40. Steph VanWagoner: From Starting Over to Sideline Photography for the Detroit Lions

Find Steph on Instagram: her personal account & photography account

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Ever wonder how someone goes from a 911 console to the Detroit Lions’ sideline with a camera in hand? We bring you an intimate, step-by-step look at how freelance photographer Steph Van Wagner built a career in pro sports through smart outreach, gritty portfolio work, and unshakable calm under pressure. From weddings with zero retakes to Ford Field’s catwalk, Steph shares the exact moves that turned a fan POV video into a coffee meeting, then into a season contract.

We dig into the nuts and bolts that most people never see: why “don’t ask for a credential” is rule number one, how contributing photographer contracts and image rights actually work, and the no-gambling policies that can end a season before it starts. Steph breaks down game-day rhythm—arriving before the crowds, rotating between sideline action and partnership deliverables, and using shared presets for cohesive edits—plus the captioning and upload pipeline that keeps content flowing fast. If you’re building a portfolio, you’ll hear practical ways to shoot for free without working for exposure forever, how to DM with purpose, and what kind of questions earn real mentorship.

Steph also opens up about resilience: the portfolio review that left her in tears, the Michigan–Oregon assignment that arrived two weeks later, and the mindset shift that turned criticism into fuel. For women carving a path on male-dominated sidelines, she offers a grounded message—your eye belongs here, your voice matters, and kindness is a competitive edge. Whether you’re an aspiring sports photographer or a curious fan, you’ll leave with a clear playbook for breaking in, staying in, and growing your craft with integrity.

If this conversation pushed you to take your next shot, follow, share, and leave a quick review. Tell us the one skill you’re committing to improve this month—we’ll cheer you on.

Transcript

Welcome, Show Intro, CTA

SPEAKER_02 0:04

You wanna be pretty baby. The games, the games, the games, games on, games, and games on the games, games, games. Hey, it's Victoria, the game's on. Welcome back to another episode of your favorite football podcast by the girls for everyone, the game. Before we get into it, make sure that you're following us on social media at the game the podcast on Instagram and TikTok, and following us on Substack at thegame the podcast.substack.com. That's where you will find our newsletter, our updates on events, and our all girls exclusive group chat. So welcome to the table. Today we are sitting down with Steph Van Wagner. She is a freelance photographer for the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Red Wings, along with freelance photographing many other sports teams around the country. She started as a 911 dispatcher and is a self-made, self-taught

Meet Steph Van Wagner

SPEAKER_02 1:17

photographer. From photographing weddings to outreach to getting on the sidelines at Ford Field, she gives us all the details on what to do and what not to do if you're interested in photography, as well as her experience on the sidelines at Lions Games. I cannot wait. This interview has a little bit of something for everyone. So please enjoy my conversation with Steph Wagner. Steph Van Wagner, welcome to the game.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 1:50

I am so excited to chat with you. You are one of our first on-the-field behind-the-scenes girls on the game. So I'm so excited to talk to you all about how you got into what you got into, about the behind the scenes of your day-to-day activity, being a photographer for pro sports, what your contracts look like, what your life looks like. But before that, I did a photo shoot for the brand yesterday to update my podcast cover. And on my way home, I was thinking like, how do photographers take all of these incredible shots and then not panic immediately that you're gonna lose it?

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Like, is that just I mean, I'm I mean, I'm not gonna lie, that has happened before. I remember reviewing the images on my card at this party that I was photographing, and I got home and it was saying my card was empty. And I was like, You're joking.

Data Panic: Backups And Workflow

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Like I physically seen the images, and now you're telling me they're not there. So I had to buy a software, and sure enough, the car, the photos are still there. You just have to figure out a way to back them up. But as soon as I hit the door in decompress, I put them on my external hard drive, back them up so that way they're safe and I can relax easy, knowing that they're gonna be there.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

So yeah, I was in the car and I was like, I worked so hard on this, right? Like, I'm not a photographer. I have like a nice Sony camera that like helps me with the podcast, and that I like set up on my own. And I was like so proud of it. I put so much work into getting one cover shoot photo. And I'm in the car and I'm like, what if this gets deleted? What if I spill coffee on this camera? What if when I park to go run in and grab my dinner, like somebody steals it? So yeah, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I'm interviewing you tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

So yeah, yeah, it's scary. You gotta think on your toes, that's for sure, and always have like a backup plan for your backup plan. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

So and you've shot weddings as well. So I assume that weddings are even more nerve-wracking than anything else because that's like one day. One and done. One and done.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Yeah, you're one and done. It's not like you can ask the bride like to go back down the aisle with her father, or you know, whoever's walking her down the aisle, like, I need you to do that one more time, please. Or like do their first kiss again, or you know, so it's you have literally

Weddings Are One Shot

SPEAKER_00 4:11

one shot.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Literally one shot. Yeah, I love it. Okay, so you are a freelance photographer. You do weddings, got your start in weddings, and then moved into working with the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Red Wings. So tell us a little bit about how you got into this because I know there are a lot of aspiring photographers, people posting on social. So tell us how you even got into photography in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Okay, well, so I got started back in, I don't know if some of these viewers are gonna be too young for this era, but back when the the black and white images with like the pops of color were cool.

