The History of Sports Photography

When you talk about the history of sports photography, you have to talk about Neil Leifer, who is known for taking some of the best and most well-known sports photos ever. Neil was very dedicated to his craft after being introduced to it at the age of 13. He would sneak into Yankee Stadium and shoot the games on his camera.

Some of the photos he is most known for are a picture of Vince Lombardi being held up by his players after winning the Super Bowl, or the Baltimore Colts winning the Super Bowl in Yankee Stadium. He’s also known for maybe the best photo in sports history of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonney Listin after KO him out in 1965, which would make Neil a household name in sports journalism. He would go on to have his photos on the cover 200 magazines for people like Sports Illustrated and Time magazine.

I admire his passion for his craft and how he would do whatever it took for him to be able to chase his passion, even if it meant sneaking into stadiums or places to take pictures. I also like how he had an eye for where he should be to get the right picture at the perfect time. His pictures were always clear and framed correctly while also capturing the environment around the main subject, but making sure the main subject of his pictures was always the main focus. I want to be able to learn from the way he went about his craft, and always knew what he was shooting for, and telling a story with his pictures.