A sophomore with a unique lens for the field, Keon Gray captures the beauty and intensity of sports behind the camera.
The sports photography industry is popular worldwide as it allows photographers to capture the skill of athletes through a picture, but it’s more than just capturing any usual photo, it’s about expressing the intensity and emotion of a game in a single image.
The sports teams here value the work of student photographers because they capture moments that athletes want to preserve. “These moments, as historical photographs have showcased, create long-lasting memories and affect how we remember and cherish sports,” according to the SportPlay web site.
Student photographers may take a class to learn the skills needed, like sophomore Keon Gray did. “I took photography one last year, and that’s kind of what sparked the flame for me,” Gray said.
Gray’s photography class taught him basic camera skills. “Keon started with me in freshman year and he was a pretty natural photographer and had a natural eye for the camera,” photography teacher Afua Kyeremeh said.
Gray has caught the eyes of students and created an impression on the sports teams. Creating a platform on Instagram called K6flics, Gray showcases his camera skills. “Everyone else and I always look forward to seeing Keon’s photos after the games on his Instagram. He always takes solid pictures that look really cool,” sophomore Caleb Cook said.
Sports photographers have the best angle on the field or court sideline, which creates an intensity in the action shots captured. “His photos are always sharp and in focus, he always has a good eye for composition, and also experiments really well with different angles. Keon is always reflective with his work and takes advice from it really well,” Kyeremeh said.
Athletes appreciate viewing photos of themselves in action and use these photos for their social media as they are impressed with the quality photos taken. Through Gray’s photos, he’s able to freeze the action on the field and tell a story through them.
Besides photography, Gray plays baseball. As a student athlete, he finds time to learn during school and lock in after school for baseball. “It can be difficult at times balancing the two especially when I have a lot of homework. It takes hours to go through and upload photos plus homework. It takes a lot of my time, which leaves it to where I go to bed late at night,” Gray said.
Gray plans to continue photography even though baseball is during spring. “I plan to take photos year round when I can. I play a spring sport so it’s hard for me to get out there in the spring,” Gray said.
Gray said he feels rewarded by the praise he receives for his images. “I think just being able to have more experience and people appreciating my work is why I wanted to do sports photography,” Gray said.