SPEAKER_02 4:53

Oh, yes. Like back if you scroll deep in my Instagram, like what, 2008 or something, you'll find it. Yeah, yeah, you'll find it.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

It was too like late 2000, like 2007, 2010s era, where it was like, wow, this is so artistic

Origin Story And Early Gear

SPEAKER_00 5:12

and it's such an aesthetic. Like, take a picture of a flower, everything's black and white, and then you got the flower and color. It's like, yeah, sheska. So that's like how I got started, just like running around with my digital camera, and then whatever iPhone, like I don't know, four at the time, you know, taking pictures on that. And then I purchased my first kit from Sam's Club. It came with two standard lenses and a camera body. It was like circa 2013, maybe, and just kind of was like doing things for free just to get a hold of like what it was like to be a photographer, you know, a lot of YouTube university. But, you know, I evolved from there and I started taking on bigger things like engagements, family sessions, weddings, things like that. And it wasn't even technically my full-time job. I always did it as a side side hustle. So I was actually a full-time 911 dispatcher, and photography was my stress reliever. You know, I'm working 12, 16 hour shifts on my weekends off. I'd be shooting weddings, families, things like that. So, I mean, that's really I've been doing this, I mean, professionally for about 10 years or so, weddings and things like that. But yeah, I just, you know, I took a leap of faith in 2022. It was September. I told myself I was over it and I quit my full-time job. I didn't have anything established. I just was like, I'm done. And I absolutely took a leap of faith and started my business and, you know, just evolved from there. And yeah, that's that's I mean, that's where I'm at today. And we can get into how I got started with sports too. Yeah. That's a whole nother story in itself.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Okay. Before we go into more photography, what is the qualification? Like, how does one become a 911 dispatcher? Because that is a very necessary job for the world, but also like very niche and feels very stressful.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

It was incredibly stressful. I actually left twice and came back. Like it was very much that like love-hate kind of relationship. But it was like, it was one of those things that you know, you felt as if that career was, you know, you wanted it to be a career, and that was like your end-all be-all. Like you were never gonna make any more money than you know what they were paying you. You know, they had all of these benefits, and there was there was a ton of benefits. The pay was great, the overtime pay, holiday pay, you know, it's it was phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

And it's like I can't get better than that, you know. So that's kind of how they suck in. But but it was I hired in in 2016. I didn't have any sort of experience, as you know, as far as like being a 911 dispatcher. The only experience I had was listening to the police scanner when I was little with my grandpa. That's the only experience that I had um was listening.

911 Dispatch: Training And Stress

SPEAKER_02 8:12

You're bringing up all these throwbacks.

SPEAKER_00 8:14

I know a police scanner. People are gonna be like, It's a police scanner. Like it was like a literal like brick of a scanner, like that we would sit and listen to. Wow. So nostalgic. But anyway, so that's what you know, that's what we used to sit and listen to. But there was a series of like tests that you had to go through. You had to go through an extensive psych evaluation, all these different things in order to get hired. Once you're hired, there's about six months or so of training. And I worked in a very busy dispatch center. Okay. So, you know, you would train on phones and then you would train on police radio, EMS radio, fire radio. So there was all these different things. But yeah, it's it's one of those things where it's super stressful. But, you know, you got the job done and made sure all the first responders got home at the end of the night, even though you're on the radio end, but you want to make sure that those that are front-facing, like they they get home to their families at the end of the night.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

And that they're safe.

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Do you think that that level of empathy and ability to handle stressful situations made being on the sidelines, like at your first Lions game, any easier than maybe if you had had a more average HR job or something like that?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Yeah, absolutely. Like I see sometimes in in this is, you know, within the photography world and other, you know, other things as well. I see things that get people so hyped up and stress them out. And I'm like, it's not that big of a deal. You know what I mean? Like, I stay, you know, because I've been put in those situations where I have to stay calm, cool, collected, that somebody else's big emergency is not a big emergency to me. But you know, I have to treat it as such and you know, go with their flow thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Yeah, your fire is not my fire.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Exactly. Yeah, so I um like I'm used to I'm used to chaos. I'm used to and I almost I almost thrive in that kind of environment. Like it just it pushes me even more.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

The chaos and the unknown and everything. So yeah, it it's wild what a job like that will do to my whole demeanor as a

Calm Under Pressure On The Sideline

SPEAKER_00 10:36

photographer.

unknown 10:37

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah, okay. Well, thank you for sharing that because that is a a wild, a wild job. Let's get back to the photography side. So you said that you started doing things for free. What kind of events are we talking? Are we talking like family's birthday parties, or are you just going places that you were normally gonna go and like bringing your camera?

SPEAKER_00 10:57

So gosh, it was my like one of my friends' kiddos, he was I think two at the time. I took pictures of him in like their front yard. And then like I took pictures of my cousin's birthday party. She was turning maybe seven, you know, seven or eight. Just to get a general feel for my camera and settings and things like that. You know, I had no idea what I was doing. But it's, you know, those things are like that, are like opportunities to learn more. But yeah, I would like take senior pictures and family pictures, or again, I'd go back out and I'd take pictures of flowers and you know, my dogs and things like that. So anything that I could take pictures of, I was annoyingly like there with my camera.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

Yeah, okay, okay, that's awesome. And okay, tell us about the transition. So you started to take photos, you started to build somewhat of a portfolio. What did it look like jumping from weddings and family portrait photography, which you still do a little bit of, into sports? Like, were you always interested in sports? How did that transition come to come to life?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Okay, so it's one story. Okay, so I've been around sports my entire life, right? Like I I played softball, volleyball, soccer, I cheered, my brother played travel hockey,

Free Shoots And Building Skills

SPEAKER_00 12:29

baseball, golf. You name it.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

