Working my way Up

HOW I WORKED MY WAY TO A JOB IN SPORTS DESPITE CLOSED DOORS

THE BIRTH OF MY LOVE FOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

As a Texas Tech Freshman I had nothing but a loose idea of what I wanted to do and what career I wanted to pursue. In high school I was active in Theater and Video Tech, but mom said majoring in theater was NOT an option, so I went with Electronic Media & Communications, to continue my love of film making. I wanted to get into some sort of extra curricular activity outside of my classes that would let me explore my skills. I decided to join The Daily Toreador, our campus newspaper, staff as a feature writer, and from there is where things took off.

Writing was not my number one choice in pastimes but it is something I did enjoy doing. I began writing pieces every week that would be published in the paper. At some point our paper's multimedia staff began to grown thin and our Multimedia Editor needed a few extra hands. This is where I volunteered that I knew a little bit about photography and videography, so from that point on I started to take photos and videos to accompany the pieces I was writing. That is what launched my career into multimedia.

After a year of writing for the paper, I decided it was time to switch things up and join the multimedia staff full-time. This opened the door for me to shoot campus wide events, concerts, and most importantly sporting events!

Diving into the world of sports photography was not an easy task at first, my experience in shooting in manual was limited, and I think I even flashed a couple of times, while shooting my first soccer game, which the referee came up to tell me was a big no no.

Nevertheless I continued to strive to get better every opportunity I could. I shot basketball, football, soccer, tennis, volleyball basically every sport we had at Texas Tech. Practice really does make perfect and as I progressed throughout the 2017-2018 season, I got better at shooting in higher shutter speeds, lower light, composing shots and started to feel like a real photographer. I had great friends on the mutilmedia staff who were far more advance in their craft than I was and they really helped me succeed.

I grew a love for shooting sports, not a passion, that first year I much rather preferred being in the stands at football games than being down on the field shooting a game for hours. However, that would soon change.

My work definitely improved as I went along, but I was far from perfect. Being fully transparent it's funny seeing where I am now in my career knowing I only ever shot one soccer game my entire college photo career.

MOVING ON AND TAKING NEW STEPS

After two years of the paper, I decided I didn't want to work there for the rest of my time at Texas Tech, so I decided to quit and try out something new. Most of my co-workers who worked with me on the multimedia staff had moved on to work for the Texas Tech Athletics Department, and at the time that had interested me, but I wasn't fully committed yet. While I did practice my photography on the multimedia staff, I did a lot more videography and video journalism even creating a full length media piece on sexual harassment and rape on college campuses, which to this day I am very proud of the work I put into it.

Here is the link to the full article if any one is interested:

http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/communities-unite-to-end-sexual-assault/article_d772c114-2ea0-11e7-9866-d741ec24140b.html

Being more proficient in video than photo at the time, I decided to apply for a job working for the marketing department of the College of Media & Communications. It was something completely different and a new challenge for me creatively. No longer did I search for the hard hitting news, or dive deeper into stories, but instead I was tasked with highlighting events and organizations for the college. It was another opportunity to perfect my skills in video, and I also had the opportunity to take more photo's as well using the departments Canon 5D Mark IV, the camera that would change everything for me.

However, I could go on and on about my days with the college, so let's skip ahead to the part where things start to fall into place for me.

Going on my second year working for the college, I had a yearning to get back into sports photography, with not a lot of demand from the college of media & communications as you can imagine. All my friends were now working for the Athletics Department, and I was feeling a little left out. Those friends were, and still are some of the best photographers in the industry I know. Still seeing video as my primary tool, I decided I would try to get into the Athletics Department through the video side of things.

I asked around and I found the guy I would need to talk to, and he was the head of the video department for Athletics, but he also happened to teach a sports video class. He told me, that he likes to hire interns that come out of his class, and my best shot would be to take a semester of his class and then go from there.

I honestly tried my very hardest in that class, and not to toot my own horn or anything, but I was one of the most skilled in video editing in the class. It allowed me to gain some new knowledge and even allowed me to film some thing I never thought I'd get the chance to, like going to Post, TX with Texas Tech ROTC to film their training camp and create this piece for them.

Finally I had caught his attention, and he asked me when I was graduating. Now I tried to be an over achiever in college and so I had gotten enough credits to graduate a semester early that next December, so that is what I told him. I had high hope but was told "we are looking for someone who is going to be here a little bit longer."

I was honestly crushed and thought that my short lived career in sports photography was over, but I did not give up and there were bigger plans in the works.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

With being turned away from Texas Tech Athletics, I was still working with The College of Media & Communications, now as videographer and photographer. My boss, Clara McKenney knew I was missed shooting sports, and knew I had a talent for photography, so she helped me out.

Before I go on, I need to give you a little preamble. One of the classes I took in my degree was with Robert Giovannetti, who was the Senior Associate Athletics Director at Texas Tech. He had a soft spot in his heart for the people working at the paper, many of who were in my class and my former co-workers, and knew I had worked there before. He liked us in his class and he liked me too.

One day, Clara told me the department would be making some new brochures for prospective students and we were going to need new football photos. I jumped at the opportunity to get back on the field at Jone AT&T Stadium, so she said she would ask Giovannetti to get me a media pass for the upcoming game against University of Houston. I was ready to get back into sports, I had a new passion for it, I had more proficiency in photography, and I had the beautiful Canon 5D Mark IV with me from the department.

The week of the game, I was told to pick up my press pass at the United Supermarkets Arena box office, something I was familiar with doing from my days at the paper. I came up to the window, gave the lady my name, she handed me my envelope and as I opened it I noticed it wasn't one of the janky one time, one game press passes for TTU vs UH, it was a season long Texas Tech Football Media Pass, "Laminated Gold" as far as I was concerned. Giovannetti either misunderstood my boss and was under the impression she needed me to shoot all of the football games, but I like to think he liked me, so he threw me a bone. Either way, I was not going to pass up this opportunity.

