingly, he shared my philosophy in regards to having an understanding of games, which translates to more optimal coverage. “In general, I try to have a base-level competence in any game I’m covering, whether that’s through playing the game or studying matches. Understanding the flow of a game/set/tournament is crucial to being in the right place at the right time.”

As most journalists have experienced, the quality of interaction and relationship with different clients varies quite a bit. “What have been some of your favorite organizations or clients to work with to date?” I asked.

“Red Bull is probably my favorite. They really push for quality from everyone they have on projects, and it shows in the results.    

DreamHack has been fun, and I’m really excited to see what their 2017 events look like here in the US.

Blizzard is also a favorite, they have such great people across the board. BlizzCon is such an amazing event, and getting to be there for the reveal of Overwatch is probably among my most memorable moments.”

As standard practice, I decided to close out the interview asking him advice for aspiring photographers.  However, I also inquired about how lucrative of a career path photojournalism is -- I wanted to know if it’s something with untapped potential, or if others should maybe invest in other more financially stable outlets alongside photography.

“It’s hard to describe any photography career as 'lucrative,' really,” he explained, “I know less than of a handful of people getting by solely on esports photography, and even I do some other event and wedding work on occasion.  I think I was very much in the right place at the right time to be able to get as much esports work as I do.

My biggest advice to aspiring photographers is two things.  One, don’t be afraid to start small. Take your time, make connections with people at events … other photographers, event staff, you never know when you may be able to help each other out.

You don’t need epic stadium photos in your portfolio to get work. In fact, if you can make a small, local event look good then you can probably make an epic stadium look even better. You also need to be willing to do some work on your own dime.  You don’t need to work for free, just go to an event and shoot it on your own dime. I see a lot of aspiring photographers frustrated that they’re not building their portfolio because they’re not getting picked up for work, but that’s not how it goes.  If you can’t take the initiative to get out there and make work on your own, nobody’s going to hire you for it either.

My second piece of advice is to learn video. You don’t have to market yourself as a videographer, but sooner or later you will be asked if you can shoot video. If you can shoot and edit a basic 5 minute video it will open up so many doors for you.”

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Quickfire Questions

Favorite Food: Pancakes

Favorite Player: Fighters: LI Joe; CSGO: Pasha

Most Memorable Event: Evo 2014, my first big gig.

Biggest Fear: Still doing this exact same thing when I’m 50.

Pet Worst Peeve: Photos of players staring blankly computer screens.

Side Hobby: Playing piano

Favorite Esport: Fighting games and Starcraft

If you enjoyed this interview, follow the author at @ESHDrexxin.  

Also, make sure to follow Robert Paul on Twitter at @tempusrob.

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All images courtesy of Robert Paul.