Sports girl.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Sports, we revolved uh around sports. If we were having Sunday dinners at my grandparents' house, you know, the TV in the living room was turned to face the dining room because the lions were playing or the tigers were playing, and it didn't matter. Sports were on TV. Like we lived, breathed, ate sports. And but it I, you know, I at one point when I was in school, I was like, do I want to do something in sports marketing or sports management or you know, anything like that? But I hated school. I hated school. So, you know, I went through all these different jobs. I went to, I have college credits, I didn't finish college, I had all these other full-time jobs as 911 dispatcher, and then you know, photography kind of fell into play. And I just decided one day, like my boyfriend and I went to a Michigan basketball, Michigan men's basketball game in January of 2023. He actually just brought it up like a week ago. And I was videoing on my iPhone because we had I had bought like third row seats. So I was like, oh, this would be cool. Like, I'm gonna try to play with like the video on my iPhone. And so like I created this whole like hype video as like a fan POV.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

And I uploaded it to Instagram and like the some of the basketball players saw it and they were like, hey, can like you send me that clip and so on and so forth. I was like, this is sick. This is sick. I'm on to something here. So I decided why not try photographing sports? So I contacted a local community college. I mean, this was February of 2023. I contacted a local local community college and was like, hey, like I'm wanting to get into sports. Do you mind if I come photograph a few games? You know, I'll give you whatever I edit, you know, do with them what you will. I just want to get my feet wet with this. Yeah, no problem. Of course, everybody likes, you know, free pictures and things like

From Fan POV To First Sideline

SPEAKER_00 14:30

that. So I started photographing the basketball games, did a little bit of research on YouTube just to see like what my settings needed to be. But outside of that, like I learned everything while I was sitting there, what worked it, what didn't work, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, all that other kind of stuff. And fast forward to April 2023, I was photographing a friend's varsity baseball team. Go photograph some baseball. You know, it's a different sport. Why not try it? It's a different change of pace. I'm outdoor, natural lighting. Let's see how this goes. So I built up a little bit of a portfolio, and I was like, I wonder what it takes to be in sports full-time as a photographer. So I then started, I call it Josh Allen, the Josh Allen of the photography world. I just start submit, like I just start DMing and emailing any athletes, like, hey, if you want free pictures of you working out, you know, whatever, like I'm just trying to build portfolio. I would reach out to team photographers at like a college level, professional level, asking for advice or feedback on my portfolio, or, you know, do you need any sort of degree to get into the sports photography world? You know, what what do you need for next steps? Like, how do you get to that point and things like that? So I I did that enough. I was left on read. I was answered and then ignored and ghosted and all this other stuff. And I'm like, somebody's gotta answer. And the team photographer with the Detroit Lions ended up responding and like a few hours later,

The DM Strategy That Worked

SPEAKER_00 16:06

and I thought, there's no way, there's no way he's gonna see it. Like, why am I even doing this? You know, like what's the point? And he ended up responding. This was May of 2023, and he ended up responding, and uh, we met for coffee and went over everything the next day. And yeah, I signed a contract with them in June of 23.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

So wow. So wild.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

I know, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:30

Wild. So you're inviting them, you're saying, Hey, I'm looking to build my portfolio. I would love to shoot with you. How did you get to a coffee with him? Did you ask for the coffee? Or was he like, oh, nice? So you just said, I'm looking to build my portfolio. Here's here's what I have. And he said, Let's grab a coffee.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Yeah, I, you know, I asked for advice, you know, I I still have our conversation saved. Just do I need a degree? Are you willing to give me feedback? You know, how do you get to this level? So on and so forth. And like we we exchanged some messages of, you know, him being transparent with what it takes and you know, things like that. And then he's like, well, you know, something along the lines of if you're if you're free tomorrow, I can review your portfolio. I'd be happy to help or answer any questions that you have.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

So being the emotional person that I am, I started crying and screaming, and I was like, I can't believe it. So yeah, so I met with met with him to have coffee, and I yeah, the rest, the rest is history.

SPEAKER_02 17:33

So amazing. I it's crazy how many people actually are willing to help you. Yeah. Even people that you don't know, they're like, oh, I was in your shoes once, or hey, we actually have openings. Like, let me tell you what I know. Yeah, it always is surprising because people are like, oh, well, it's so hard to get in, and people are so hard to reach, but you never know.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

No, exactly. And like if you shoot your shot, I mean, you never know what's gonna happen. And I I feel really bad. This is something that's been super heavy on my mind, is I feel really bad because like my

Contracts, Rights, And Policies

SPEAKER_00 18:06

DMs are full of questions and but you know, my my mental capacity sometimes is just I don't have a lot there to like answer. And I feel really bad. It's like one of those things where it's like, okay, I need to take a day and respond to these people because like I was there once. Like I wild to think that like three years ago I was trying to push for advice and feedback and things like that. So 2026, that's what I'm gonna try to do better is to is to actually start responding and carrying on conversations with, you know, these these new photographers in my DMs. Cause I yeah, I've been there and I know it's just with all that I have going on, it's it's difficult to uh to try to have that mental bandwidth at the end of the day to carry a conversation. So we'll promise.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Girl, she's coming for you, she's gonna help you. You just gotta be patient. You just gotta be patient. Okay, what are it like maybe we could do the top three questions you get asked right now and just answer some of them for them and just put them on social.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

The ones that they do ask, you're like run on. You know what I mean? Like, so the biggest questions, and I think what not to ask. Well, okay, we'll do we'll do this. I love it. So we'll say what not to ask. Like, if you are a new a student photographer, a new an aspiring photographer, and you want to know what it takes to get to that next level, do not under any circumstance message or email a photographer and say, Can I get a credential for X game? That's it's usually a an error, you know. You know, that's that's not something that's not the way to ask.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

You want to neck network the correct way and you want to make a good impression, you know, be inquisitive and know that like your chance will come eventually. You know, there's a timing for literally

Season Structure And Assignments

SPEAKER_00 20:19

everything. Mine just happened to be that one random day in May, you know what I mean? That's they were decided, it was decided. Hey, it's your turn. So it's yeah, it's just don't ask for that because it's that's usually gonna get you not responded to, yeah, unfortunately. But yeah, I just don't ask that. Yeah, just ask for feedback, advice, and you know what what it takes to get to that level, because you know, you you'll leave some sort of impression if you start off on the right foot and not like hey, just can I get a credential?

