Ecuador vs. Germany, or why the FIFA doesn't like freelance photographers
Okay, so Dietmar got two tickets for the Worldcup match Ecuador-Germany in Berlin. And these were not ordinary tickets! These were VIP tickets, "Elite Hospitality Tickets" to be precise, with an estimated price of roughly 1,300 Euros each - see all the details here (thanks to the IHK Wuppertal for putting that information on the Web).
As you can imagine, we were happy. We booked our flights. We planned for some sightseeing in the morning and early afternoon. Then we wanted to go to the Berlin Olympic Stadium to enjoy the match before flying back to Munich again.
For the sightseeing I definitely wanted to bring my professional camera, the Canon EOS 1ds mark II, but thinking of the FIFA guys made me wonder whether this would be a good idea? I looked at their rules, and these clearly stated that taking photos for personal use is allowed. Also, I had hopes that the VIP tickets might help easing potential problems.
Boy, I was wrong. Big time.
When we came to the VIP entrance, I was informed by the low-level security guy that I could not take the camera in. I could leave the equipment in a container, but it would not be insured.
What? You must be kidding!
When I refused to leave the camera there, another guy came along, Till S., the "supervisor VIP entrance". I don't know who thought that Till makes a good supervisor, but I think he was giving a terrible performance. He should be relieved of this burden asap. He was completely unable to offer any solution to the "problem" (what problem?). Also, he did not accept any of my proposals to solve it (e.g., ensuring in writing to not take photos or use them for commercial purposes, leaving the equipment in an insured area, letting me enter as freelance photographer, or simply looking away for a second). And he could not escalate the problem. Nope, this guy was just no help at all.
Fortunately Dietmars brother-in-law was waiting outside the stadium for some of the guests (he is working for an event company). So we finally decided to leave the equipment with him for the duration of the match.
You can imagine my surprise when I entered the stadium to see plenty of cameras, and I do not mean the cameras of the official photographers. No, these were plain guys, like me, just without the VIP tickets, shooting happily away with their Canon cameras, some even taking videos (which is strictly prohibited)!
So, I started to wonder. What did I do to offend Till S. so badly? Was he just having a bad day? What problem does the FIFA have with freelance photographers in the first place? What's the point of having VIP tickets if the average Joe can bring his camera, but a "VIP" can not? I simply don't get it. At the end of the day, it's just photos of football players, and publishing such photos promotes football. Which should be okay with the FIFA. These photos are the same photos that the official photographers may take as well, maybe even more emotional. Where is the difference? Where is the problem? Could someone explain this to me, please?
But enough of this crap. Germany won the match 3-0, and Dietmar took several photos for private use with his 6 megapixel camera. And he created a blog on the fly using his mobile phone. Read more about our day in Berlin at two4gold.
As you can imagine, we were happy. We booked our flights. We planned for some sightseeing in the morning and early afternoon. Then we wanted to go to the Berlin Olympic Stadium to enjoy the match before flying back to Munich again.
For the sightseeing I definitely wanted to bring my professional camera, the Canon EOS 1ds mark II, but thinking of the FIFA guys made me wonder whether this would be a good idea? I looked at their rules, and these clearly stated that taking photos for personal use is allowed. Also, I had hopes that the VIP tickets might help easing potential problems.
Boy, I was wrong. Big time.
When we came to the VIP entrance, I was informed by the low-level security guy that I could not take the camera in. I could leave the equipment in a container, but it would not be insured.
What? You must be kidding!
When I refused to leave the camera there, another guy came along, Till S., the "supervisor VIP entrance". I don't know who thought that Till makes a good supervisor, but I think he was giving a terrible performance. He should be relieved of this burden asap. He was completely unable to offer any solution to the "problem" (what problem?). Also, he did not accept any of my proposals to solve it (e.g., ensuring in writing to not take photos or use them for commercial purposes, leaving the equipment in an insured area, letting me enter as freelance photographer, or simply looking away for a second). And he could not escalate the problem. Nope, this guy was just no help at all.
Fortunately Dietmars brother-in-law was waiting outside the stadium for some of the guests (he is working for an event company). So we finally decided to leave the equipment with him for the duration of the match.
You can imagine my surprise when I entered the stadium to see plenty of cameras, and I do not mean the cameras of the official photographers. No, these were plain guys, like me, just without the VIP tickets, shooting happily away with their Canon cameras, some even taking videos (which is strictly prohibited)!
So, I started to wonder. What did I do to offend Till S. so badly? Was he just having a bad day? What problem does the FIFA have with freelance photographers in the first place? What's the point of having VIP tickets if the average Joe can bring his camera, but a "VIP" can not? I simply don't get it. At the end of the day, it's just photos of football players, and publishing such photos promotes football. Which should be okay with the FIFA. These photos are the same photos that the official photographers may take as well, maybe even more emotional. Where is the difference? Where is the problem? Could someone explain this to me, please?
But enough of this crap. Germany won the match 3-0, and Dietmar took several photos for private use with his 6 megapixel camera. And he created a blog on the fly using his mobile phone. Read more about our day in Berlin at two4gold.
posted by Mark Zanzig at 12:45 PM
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