What game photos cost
The game gallery follows the ball for every family at the game. A spotlight follows one athlete.
The game gallery
Every regular season game Rival shoots gets a gallery covering both teams, live during the game and up for 48 hours after the final whistle. Scan the sign at the field, type the jersey number, and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card.
Game not on our schedule? . It's free to ask.
One athlete, the whole game
A spotlight keeps the camera on your kid from warmups on. Edited photos land in their own private gallery within 48 hours of the final whistle, and you pay online with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card.
Senior night coming up? See Big Night senior night photos. Video, team photos and the rest are on the Rival price list.
Not the photo from the bleachers
From the stands, a phone gets the back of a helmet at the far hash. Michael works the sideline, the baseline and the glass with long lenses, so one face fills the frame from across the field.
Gyms and rinks are darker than they look. Old lights flicker on camera and push skin green, and a dim room blurs a fast game. Getting skin tones and school colors right under that light is the same work he does for TV, and there's no flash during play.
Most of the job is being in place before it happens. The corner comes at him from behind the end line, the drive from the baseline, the celly at the glass.
From Michael's sideline
Football, basketball, hockey, field hockey and one fencer. Tap a photo to see it big.
Your sideline, his camera
Rival Imaging is Michael Rotiroti, a cinematographer and photographer based in Peabody. Before Rival, his camera was on HBO, NESN and NBC Sports Boston, and he shoots your kid's game the way he shoots for television.
- EmmyDirector of photography on HBO's Murder in Boston, Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary, 2024
- duPontduPont-Columbia Award, Murder in Boston
- NBC SportsDirector of photography, Cardillo's World on NBC Sports Boston, including the John DiBiaso episode
- CreditsCamera and edit credits with ESPN, the NCAA, NESN and the Boston Red Sox
- EndicottBFA in Photography, Endicott College, 2020
Your kid's sport is on this list
Boys and girls, youth through college: town rec on a Saturday morning, varsity under the lights. Every sport has one spot where the big plays come straight at the camera. Here's where Michael works in yours.
- Football
- Soccer
- Basketball
- Hockey
- Lacrosse
- Field hockey
- Baseball
- Softball
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
- Track and field
- Swimming
- Yours too Fencing, gymnastics, cheer, rowing, tennis. If it keeps score, tell us about it and Michael will tell you where he'd stand.
Football: a step ahead of the ball
Michael works the sideline a step ahead of the line of scrimmage, so the runner comes at the camera instead of away from it. Inside the 20 he moves to the back of the end zone for the goal line stand and the touchdown. The night starts with the tunnel run and ends at the handshake line.
Play on the line? A Game Spotlight keeps the camera on your lineman every snap.
Soccer: the touchline and behind the goal
On the touchline, level with the attack, for the run down the wing, the slide tackle and the cross. Behind the goal line, off to the side of the net, for the shot, the keeper's dive, the PK and the knee slide at the corner flag. From there you get faces, not the backs of jerseys.
Basketball: low on the baseline
Low on the baseline beside the basket, where the drive, the layup and the block come straight at the lens. He switches ends so both teams get shot face on, and on an and-one he keeps shooting after the whistle, because the yell is the photo. No flash, and low enough that nobody in the bleachers has to look around him.
Hockey: right up on the glass
The lens goes nearly on the panel, so scuffs and glare fall out of the frame. Near the ends for the celly on the boards, the breakaway and the glove save. Toward the benches between whistles for the line change and the whole bench on its feet after a goal.
Lacrosse: the X and the end line
Near midfield for the faceoff at the X in boys lacrosse and the draw in girls lacrosse. Then off the corner of the end line, wide of the crease, for the dodge, the shot, the save and the celly. Shooters face the goal, so you see eyes through the cage instead of a number.
Field hockey: behind the end line on corners
Behind the end line when play is in the circle, so the penalty corner comes straight at the camera: the insert, the stop, the drag flick, the team piling in at the cage. Along the sideline when play moves up the field. The big games land on foggy fall nights under the lights.
Baseball: the side the hitter faces
From the first base side a right-handed hitter faces the lens, and from third a lefty does. The camera is up for every pitch: contact, the slide into second, the play at the plate, the walk-off and the dogpile after the last out.
Softball: the circle and the plate
The windmill from the circle, the slap bunt, the diving catch in the outfield, the tag at the plate and a dugout that never stops cheering. Shot from the side the hitter faces, so you get her face at contact, not the back of a helmet.
Volleyball: up at the net
The kill, the block with four hands over the tape, the dig an inch off the floor and the huddle after the point. Same hard gym light as basketball and the same care: no flash, and school colors that look the way they do in person.
Wrestling: down at mat level
Shot low from the edge of the mat, close enough to see the hand fighting and the faces: the handshake, the shot for the takedown, the near fall and the hand raised at the end. Tournament days run long on several mats, so for a spotlight, send the weight class and bout times.
Track and field: one event at a time
The start out of the blocks, the baton exchange, the hurdle, the lean at the line, the high jumper arched over the bar. Meets run for hours with events going at once, so Michael works them event by event. Booking a spotlight? Send the events and heat times.
Swimming: the blocks and the wall
The dive off the blocks, the butterfly coming up out of the water, the touch at the wall and the look up at the scoreboard. No flash at the start or anywhere else, so it's long lenses from wherever the meet allows.
Action sports questions
What parents ask before the game. Anything else, ask Michael.
Do you shoot both teams?
Yes. Every post game gallery covers both teams, so families on the other sideline find their kids the same way you do.
Want the camera on your athlete wherever the ball goes?
My kid plays defense, the line or goalie. Will they be in the gallery?
The gallery follows the ball, so defenders, linemen and keepers show up when the play comes to them: the tackle, the block, the save. Some games that's a lot, some games it isn't.
A Game Spotlight keeps Michael on your athlete for the whole game, with 20 to 30 edited photos in their own gallery.
I have two kids playing. Can you cover both?
At the same game, yes. Book a spotlight for each athlete and Michael covers both.
Different games on the same day? Prebook both up to 7 days ahead and he'll confirm which ones he can make.
Do you shoot tournaments?
Spotlights, yes. Book one for any of your athlete's tournament games and add the field and game time when you book.
Full tournament galleries are by request from the organizer. Running one? Tell Michael about it.
What if the game is rained out or moved?
Your booking moves with the game. If Michael can't make the new date, or can't make your game for any reason, you get a full refund.
If your plans change more than 48 hours before the game, that's a full refund too. Inside 48 hours there's no refund, but the booking can move to another game this season.
How far do you travel?
The North Shore and Greater Boston are included. Games more than 45 minutes from Peabody may add a travel fee, quoted before you pay. Anywhere else in New England, ask.