SPEAKER_02 20:56

Right, because you're like, I don't know you, like I can't know, like I don't know you. You can't I can't bring you with me to my professional job that I'm getting paid for, that I may, especially as like a freelancer, you know, like you can't have that authority to do so, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

I'm I'm a contracted photographer, like I don't I'm not the team photographer, you know, to where I can be like, sure. You know, I don't I don't call the shots, like I I contribute to the organization and to the photo team, but I can't do that for you.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

Yeah. So don't maybe one day. Yeah, maybe one day, but don't ask for the credential. So I mean what I'm hearing is don't make too big of an ask, but ask for feedback and send some of your work so then you can at least leave a good impression. Yeah, for sure. I think that's really good advice. Because also, if you you're someone who, if you see an incredible portfolio, you might be like, oh my gosh, I love this. This is what I would tweak if you're sending it in, or let me connect. Connect you with X. Right. Yeah. It's like put, don't put the cart before the horse. Like make sure you're doing the work before you ask for something as big as a credential.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yes. Yeah. You know, because a credential that takes a that's a lot. And you know, that's I mean, that's a big ask. And yeah, it's just

Sponsor Break: Kusos

SPEAKER_00 22:17

not something that everybody, it's they can't pass it out like candy. Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

Right. Okay. So how does one get a credential? Is it through like on the photography by photography side? Is it all through freelance and like contracting in? Like what does that look like in terms of actually getting your credential? Because you sign, well, let's start with this. Tell me about the contracts that you sign with the Lions, Red Wings, and Tigers and what each of those looks like in terms of the work that you produce for them.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

So the Lions, Tigers and Wings, it's a little bit different. You know, technically I'm a contributing photographer for them. I contribute to, I mean, it's it's all three teams, but I contribute to the organization the organization, the rights,

Game Day Routine And Roles

SPEAKER_00 23:07

they have the rights to everything. Okay. So like I can't sell or profit or any of that stuff under, you know, with my work. Like it's all theirs, which is fine, great. You know, my name's on it with them. You know, I get credit for it, but it's copyrighted to, you know, it's copyrighted to them. Got it. You know, and just that like things don't get, you know, again, reproduced for profit and things like that. We can use them for our own social, our portfolio and things like that. But I mean, the biggest thing is just that we can't make any sort of profit off of those images.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

And to abide by the rules, you know, NFL, they're big on the no gambling policy. Baseball and hockey, they, you know, they they're more like no gambling on that side, but I don't gamble anyway, so it's not something that I have to worry about. So I don't yeah, I don't pay mental to it. I just know that one day I panicked when I saw somebody hacked my account and there was bet MGM on my statements, and I was like, no, you're joking, like this can't happen. This can't be happening. I was like, please, I'm gonna lose my job. Like, I really love my job. Well, so I panicked, but anyway, I I'm a rule follower, so yeah, I just I stay away from all that kind of stuff. Anything that can get me in trouble or a mistake, I'll cry and yeah, I'll have anxiety about it for weeks, three to five business days. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:46

Okay. So how long are your is your contract for with the lines? Are you going season to season? Are you going game to game? Are you home games and away?

SPEAKER_00 24:58

It's season to season. Okay. So, you know, each season it's asked, like, hey, do you plan on coming back for you know the 2026-27 season? Yes, okay. I'll send you the contract, sign it, just send it back so that way we have an updated contract agreement.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

So yeah, it's just season to season. And with the Detroit Lions, it's every home game events with any players or community relations, public relations, you know, things like that. And then we have the opportunity to photograph concerts that take place at Ford Field. So we're considered like the house photographers. If the touring manager, if the tour allows us to photograph, some tours won't allow it. But yeah, so it's, you know, there's a lot, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with with that.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

So are you required to do it, like, are you caught you're contracted for the games, but is it a requirement that you're at every game, every community event, or do you get to pick and choose what you're so it's it's a requirement for us to be at every home game because each of us, each each photographer has their own responsibility on game days, but we have two backup freelancers. So for some reason, like I can't

Editing Pipeline And Presets

SPEAKER_00 26:16

be there, you know, like then they'll bump everybody up, kind of like, you know, and then they'll fill in the the backup freelancer somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 26:26

Um and so you become like a team with the other freelancers because you guys are there every weekend together. Yes. That's so fun. Because you kind of think about like freelance, a lot of a lot of freelancers kind of have like a lonely path because they're kind of always on your own. Like you're dealing with your business expenses and your own business stuff on the side, as well as like other events, weddings, all of that. So it's really cool that you can kind of build community because you're there on game day every single week. I feel like this is different than maybe, yeah, maybe other freelance industries. If you're a little bit bored of your weekday food routine and you need to spice it up, it's winter, it's cold, and we know that sometimes a good meal, especially when it's dark, really hits the spot. That is why I love and I use every single day Kusos. Kusos is seasonings, tallows, sauces, and some knives that will really spruce up your winter meals and make you feel more warm and happy inside, not to mention the ability to use them while you're grilling on game day. You can build your own pack. You can order one at a time, you can order some sauces, you can bundle them. So if you are looking to make your meals a little bit better, maybe you want to use Waegu beef tallow. Maybe you want to use their classic dirt seasoning, which is looks sexy all in itself because it is a black seasoning. If you want some hot honey chicken, Kusos is your place to go. The flavors are bold, so you don't need that much seasoning, which means they last a long time.

