Finding Confidence Behind the Camera: Spring Training, Sports Photography, and Opening Your Own Doors

Sports

Mar 18

Spring Training baseball is a great reminder that sports photography isn’t always about perfect access or the biggest lens in your bag. Sometimes you don’t have media credentials. Most stadium policies only allow camera lenses under six inches long. No photo pit. No sideline access. No massive telephoto lens. So you work with the tools you have.

Mariner’s Hall of Fame at Peoria Sport Complex | Peoria, Arizona *(Ichiro, Robinson, Griffey, Martinez)*

Sports photographers learn quickly that creativity and adaptability matter more than equipment. When access is limited, the job becomes finding new angles, moving your feet, and capturing the energy of the game from wherever you are allowed to stand. Restrictions don’t eliminate the story. They simply change how you tell it. But there’s another unexpected thing that happens when you carry a camera. It builds confidence.

A camera becomes more than photography gear, it becomes a reason to start conversations and connect with people you might otherwise never approach. Photography creates an opening to introduce yourself, ask questions, and step into new spaces.

At one point during the day, in a sea of Mariners gear, I noticed someone wearing an Everett AquaSox shirt. Many of the fans were from Seattle or have some affiliation, however, being from the Pacific Northwest & the Everett area specifically, this caught my eye.

As he walked by I said, “Hey, nice AquaSox polo.”

Turns out it was Danny Tetzlaff, General Manager of the Everett AquaSox minor league baseball team back in Washington. We got to talking about the game, the 2025 Aquasox championship, photography and of course, comedy since I often shoot locally for Everett Comedy and drive past the stadium. It's funny how comedy really brings people together.

*I am still kicking myself for not taking a photo of him and his championship ring but, c'est la vie. I guess I was too busy enjoying our chat and now I have learned to make sure I get that shot!!

*Photo Courtesy of Everett Aquasocks Instagram account

Shortly after, I noticed a man with a giant lens out in the crowd. Turns out this was Mason from the successful social media channel ; Reds Daily who creates and features memes and graphics of the Cincinnati Reds. He gave me some inspirational advice about blazing your own trail, and going for it.

That’s the power of simply showing up with a camera and saying hello.

Photography has a way of opening doors in unexpected ways. Sometimes those doors are conversations. Sometimes they are connections. Sometimes they are literal rooms you might not have otherwise walked into. When you’re working as a photographer, especially in sports photography or photo journalism, you quickly learn that waiting for permission isn’t always how opportunities appear. Sometimes you introduce yourself. Sometimes you take the shot from the seat you’re in. Sometimes you walk into the room and see what happens. As the saying goes, “well-behaved women rarely make history.” Creative careers rarely grow by standing politely on the sidelines either.