I've loved soccer for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I cheered for Brazil and caught every local match I could find in Haiti. This past summer, that love turned into something bigger: for the first time, I let myself think that maybe, one day, I could be one of the photographers on the sideline, camera up, capturing my favorite teams and players for a living.
To get there, I need a sports photography portfolio. So last month, when a client asked if I could shoot American football, I said yes before I let myself think about the fact that I knew almost nothing about the sport. Ten years of watching my sister and dad watch football from the couch does not make you an expert. It just means you know the snacks.
Why Sports Photography Pulls Me In
Every sports photo feels dramatic to me. There's no posing, no second take, just a split second of real passion and power that either gets captured or doesn't. That's the same thing I chase in weddings, portraits, and events: the moment nobody staged. Sports just hands it to you faster and harder.
My First Shoot: Zero Playbook Knowledge, Lots of YouTube
Before the session, I crammed. I researched the sport, watched old college and pro football games, and spent hours on YouTube figuring out the camera settings that would actually freeze a player mid-action instead of turning them into a blur.
The unexpected bonus: I came out the other side actually understanding football. I know what the line of scrimmage is now. I know what constitutes a touchdown. That's not nothing for someone whose entire football education used to be watching my sister and dad yell at the TV from across the room.
All that prep paid off. You can see for yourself in the gallery below.
The Lesson I Didn't See Coming: Don't Underestimate Middle Schoolers
Here's what nobody told me: middle school football players are fast. I mean genuinely, adjust-your-shutter-speed fast. I walked in expecting the slower pace of a youth league and walked out having relearned my own settings on the fly. It's one of those lessons you only get by being on the field, not from a tutorial.
What's Next: Piedmont College Soccer
That football session left me hungrier for what sports photography could open up. Soon after, I booked my first women's college soccer match in Demorest, GA, and those photos are coming soon. Keep an eye out.
Booking Sports Photography in Atlanta, Sugar Hill, Lawrenceville, Buford, Athens and more Georgian cities
If you're a coach, parent, or athletic program in the Atlanta metro or Northeast Georgia looking for a photographer who treats game day with the same eye I bring to weddings and events, I'd love to talk. Contact me Here