Relationships On The Field

SPEAKER_02 28:10

And they will indeed make your food so much more delicious. If you want 10% off your order, head to kusocuts.com slash the game or use code the game no spaces at checkout. Thank you, Kusos, for supporting us here at the game. Okay, so walk us through a game day. Because my game day is like if I'm at home, I'm like wake up, sip coffee, put on my little outfit, like sit down, watch the game, make food, whatever, chat with the girls. So, what does your game day look like from the photography side?

SPEAKER_00 28:43

If I'm feeling super froggy, I will I'll pack everything the night before.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Make sure all my batteries are charged, make sure everything's packed, my laptop, my external hard drives, make sure my cards are ready, the shot list is ready. However, there's most days that I do everything the night before, the morning of, I panic and think I'm gonna forget something. So unfortunately, I'm kind of tight being that aspect. Like I get things done the morning of and I kind of run around, but that's like that's the way I know that I'm not forgetting anything. Is like again, chaos. I thrive in chaos. So um back to that. But so I get everything ready. I live about an hour from Detroit. So my day starts a little bit earlier than most. So I get up, I'm a creature of habit, I have to have my coffee, my scrambled eggs, and my toes.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Yeah, I saw bio online. You're like, I eat the same breakfast every single day.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

No, I do, and it's been like for years. Like, and some people might think it's psychotic. No, like I am fixated on it. I don't know why.

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Okay, but if it works, it works. And if you like it, then you like it. I mean, I just started eating breakfast literally months ago because I just don't like breakfast food, and so I force myself to make eggs, but my day actually goes better and I feel like hotter and healthier if I have like protein in the morning. And so I eat the exact same breakfast as you. I eat two scrambled eggs, avocado toast, and a coffee every day.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

And I feel like if I switch it up and eat oatmeal or like cereal, my day is just off.

SPEAKER_02 30:25

Yeah, like what if you get hungry? Like, that's so inconvenient.

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Like, what I know, I know, and it's like, I don't know, it's just been that way for literal years. Like, as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning, like I have to eat. Okay, it's a routine, and it's fine. I'm not that crazy, I promise.

SPEAKER_02 30:44

But like this is normal. This is, I feel like this is actually a very normal thing. Like, we have our breakfast that we eat, like it's you're professional, you're a working person. Like, we gotta have routines, otherwise, we're gonna everything's gonna get jacked up.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Somebody out there does the same thing as

Fan Vs. Pro: Headspace Shift

SPEAKER_00 31:01

me somewhere. It's fine. But um, but yeah, so I get everything ready, load up my car, and I head to Ford Field. Depending on the game, usually it's a one o'clock game. If we're lucky, it's a night game and I get to sleep in. But I like to get to the stadium, I like to get to the parking garage by about 8:30, 9 o'clock in the morning. Okay. That way I can beat traffic, I can beat like the fans coming in, I can get in, go through security, make sure that's all taken care of, get down to the photo room, get my stuff all set up, my laptop, my hard drives, cameras, batteries, new name it, make sure it's set up. But then I kind of like to just sit there for a while and yep with everybody else as they arrive. And yeah, I don't I don't like to be super rushed once I get there. Like I like to just chill, you know, because I know once 11 o'clock hits or 11:30, once the doors open, like shit hits the fan. You know what I mean? So, and you just hit the ground running once those doors open because like the shot lists that you have to take care of are anywhere from activations outside at Pride Plaza, the concourse, concessions, you know, the the I mean, the shot list is all over the place, you know, yeah, celebrities on the field or it varies from week to week. But yeah, so I depending on like this season, I was able to, or not able to, I was sideline. Okay. So I was game action, assisting the team photographer, and then I would flip-flop with another photographer, he would be game action, and then I would photograph like the LEDs, the partnerships, and things like that. So the video boards, and then I'd go up into the catwalk and photograph game action.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

So each each home game was different. Yep. You know, I was either on the sideline or I was up top doing partnership stuff with the, you know, with the ribbon LEDs, or and then up in the catwalk, which is my favorite.

SPEAKER_02 33:08

Yeah. And then game ends, and you just like go home when it's over and then send in your stuff.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

Yeah, pretty much. I it's it's one of those things, you know, I it's the

Pinch-Me Moments And Milestones

SPEAKER_00 33:20

bonus of living an hour away. You know, I can decompress as I'm driving home from such a long day. Usually like I will get out of there at about 5:30, uh no, six, six thirty in the evening. You know, so it's a like a almost a 12-hour day, 10, yeah, nine. It's it's a long day. So I get home. Sometimes I download my stuff while I'm there. Sometimes I download it when I get home. Just depends on how sleepy I am. Yeah. But anything on game days, we freelancers don't have to edit. We just have to caption tag slash keywords, I'll say, and then upload them to our system. So events we have to edit, but game days we don't have to. That's so awesome.

SPEAKER_02 34:10

I feel like that makes this job way more attractive. Yeah. Like you shoot, you upload it, you write the captions, and then it's gone. Because a lot of photographers that I've talked to or like on social media, the presence of a lot of photographers is like, I hate editing, or like just spent the longest day of my life editing, or when I'm editing, I'm in a t-shirt, like I'm in a hoodie and I feel disgusting because I hate it. And so it seems like editing is like the least liked task in a photographer's life.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

It's kind of a drag. Um, it I mean, okay, so I lied. It isn't it isn't like for events and stuff, yeah, fine. Like, that's cool. Like, I'll hurry up and edit them. Cause like the team photographer for lions and tigers and wings, it's the same team photographer for tigers and wings. Okay. They each create a template or a preset for all of us freelancers to use and that they use also, but to keep things cohesive and all of the edits the same. They send us, you know, what they use on game days. So that way when it's our turn to edit, we can use those those presets and then send it in, and it has a cohesive look.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

