Photographers

Photo credentials differ from journalist credentials in critical ways: shooting positions are limited, sometimes assigned per session, and may require prior approval from the broadcaster to avoid camera conflicts. Photographers who arrive without an approved position get pushed to the spectator zone, where their lenses can't reach the action.

A credential workflow that issues digital passes with explicit position assignments well ahead of the event lets photographers plan kit, lenses, and travel — and lets federations balance access across freelancers, agency staff, and broadcast pool shooters.

The press credentials module supports photo-specific accreditation with shooting position assignments per session, broadcaster-coordinated approval, and digital QR passes scanned by floor stewards on entry. Photographers see assigned positions, court diagrams, and any restrictions (flash, drone, monopod) in their event dashboard before travelling, with confirmation notifications and last-minute swap requests handled inline.

After an event, a photographer might have 3 000 frames, of which 200 are portfolio-worthy. Getting those 200 in front of paying buyers is the entire commercial proposition — and currently it depends on personal email lists, social posts, and luck.

A central gallery indexed by event, player, sponsor, and moment type means every potential buyer (the player wanting a print, the federation needing newsletter art, the sponsor running a campaign) can find and license imagery within minutes. Discoverability multiplies sales without adding marketing work.

The platform photo gallery accepts uploads with auto-tagging by event, player face detection, and EXIF extraction. Galleries are browsable by federations, sponsors, media outlets, and players, with licensing terms surfaced per image and contact-sheet previews for buyers.

Stripe Connect handles payouts to photographers per sale, with revenue share configurable for syndication partners on documented schedules.

Without enforced rights management, federation websites republish photos with no credit, sponsors slip imagery into campaigns under expired licenses, and photographers spend hours chasing payments that should have been automatic. Watermarking on preview, explicit license tiers (editorial, commercial, social-only, merchandise), and automated royalty tracking turn a fraught informal economy into auditable revenue.

It also gives photographers leverage to negotiate larger contracts with federations because usage volumes and channel breakdowns become provable rather than estimated.

Every uploaded image carries embedded licensing metadata, watermarked previews until purchase, and a license registry tied to the buyer. Royalty tracking aggregates per-photographer revenue across editorial, commercial, and merchandise uses.

Audit logs record every download and downstream republish where the platform is in the loop, so disputes can be resolved with evidence.