Personality, details and actions in a photo all contribute to getting the perfect shot. In sports photography, the perfect shot is almost impossible to get, and students are loving this challenge more than ever. 

Senior Emilia Weinrobe, has taken sports photos for almost three years. She understands the skills and awareness it takes to be a successful photographer.

“The thing that keeps me motivated is getting the perfect shot,” Weinrobe said. “You can take as many pictures as you want in sports photography, but only one or two are gonna be really good ones. It’s a really fun way to photograph a person because every frame is going to be different and every person will have a different shot.”

Weinrobe started because of how unique sports photography is, and enjoyed how different it is compared to other types of photography.

“I started photography because I loved it, and loved capturing a single moment in a single frame,” Weinrobe said. “It’s not just like any other kind of photography like modeling or still life photography. Sports photography is a lot more entertaining because you have to be present, and you have to learn a lot more to do it.”

Junior Kaj Barron at the Paideia School, who takes photos for the school’s sports teams, shares similar passions.

“It’s really the thrill that keeps me going, and it’s nothing like going out there and just capturing those special moments that tell a story,” Barron said. “It’s just satisfying to take pictures in serious action, and go through the process of getting the perfect shot.”

Since high school sports returned, players are doing anything to show themselves in a uniform on social media. Social media is becoming a main factor for exposure.  

Junior and sport photographer Cordell Hegg believes social media is one of the biggest factors for exposure now in sports in promoting a platform.

“It’s popular right now because everyone wants to know how they look on the field and show off on instagram to everybody they know,” Hegg said. 

 Hegg considers taking photos to help others is rewarding.

“Seeing how happy people get and them loving your work they’ll tip you because of how good you did and it’s a compliment to the photographer,”  Hegg said. “It definitely boosts your confidence in other categories outside of photography.”

Barron notices more people becoming photographers because cameras are becoming more accessible.

“More people nowadays are just going out, and trying new things, because if you get access to a camera, you might as well try,”  Barron said. “I already play sports, all my friends play sports, so I naturally just gravitated towards it.”

 Weinrobe acknowledges that sports photography can be difficult because there are few special moments to take a photo, and games move fast.

“You have to be present so that means you can’t really be in your own world, you really have to be watching the game,” Weinrobe said. “You have to study the sport and who you’re going to photograph to know how the game moves.”

Hegg believes football is becoming a popular sport to photograph for.

“High school football is specifically the most important sport right now,” Hegg said. “That’s how we make money, it’s very interesting, and people will pay anything for their football games. By taking the picture, it captures a moment of what can be a part of someone’s life.”