So okay, nice. What um what editing software do you? I know it's like probably different for different people, but what editing software do you use? This is like a personal question.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

Um, no, no, like no, that's fine. Lightroom, uh Lightroom Classic.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

Okay, cool.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Yeah, and it's it's come a long way. Like it's made editing a breeze, like with all of the updates and everything that they have. It's yeah, it's phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

Okay, that's phenomenal. That's awesome. Good to know because somebody may or may not be editing their entire photo shoot they did yesterday.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Lightroom classic girl, don't do mobile. Don't do mobile. Okay, Lightroom Classic.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

Great. I did figure out how to get my camera photos to my phone from the camera, like you can connect them, which is awesome. So that's that's cool. Yep. Okay, let's talk a little bit more about game day. Have you built rapport with like players that you're consistently photographing? Uh, maybe like families on the field. Like, do you build relationships with them, or is it kind of like, what is it, like a symbiotic relationship where you're like taking the photo? I don't, that's a weird way to say it. Sorry. Season over season, you're kind of around, you're around the same people. So how does that work if it does?

SPEAKER_00 36:29

I'm not gonna lie, I'm terrified to talk to the players unless they talk to me. Okay, okay. Like, hey, or what's up or whatever. I'm like, hey, how are you? Like, I still like sometimes don't know how to like I know that they're people, but I don't know, like I don't want to get in trouble for talking to them. I don't know. I'm just again, I'm one of those individuals that I'm like, I do what I'm told, and like once I'm told something, like I don't want to screw it up or like overstep thing. But you know, like if somebody introduces themselves to me or whatever, I'm like, oh hey, yeah, you know, how are you? I'm Stephanie, and so I mean, the families and stuff, absolutely. The families have been great. There's some that I talk to all the time. Kathy Agnew, she is an absolute angel on this earth. And then the Hutchinsons are phenomenal, they're a phenomenal family. Mia, who I, you know, speak to like when I see her. Yeah, I mean, she's so sweet, and so is Melissa. Hopefully they don't they don't watch this and like they're like we say I'm like, what? What do you mean? But no, like there's they're so sweet, and you know, they have a photography background. You know, Melissa, yeah, Melissa takes a lot of photo, you know, she's a photographer, Mia. But yeah, it's just one of those things that, you know, they got talking to me at an event for Aiden. This was a couple seasons ago, and they found out I was the only female photographer. Yeah. On on the team. And they were like, we need her back, right? Yeah,

Rejection, Reviews, And Resilience

SPEAKER_00 38:09

they were stoked about it. I know they were so stoked about it. They were like, no, we love it. Women in sports, you know, we love to see the girlies. And so yeah, that's how Louis kind of got connected, and you know, that they also are photographers. So yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, we kind of just built that built that bond over photography, and yeah, they're super, they're super sweet. But yeah, I, you know, I try to say hi to you know, those that are on the sideline and you know, before the before the games and things like that. But most of the time, like I'm you're doing your job. My head's wives, and I have like blinders on. And if somebody says my name, I'm like, you're like, where's that coming from?

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Not my friend's voice, so who are you?

SPEAKER_00 38:51

Who's saying my name? But yeah, yeah. I'm just I'm very much in focus mode, like when when I have the cameras in my hand, and but do you is it like how much are you enjoying the game?

SPEAKER_02 39:05

Because you grew up being a sports fan, you know, you talked about your family. Like, how much are you enjoying the game? Because I feel like it's gotta be kind of hard to like focus on what's actually happening while you're also focus on focusing on like taking a great photo.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

Yeah, that. Um, so it's so funny that you asked that because I actually just thought about this at one of the games. I will sit on the sideline and I'm not like numb to the fact that like you know, I'm doing this, but like normally I would be like, yeah, you know, if I was at home watching it or something and yelling and hollering and screaming and getting into it. But now that I'm around it all the time, I'm just like I want to watch garbage TV kind of thing. But it's so it's it's not that you know, I love what I do, it's just one of those things I'm so used to it now that it's not not a thing anymore. Yeah, don't get me wrong, like I still like I cry. Like you're still a fan. I'm still a fan, but it's just a different, you know, I'm at a it's a different level, you know. It's because I'm part of it, then it's just a little, it's it's a little bit different feeling now. And you know, at the beginning of each season, like my first season with the Lions, I cried a lot just because I was so appreciative. And I, you know, I still am appreciative of where I'm at and thankful and I'm grateful every day. But you know, in the beginning of this season, when I was before they ran out of the tunnel and everything, and just hearing like the vibe, like feeling the vibrations of like the yelling and the fans cheering and the music and just the whole atmosphere. I'm sitting there and I'm like, Yeah, I can't believe I'm doing this. Like, yeah, I still have so many pinch me moments, but it's one of those things now where I've kind of separated myself that I, you know, like this is my profession, and I'm here to do my job, and I can be a fan a different time in a sense.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

Okay, give me your best pinch me. I cannot believe this is happening, or like favorite moment from shooting games, whether that's with the lions or with Red Wings Tigers, and you can give a couple because we got time.

SPEAKER_00 41:32

You know what?

