Skateboarding. Dirt biking. Snowboarding. Three sports that Conner Schuh deeply enjoyed growing up, and ones that would lead him on a journey to discovering his interest in visual media in the years to come. For this Elk Grove, California native, it all started with him recording, editing, and uploading stake videos onto YouTube. Videos that fueled a simple mission of his: to capture his love for the sport and share it with others. This was only the beginning. During his time in college, at California Baptist University, Conner immersed himself in the world of visual media—graduating with a degree in commercial photography and graphic design—and continued to develop his own unique style of storytelling as a creative. Upon graduation, Conner began doing part-time freelance work in the commercial and advertising space while also working at a large photography and motion picture rental company in Los Angeles. From connecting with different creatives to working with an array of brands, Conner continued to amplify his insight of the industry through these endeavors before deciding to move back to Sacramento. Shortly after, he began working part-time with the Sacramento Kings and officially returned to the world of sports. He hasn't looked back since. Currently, Conner is the team photographer for the Kings and continues to create powerful visual media through his work—all with the same mission in mind: to creatively capture and share the essence of the sport, its environment, and those who play it, with the world. Truly inspiring!
Let’s start with your journey early on! How did you get started in the industry?
What really got me into photography and the industry itself was skateboarding and sports in general. Growing up, I was really into skateboarding and making skate videos. From that, I got heavily involved in taking pictures. First, I really was into videos—I was into editing videos and uploading (them) onto YouTube. Then from that, I just kind of randomly got into taking photos and learned that you can experiment in all kinds of different photography. There's like tons of different photography that you can do rather than just sports, you know? But for me, as I continued getting older and kind of had this idea that I wasn't going to be a professional in all these sports that I really enjoyed—skateboarding, dirt biking, and snowboarding—, I found that the only way to stay within these sports if I wasn't going to be a professional was to keep doing photography and keeping a camera in my hands. I figured that that would be the best way to do it; and so ever since then, I’ve just stuck with it.
When did you confirm this passion for photography and videography? How did you discover you were interested in pursuing a career in the space?
It was probably middle school, early middle school—probably even a little bit before that. I wasn't even sure if I was going to go to college or have that opportunity. I luckily did end up having that opportunity to go to college, which I know doesn't happen for everyone. I don't think college is something that's needed even for photography, but I was blessed to be able to do it and it definitely helped me build a community of people. But early, before college, I knew that that's what I wanted to do. I studied commercial photography (in college). I found a program at a school called California Baptist University in Southern California, and they had a great graphic design/photography program. So I went in with a commercial photography major and a business minor. I went a couple of years with the business minor and then I dropped that because I got what I needed out of it—I learned that there were a lot more heavy business classes that I was going to have to take to finish the minor and it was unnecessary for me to do that (*laughs*). So I changed my minor to graphic design. I finished with a degree in commercial photography and graphic design, which actually was really helpful—knowing how to do graphic design and just kind of what graphic designers look for—because now in my job I work with graphic designers. Being able to know how to do photography well, in a sense where it can help the graphic designers use my imagery, is huge. Just understanding what they're trying to do with my images makes their job a lot easier.
How was that transition from college into the world of sports photography? What were some challenges that you faced early on and how did you navigate through those?