Sports Photography with Sophia Jaramillo

For this week’s Talent Spotlight, Sophia Jaramillo sits down to discuss her journey with a camera and the path to her craft of sports photography.

Sophia’s Photography Backstory

Sophia got her first camera when she was 12 and still uses the same one to this day. She remembers fondly her time spent with her mom, watching her take photos and wanting to do the same. After Sophia took a particular interest in this hobby, she saved up all of her “big girl money” and bought her very first camera. After buying this camera she shot anything and everything that she could. She recalls taking pictures of random things such as items around her room, her parents, even her cat’s eye.

What started as a hobby “came back full swing” in college with opportunities through her major in journalism which have allowed her to hone in on this specific craft. In college she began taking more professional pictures for the Ole Miss school newspaper, and then got on board with the Ole Miss Athletics photography team where she continues to practice her skills currently.

How Does She Get the Perfect Shot?

When asked about her strategy when taking her action packed photos, Sophia discusses several practices which includes manipulating the camera settings, focusing in on the “exposure triangle as they call it,” and not only getting the shot, but making the shot worth viewing. When discussing strategy she mentions her fixation on angles. Because everyone has the ability to shoot the same thing if given a camera, Sophia focuses on what she can control to make her photos stand out among the rest, and getting a unique angle is a big part of that.

Sports photography definitely isn’t easy, and there are several challenges that reveal its depth as a hobby, many of which are on the technical side of things such as finding a camera setting that works for you. As Sophia reveals when discussing her personal challenges with sports photography, the post production process is a photographer’s time to shine and the time to allow your photos the creative freedom to stand out, so several of the challenges lie during this phase of the process due to its importance.

She mentions times when editing her photos that the image may be too light, too dark, or maybe she missed the shot all together. She mentions that giving yourself grace for this particular instance is a big challenge, especially in the realm of sports photography when things are always moving and changing. Learning to roll with the punches has proven to be Sophia’s biggest challenge in this roll, but she tries to remind herself that there will always be another opportunity coming up and instead of dwelling on the shot you missed to focus on the shot yet to come.

This mentality was critical as she also shot for press conferences during an internship spent in Washington D.C. in the spring of 2023. She recalls the stakes for this roll being high because of the amount of photos that it takes to get the right shot, especially since people may be making silly faces when they talk. Keeping this in mind, it is incredibly important to get creative with your images. Since there are several images out there of several politicians, she again emphasizes the importance of making your photos stand out amongst the rest, and her time spent in D.C. served very useful in sharpening this skill.

Why Does She Love It?

So what keeps Sophia invested in this hobby? When asked this question, Sophia mentions the rewarding satisfaction of turning a hobby into something that she could make a living from. She recalls the feeling of satisfaction when she sees a tangible result of something that she put effort into, and the feeling of “wow, I made this!” But not only does she love perfecting her own craft, she loves the accessibility that photography provides, and she loves being able to share this interest with other people and see their craft come to life as well.

We are incredibly grateful that Sophia took the time to talk about what she loves, and we hope you love her story as much as we do.

You can find Sophia’s photography page here and check out a few of her beautiful images below.