Everyone has a hidden talent. Most people don’t know that I work as a freelance photographer.
I’ve shot headshots, concerts, weddings, and studio portraits. For newspapers, I’ve covered sports, feature stories, and breaking news. I spent the summer in 2019 traveling across the country with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps documenting the life of one of the nations most storied and successful drum corps. I’ve done a little bit of it all, and I hope to keep expanding.
A brief timeline
My parents got me my first camera for Christmas in 2015. I had asked for one after experimenting with my parent’s Canon Rebel t1i. I thought I would use it a lot, and like a lot of things we try, it turns out I never did. My little Canon 70D sat in a closet for a couple years until the spring of 2018 when a good friend of mine asked me to cover some baseball games for a blog he wrote. My first baseball game was cold and rainy, and I bundled up tight and stuck my camera in a plastic bag to try and protect it. Since that first game, photography has become an integral part of my life and I love the ability to share everyone’s story.
I spent the first year shooting sports casually for that same blog. At the end of my Junior year of college, I was asked to take over the sports photography department at the campus paper, The Daily Illini. Shortly after, I was asked by the director of the Marching Illini to take over as his Media & Public Relations manager for the 2020 season, serving both as principal photographer and head of media.
What I’ve done
Editorial
Sports photography is my primary passion. I love the energy and excitement that comes with shooting sports. The challenge of capturing the perfect moment in the heat of the moment is one that every photographer aspires to. For various outlets, I have covered pretty much every collegiate sports including football, basektball, volleyball, baseball, softball, and cross country. I provide high quality, captioned images on tight deadlines to meet the needs of online and print newspapers. I’ve covered sports for blogs like The Champaign Room as well as newspapers such as The Daily Illini and The News-Gazette.
Although not as frequently, I also cover other editorial photography. I have worked with reporters on feature stories as well as covering breaking news in both Champaign-Urbana and back in my hometown of Naperville, Illinois. Being able to capture images that tell a compelling story of the way the world is and what is going on is my goal. I want readers to be able to feel like they were at an event by conveying strong emotions through my images.
Pageantry Arts
Being a band nerd all my life, I also have a lot of experience shooting bands. After spending three years in the nation’s premier college marching band, the Marching Illini, I served as their photographer for the 2020 season. This included spending all of their preseason camp documenting the journey of prospective members, spending game-days documenting the experience of the band from 7:00am rehearsals all the way through their post game concert. I was with them for many events including the Homecoming Parade and Concert, MI in Concert, and the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara, California. My experience as a performer made me a natural fit for the band, as I took that experience and turned it into my images.
I spent the summer of 2019 travling with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps as their chief photographer. With a team of two other photographers, I set the creative direction of a team that captured dynamic and captivating images for promotional and social media use for a ~$5 million dollar non-profit organization. I told the corps story by becoming nearly an integrated member of the corps. We traveled by tour buses late at night and slept in high school gyms and classrooms. Every day from late May through early August I was telling the story of competitive marching arts through captivating imagry, and I learned a lot about working with a creative team and how to manage and learn from and incorporate feedback.
Miscellaneous
Just like any other photographer, I pride myself on being flexbile. Although my primary work has been in sport and editorial work, I am more than happy to work with anyone on any project! I’ve shot portraits, headshots, weddings, and other events. Do you know a person who needs a fresh LinkedIn picture or just some more recent shots? Are you a business lookig to market some products? I’m more than happy to talk to you. Visit the contact portion of my website to connect with me.
Follow your Passions
I love my day job. Working as a researcher in a social science research firm truly is my passion, and I hope someday to earn my Ph. D. and continue work on event data. However, photography will always be a significant portion of my life. Having a hobby that I am passionate about not only makes me a happier, more rounded human being, but I find that it makes me more productive in my day job too.
Work with me
Do you want to see more? I have a limited selection of my work available on my Instagram Page, and I am happy to share more upon request. Again, head over to my contact widget and connect with me. I hope to have either a dedicated photography website or a more flushed out photography blog on this website soon. Check back soon for updates, and follow your passions!