Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Angel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Vanessa Angel. I am a first generation Mexican-American. I am a freelance sports photographer and work as a Street team Ambassador with Atlanta United FC. I am was the first in my family to graduate from University, I got my Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Emerging Media with a Minor in Italian Studies from Kennesaw State University. When I first went into college I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do in regards to a specific job within the communications/journalism field, but I kept an open mind to the multitude of possibilities that were available with that kind of degree. Once I had gotten through my pre-requisite classes and had to make more tailored decisions, I found that I wanted to learn more about journalism in the entertainment industry specifically when it came to sports. I was by no means athletic, nor did I ever really play sports, but I was mostly interested in what sports do for those who experience them.In my experience it brought my family together and allowed me to meet some of my best friends. For as long as I could remember soccer or as it was known in my house “futbol” was a big part of my life. Every weekend the television in my living room was a place were my family convened to watch our favorite teams. Whether it was trying keep up with my brothers knowledge of the Champions League or La Liga Española to watch FC Barcelona, or to listen to my dad talk about how Chivas was the best team in Liga MX, there was always talk about soccer. Some of my favorite family gatherings involved watching the Mexican National team play vs their rivals the USMNT, because it was just the feeling that we were all together supporting our home nation, and the pride that we felt in other matches as well. The hopes that one day our national team would win a world cup.
The exposure with soccer at such a young age, influenced me to want to chase that feeling of excitement and pride into my career.
In 2020, when the world was shutting down due to the outbreak of the covid-19 virus I was in my 3rd year of college and had only two semesters left till graduation. During this time I was enrolled in a photojournalism class, and a sports reporting class. Both which were affected by the lockdown that happened in that spring. I had to somehow find a topic to report about and document for both classes. It was then that I started to look for local leagues to try and cover for my assignments, because even though Atlanta United had participated in the MLS is Back tournament the public was not allowed to attend those matches.
I reached out to a friend from high school – Christopher Uranga, who had with his brother founded their own team and were about to compete in the United Premier Soccer league here in Georgia. This league was semi-professional which was a step up from the precious league which was the ADASL. I asked him if they would allow me to cover their team and their matches for my various assignments and he agreed. From then on I started showing up to more of their games and many of their practices to document their journey into this new league. Working with their team Potros FC was what sparked my interest into further pursing this type of career. Because I really enjoyed capturing the moments through photography, and getting to share them on my blog along with team news and season recaps. Almost 5 years later I’ve continued having the pleasure of working with them, but have also opened up my photography into the freelance sector.
In 2022, I applied for many positions with Atlanta United FC, because I wanted to expose myself to that level of work. Aside from already being a fan of the team, I wanted continue evolving in my work. And I managed to get hired as a street team ambassador. The job for me was exciting because it had been nothing. like what I had experienced before. It consisted of working in the marketing department and going to various events throughout the city of Atlanta in which we promoted the team and their home matches along with generating meaningful connections with the fanbase.
Going into this year, I’ve dabbled in many areas of sports media/entertainment. From journalism to photography in the semi-professional leagues to grassroots marketing and communications for Atlanta United. Nevertheless I continue to learn and grow. I have found that the more people that I meet and connect with in this field has allowed to me to really figure out what my style of photography is. The more things you try the more you can find what works for you. I’ve definitely been influenced by a couple of local photographers such as Elizabeth Colker, Madison Schulte, and Javier Morales.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where I am today was definitely not as smooth as one could wish. I had to work from a young age to help support myself through college. Though I did receive the Pell grant and hope scholarship which did pay for most of my schooling, I was responsible for paying the rest. So for the five years that I was in college I had a full time job at my family’s restaurant. I didn’t have the typical college experience, but truthfully I don’t think I missed out on much in that aspect because I had a sense of responsibility from the beginning. I knew that I did not have time to waste,
During the time in which I was learning about photojournalism and sports reporting, I did not have the opportunity that prior classes did, because the covid-19 pandemic shut everything down. I had to get creative with how to find subjects to cover, and though this was hard to do because access to certain sports that were in session were so limited, this allowed me to find my place with Potros FC.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I would mainly consider myself a freelance sports photographer. Photography was a subject in the coursework that was required for my major, and i absolutely fell in love with it. Not so much the technical aspects of it, because there are definitely tedious aspects to every job even though it is your passion. But I definitely enjoy capturing the different emotions during a match. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and definitely agree with that statement, because there are moments that are captured that can perhaps render you speechless.
My job consists of photographing, editing, and posting photos of different soccer teams. I photograph matches, trainings, and even merchandising shoots. I post my photos on my sports photography instagram page and my website. But I also offer them up to the teams and players. My photos have been used for match day graphics, player announcements, post- match graphics, merchandise sales, and other media uses.
One of my favorite projects that I’ve done was helping Potros FC, a team in the United Premier Soccer League, with their kit launch. I got to shoot the photos with some of their players before the new kits were released. We got to shoot that in their home stadium at Marietta High School. The shoot involved making sure that every version of the kits and uniforms were displayed. I used unique angles and worked with mid-after noon summer lighting. I also later helped them with their team store merchandising shoot. In which some of the players posed with the team’s sweater, t-shirts, hoodies, and kits.
I think that what sets me apart from others is that I like to shoot in a way that really expresses color. Though I appreciate the artistic look of black and white photography, I enjoy shooting and editing in a way that mostly keeps the original look of the photo, but with a higher contrast of colors. In my earlier day of photographing I rarely changed much about a photo, except maybe a crop here and there and a quick lighting change to accommodate for any issues.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think the industry is definitely growing and will continue to grow in the short term because the city of Atlanta specifically will be hosting a multitude of sporting events that call for people to join the sports media industry. I think that photography, videography, and social media content creation are jobs that are becoming very popular. And there is definitely a demand at all levels. I often tell people who ask me that getting into sports photography can start at a small level, you can reach out to schools to see if they are looking for volunteers, you maybe even do like i did and reach out to local amateur teams, or semi-professional teams as well.
The trend will go up from there. Just in the coming years, there is going to be the Club World Cup this Summer 2025, then the FIFA World Cup in 2026. These events are going to bring a massive amount of people to the city. I think that people who have an interest in this field should start now, and try to learn and grow as much as possible because you never know, you could be working for an outlet and potentially get to photograph events of that caliber. That would be the dream and goal for myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vaniangel12sports.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vani.angel12sports/
Image Credits
The photo that was taken of me with my camera was taken by : Madison Schulte The graduation photo was taken by: Rebecca Uranga All other photos were taken by myself: Maria Vanessa Angel