Women On The Sidelines

SPEAKER_00 41:33

I wish I would have shared my live photo with you. Or it's yeah, it's a live photo because my boyfriend's okay. Yeah, I will. So all right. So one of my favorite moments, I mean, I have a lot of favorite moments. Okay, so readjust. Let's go. All right, let's just go through it all. Okay, so I, you know, when I first started with Alliance, I was told that I was going to be kind of like a backup.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 42:03

No problem. Grateful that I'm here. Yeah. Absolutely. Happy to be here. That was in July at training camp. In August, I was actually photographing a varsity football game. And the team photographer texts me and he's like, Hey, can I call you really quick? I get super nervous. Because why does he want to call me at eight o'clock at night? Anyway, so he calls and he's like, Hey, what are you up to? I was like, Oh, nothing. Just photographing a varsity football game. He's like, Oh, okay. He's like, Hey, I got a question for you. Do you um do you want a full season spot with us? Immediately started balling my eyes out. There's like people like all lined up around the fences, and I'm running, like sprinting, jumping, crying, trying to like keep it together. Like it was just so many emotions at once. I'm like, yeah, of course. Are you kidding me? Yeah, so big. So, anyway, that was one moment. Another moment was just being being at my first game.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

There'll never be anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 43:05

I no, no, I I I cried all the time that first season. Another cool moment was meeting Barry Sanders during the draft. Like, yeah, that was awesome. Yeah. Um, so that I mean, that was that was another moment. I didn't I didn't cry surprisingly, but no, it was it was really cool.

SPEAKER_02 43:26

You're like, if there's one day to keep it together, it's right now.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

No, I don't know. And then another moment I would say was I photographed a Michigan football game as a freelancer. This was last October. I had just gone through a portfolio review and I got torn up from the flora with that review. I called my boyfriend crying. I said I shouldn't be doing this. Need to do something else, like maybe I'm not meant to do this, you know. And that review, he told me, Oh, you're almost there. I was like, Oh, okay, okay. So I kept that in the back of my mind, right? So fast forward two weeks, an Oregon sports outlet

Practical Advice For New Photographers

SPEAKER_00 44:18

reached out to me and wanted me to work for them to photograph the Michigan Oregon game. When I got that confirmation email, I Kim Kardashian cried, like ugly cried. And I was on FaceTime with my boyfriend when I read that I was approved to shoot that game. He screen recorded and took screenshots and everything. And I like it's the worst face ever. But it was just one of those things where it was just like, holy shit, like yeah, all of this is unfolding after I had this kind of review and being told this, that now all of a sudden, like I'm going to be sharing the sideline with upset person that said you're almost there. And like someone thought I was good enough to be there. You know what I mean? So that was that was probably my biggest, oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening to me kind of thing. Was Michigan football of all things, but but yeah, I it's just every moment's a great moment, you know what I mean? It's just especially when you can do what you love and you know, you work a day at your what's what's the saying.

SPEAKER_02 45:33

It's like if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.

SPEAKER_00 45:36

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Yeah, I like the most believe that.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

Yeah, yeah. It's like all through we have our days, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

Yeah, some days are the best days of your life. Like some days you're like interviewing people and doing the coolest things, and other days you're up at three o'clock in the morning because you're panicking about something that maybe doesn't need to be panicked about, but it's a big deal to you. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

And exactly. I do my best thinking at night.

SPEAKER_02 46:04

Yeah, I used to wake up really anxious at night, and I'd be like, oh my gosh, this means that like something bad is happening. Like, why am I so anxious? Like something terrible must be happening. And then I don't know like what Instagram I came across or like what mindset shift or like what God came down to me. And he was like, and I now when I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm like, I'm feeling this way because anxiety is just energy. And like, I don't mean that in like a clinical anxiety thing. Right. I mean like if your body is like feeling anxious outside of again being like clinically anxious or having like the mental health concern, but like feeling anxiety is just energy. And so that can be, oh, it was my gymnastics coach from college. And yeah, he said, nerves are just energy and you get to decide how you use them. And so now when I've been waking up at three o'clock in the morning, maybe for like the past year, maybe like six months, I've been like, oh my gosh, maybe I'm anxious because something really, really great is happening. And so when I'm up in the middle of the night, I'm like, should I pull out my laptop? Like, should I be brainstorming something? Should I be working on something? And that has like changed my life completely because, like, yeah, I'm exhausted. Like last night was one of those nights. It was two o'clock in the morning. And I was like, why am I awake right now? But I was like, maybe it's because something really epic is happening in the next like 24 hours, or maybe I'm gonna like have a breakthrough, which I did in the middle of the night. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:27

So yeah, we'd love to hear it. Yeah, and I and I try to think that way too. You know what I mean? Like, I have interviewed with other sports

Starting Over At 31

SPEAKER_00 47:36

teams out of state, you know, I've interviewed with them again the following season, and it's just no thank you, no thank you, no thank you. And instead of beating myself up, like it's one of those things, like it's like, okay, this is happening for a reason. Something is going to happen down the line, whether it's like tomorrow, next year, a year and a half from now, like something is going to come up for me when it's the right time. So, like, I just try to tell myself, like, there is something out there. Someone will say yes at some point. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 48:12

So, which is exactly how you got to where you got to.

SPEAKER_00 48:16

Yep, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 48:17

Last thing I want to talk about before we go is you're obviously a woman working in sports in a male-dominated field, in a male-dominant, a male sport, essentially. What has the experience been like from the female perspective? Getting your foot into the door, being on the field, and like building opportunities?

SPEAKER_00 48:41

I think it's one of those things where we are being taken more seriously in this field because there is starting to be more of us, you know, whether it's a photography side or videography side, like we are meant to be here just as much as the fellas are meant to be here. You know what I mean? We bring, you know, everybody has a different story to tell. You know, somebody might love the motion blur like I do, or you know, everybody has a different way of looking at something.

SPEAKER_01 49:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 49:16

You know, it's it's so subjective. But I just I think it's super important for the women and the girls who are aspiring to be in this spot to just keep keep going. You deserve a spot at the table. You deserve your flowers. It's just one of those things that, like, we we deserve to be here. You know, we can do the same things that the guys are doing.

