Outlet Photography

2010 World Cup South Africa

Every 4 yrs the world comes together for a an event that only the Summer Olympics can compare too…the FIFA World Cup, and this year its in South Africa. Here in the U.S., Soccer or “Football” as its known worldwide, is not the most popular or widely attended sport. But leave the U.S., and soccer is not only the most popular played sport, but also the most watched!

Don’t believe me? In 2006, the World Cup was played in Germany with over 32 billion viewers! That’s right, billions with a “B”! Read the ratings recap by FIFA here. Over 207 countries watched that event and this summer, the world will be watching again, and perhaps getting higher numbers.

Over the last 15-20 yrs or so, with the addition of the MLS and the U.S. Women’s Soccer team winning the 1999 World Cup match during a memorable gave over China, the popularity of soccer has increased. Its taken a new role in local schools and colleges. Kids in the U.S. are now playing soccer on a regular basis and perhaps one day it will reach the same status as the rest of the world.

So what does this have to do with photography? Everything! Imagine a photographer taking part in the most watched and popular sporting event in the world! I can image photographers, whether they are attending the event or not, are taking stock photography involving soccer or tailoring some pictures they create to this event. After all, who wouldn’t want to have the opportunity for only a fraction of the 32 billion viewers to see your work? In a commercial, a billboard or a magazine? Like anything else, viewers equals money to any business person and most professional photographers are in it for business. So if you are a pro or semi-pro photographer, you might want to start creating some images targeting the viewers of this large and profitable event!

As of today January 10, 2010, there are exactly 150 days left to the start of the World Cup in South Africa. You still have enough time to work on creating images for this event. I always think ahead and started a while back. The image included with this post is a photo I took using a college female soccer player, that’s right I went for originality!