Every football season is full of jaw-dropping moments, and NFL Director of Photography and Lead Photographer Ben Liebenberg makes sure those moments move from the field to the fans as soon as they happen.
Ben and his team run a lightning-fast photo workflow that gives his stakeholders across the league the power to share photos in real time. Want to see how it works? In a recent summit talk, Ben shared a step-by-step breakdown of his team’s workflow. Watch the video and read through each step below!
Step-by-Step Workflow
1. Photographers capture and deliver images
“We all know that everything starts with the photographer and the camera,” says Ben.
As soon as Ben and his team capture a big play, they send the images straight to the cloud. The photographers connect their cameras to hardwire ethernet cables attached to the officials’ instant replay cart and upload images instantly after a play. This efficient upload process keeps Ben and his team on the field, ready to keep shooting.
2. Photo editors crop, tone and caption images
While Ben and his team are capturing the biggest moments at NFL stadiums around the country, a team of photo editors is monitoring their incoming FTP in Los Angeles.
“As soon as those photos hit it, they can grab those photos for editorial requests, for NFL.com, our mobile app, and our videos,” Ben explains.
Next, the photo editors crop, tone and caption the images with relevant metadata. When they’re finished, they upload them to the NFL’s PhotoShelter media library, where stakeholders across the league can access them.
3. The NFL’s Player Social team curates the best images and delivers selects to athletes
The NFL’s Player Social team has instant access to the images via the PhotoShelter + Socialie integration.
“As soon as images hit PhotoShelter with a specific keyword, they get moved over to our Player Social team,” says Ben.
The Player Social team curates photos for each player, and sends them their best images of the game, even before they get back to the locker room. As soon as athletes pull out their phones, they’ve got a selection of incredible images they can immediately post to their own social media profiles – generating buzz with fans and celebrating the big win.
Get a closer look at that side of the workflow in this summit talk with NFL Manager of Social Media Operations Russell Simon and Social Marketing Manager Jordan Dolbin.
4. Teams and other stakeholders access and share photos with fans across channels
Before the game starts, Ben’s team shares a PhotoShelter gallery link with all major stakeholders, including the league’s 32 teams, the NFL’s internal marketing team, the NFL network, the PR team, and anyone else who plans to share the big moments as they happen. By browsing the gallery and searching PhotoShelter for exactly what they need, stakeholders are able to get the most out of the NFL’s library of eye-catching content.
With this efficient workflow, stakeholders across the league can use gameday imagery to engage fans at every possible touchpoint in the moment. Speed is crucial to engaging fans while they’re paying attention, and helps the NFL maximize the ROI of every image Ben’s team captures. With the right tools, you and your team can build a real-time workflow and never miss the chance to capture the power of a moment.
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