SPEAKER_02 49:46

So just keep doing it.

SPEAKER_00 49:47

Yeah, just keep going, keep pushing, keep taking pictures, keep videoing. I want aspiring photographers to know that, you know, to ask the questions, to to learn every aspect of your camera, editing, be open to feedback and be open to constructive criticism because it's the only way that you're going to get better. I love, love constructive criticism. I love feedback because I I don't know everything. You know, things are always evolving and things are always changing, whether it be, you know,

Thick Skin, Kindness, And Growth

SPEAKER_00 50:20

in the sports world, the wedding world, the family photography world, there's new trends happening all the time too. So just keep learning.

SPEAKER_01 50:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:29

Keep learning. Don't ever think that you're you're too good to learn a new skill or to learn a new task. Be it and be a team player. Be kind. It's so important to be kind in this industry. Like so, so important. Like, if that's one takeaway, it's just be kind. Like your smile, your hello, your how are you, you know, whether it be to another male photographer or another female photographer on the sideline, like that can make a huge difference and that can leave a big impression, or you know, so just be kind to everybody. I I've dealt with that too, you know. So I just I've had bad days, and somebody, hey, how are you? And I'm like, God, thank you. How are you? You know, just it's just that one little, one little hi or smile or something that makes such a huge difference, and and be helpful, communicate. These are all so many important things. So many important things. I know, I know. I feel like I kind of got off topic with that, but like it's good advice, and the girls need to know it, right?

SPEAKER_02 51:36

Like, there are so many women who maybe love photography as a hobby, but they're like, Oh, I could never, or maybe they're having their first shot coming up in the 2026 season, and they like want a little bit of a guidebook, and you just gave it to them on like how to present yourself and and what it looks like to be there. So also, I love a bird walk.

SPEAKER_00 51:59

So yeah, yeah, and it's never too late to start. It's never too late. I it's never too late. I had to start over at 31, you know. I divorced, had to move out, got my own apartment, things like that. Like, so I started over, you know, and starting a business and things like that. Like, it's okay to start over in your 30s, like it's okay. And you know, never say never because it's you never know where something is going to take you.

SPEAKER_02 52:31

Yeah. I feel like that really hits home for me because I'm 31, went through a breakup seven months ago, and I was like, oh, this is Endgame. Like we lived together a whole thing. And then we broke up, and then this podcast like came to life, and now I'm on the brink of moving and making some like massive changes and like building this business and seeing how far I can take it. You just, yeah, you never know what's gonna happen. And sometimes, like, the you know, you mentioned the photographer that ripped apart your portfolio, and then two weeks later you're getting like a huge acceptance. And I think like people will say sometimes, like sometimes everything kind of has to burn for everything to like come to life, or everything has to find if everything's falling down, then the chances that you're like on the edge of something good is like pretty high.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Yeah, and it's and it's one of those things too where it's like I've had to change my way of thinking, you know, because growing up, it was always like, you know, with sports, especially, you know, it was always you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this wrong, or da-da-da-da-da. Like it was always room for improvement. And so I kind of think I've taken that into photography because I mean there is always room for improvement, but I would always give up. If I received too much feedback, I would always give up. Like I'm like, I'm not good enough for this. So I would quit. So I had to change my way of thinking, especially since this is something that I obviously want wanted to do. I had to, I had to grow thick skin, you know, when it came to feedback and criticism and things like that, because it's like everybody's gonna have a different opinion of your work. And you need to be able to, you want to be able to just like navigate through that to get

Where To Find Steph

SPEAKER_00 54:31

better. You don't want to go backwards, you want to go forward. So I I really had to change my way of thinking when it came to feedback and things like that, that I was not, you know, the best thing since lice bread and all this other stuff. You know what I mean? Like, and you you can't you can't have that attitude because somebody's gonna come at you sideways, like just like that review where I'm like, oh yeah, this is great. And then like, no, it's not. But I will say, even though I got tore up in that review, it absolutely changed the way I look at photography. Like, I still stayed stayed true to who I was, who Stephanie was as a sports photographer and you know, as a business owner and things like that. But it was just one of those things where I was like, no, he's right. He's right.

SPEAKER_02 55:20

It's it's almost like if it tears you up inside, it's maybe because there's some truth to it and it hurts because you it's holding up a mirror to you. And maybe the presentation could have been kinder, but if it really bothers you, it's there's probably something like to that.

SPEAKER_00 55:38

You know, and it's been two years now since that review, and a lot of it still sticks with me because it's like it was such great advice and such great feedback, even though I cried after, but it was, you know, it was phenomenal feedback, and it was brutally honest, super transparent, but I needed to hear it, and it just made me it makes me a better photographer every single day. Yeah, every day.

SPEAKER_02 56:06

I love it. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story, your advice. Um I feel like aspiring photographers are gonna love this, and then the curious girls like myself obviously are gonna love it, knowing like what the experience is like from the field. Tell everyone where they can find you and where they can reach out to you if they want to book you.

SPEAKER_00 56:30

They can reach out to my email, which is Stephanie V S T E P H A-N-I-E-V, photog at gmail.com. I have two Instagrams because my editing style is completely different. I have my lifestyle portrait page, which is Stephanie Ray dot photo, and then my sports page, which is Steph Van Wagner. A little easier to remember. Perfect. But so yeah, reach out, reach out that way.

SPEAKER_02 57:02

Yeah, well, thank you so much for sharing everything with us. It was so great to have you. I'm a Lions fan, so especially special. And yeah, we'll chat soon. Thanks for coming.

SPEAKER_00 57:13

All right, awesome. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 57:20

You a patty, baby. You gotta hold it on a scaling.