Game day quickly arrived and I was extremely excited to be back in the press box at the stadium with all my friends again. I set down my bag and headed down to the field for pre-game with my Canon 5D Mark IV 24-70 mm and my 70-200 mm lenses ready to shoot some football.

The photo's came out better than expected, and I honestly felt on top of the world. For the first time, I felt more at home being there on the field in the middle of the action than being up in the stands. I got the photos my department needed for their brochures, but I wasn't done yet, I was going to shoot every home game that season.

I kept creating more photos from each game and day or night I was truly proud of how they were coming out. Now I wasn't technically affiliated with any organization, so I decided to just boost up my own social media and shoot strictly to grow my portfolio. I started to gain more of a following and people were appreciating my game coverage.

Some of my best memories from college come from shooting football games on the field with my friends.

I had shot about four games by the time homecoming rolled around. Homecoming of course is a big thing at most colleges, but Tech especially since there is such a big Greek population on campus.

I was finally shooting sports photos again, I had a part time job with the communications college, but going into homecoming week I decided to challenge myself. I was determined to go all over campus and shoot every big homecoming event, media pass or no media pass.

The first few events were no issue, they were small things in the Student Union Building that anyone was allowed to go to so, I had no issues taking photos there.

One of the next big events at Texas Tech was S.O. Sing which, if you don't know what that is, is a big dance competition that all the Fraternities and Sororities participate in. People fill the United Supermarkets Arena to watch their brothers and sisters dance, so naturally I had to try to go take photos. I was worried I would not be able to get down on the court without a press pass, but I figured, better to try and be told no than to not try at all. I walked in from the ground level, camera gear in hand, and was met with no resistance. So there I was shooting the entire S.O. Sing, yet again unaffiliated and just using these for my portfolio and social media. Some of the sororities even reached out to me for the photos I took and they posted them on their organization socials.

Scroll through to see the rest of the photos

With that mission accomplished, I was determined to shoot the next event, which was the Homecoming Parade and Pep-Rally. By this time the people and organizers of homecoming events had seen me at every single event and recognized me so I never really got questioned as to what I was doing there. The parade went all around the Tech campus, so it wasn't as easy for me to just run from one spot to the next, but I hopped on a Lime scooter and was able to get some pretty good shots of the floats.

That top right one even got me a shout out from the university president himself!

Once the parade was over, I parked my scooter and headed into the arena for the pep-rally. I really prided myself on getting the shots that really helped paint a picture of the emotions and fun of homecoming.

And of course, I had to take some video as well. I made this piece which actually got some pretty decent traction on social media!

Finally it was time for game day and this time I wouldn't be able to just waltz into The Jones without a media pass, but luckily I had one. The game, the halftime ceremonies, the crowd, I had actually done it, shot every single event for homecoming purely for my own enjoyment!

but the journey still doesn't end there.

FROM THE FIELD TO THE COURT

I didn't want my college sports photography to end there, seeing as I still had a little after a month left to graduate. One day, I saw an opening for a videographer for Lady Raider Basketball. I interviewed for the position, found out I would be tasked with making video of practice and games in order to send to prospective students, and I got the job.

It wasn't initially what I was expecting to do, but I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. I started going to almost every Lady Raider Basketball practice, 8 a.m. workouts, games, etc. Although, my work wasn't going to the Athletics social media, I was adding to my portfolio and coach Marlene was really liking my work. The opportunity gave me a chance to work on my highlight videos and also basketball photography.

Looking back at it now, I have come a long way in the way I shoot, edit, and produce videos, but it was some of my early work.

Women's basketball gets a bad rap. I told myself, I would treat every video with as much hype as the boys get on their videos from the Athletics Department. I really enjoyed shooting with the Lady Raiders and it was great experience for me.

In order to shoot their games, I was given a media pass in order to get on the floor. So here is where things get sneaky, the press pass said 2019-2020 Basketball Media Pass. Not Men's Basketball, not Women's Basketball, just basketball, and that got me thinking.

Could I get into the Men's games with this pass?

I figured it's worth a shot, my credential said Lady Raider Basketball under the department I was with, so each game I would just walk up to the lady checking credentials and just flash my badge real quick and I would let in. Luckily, it was the same lady most of the time so she got to recognize me and I wouldn't have to be as sneaky.

Soon enough, I was shooting men's and women's basketball games and again I took every opportunity I could.

From the court, to the catwalk,I was all over the United Supermarkets Arena. I even waltzed into a volleyball game (no credential needed) to add that to my portfolio as well.

After all of the shooting and sneaking around, I had proven to myself, and Texas Tech that I had the drive, determination, and skill to be a sports photographer/videographer. Unfortunately, it was time to hang up the college 5D Mark iv (don't worry we will be reunited in the future) and graduate.

A few weeks before graduation, I emailed the two local sports teams in my hometown. El Paso Chihuahuas and El Paso Locomotive FC, seeing if there were any jobs available. A week later, I got a call from the head of the Broadcast and Media for El Paso Locomotive (now my boss) telling me they were interested in me, so we had an over the phone interview.

That November, I came in town for Thanksgiving and it worked out that I was able to schedule an in person interview with him and a few other higher ups. Soon after, I was offered the job. So after I graduated from Texas Tech, I had a job waiting for me back home working for a professional soccer team as the lead photographer.

To this day, my boss has told me that the reason he hired me was because he saw how good my work was, and he could also tell that I would be able to join the team and immediately contribute and he wouldn't have to "hold my hand" through the process.

I hope that this can inspire other creators and show them that just because one door closes, you can always make your own path and end up right where you know you belong to be.