For Kristopher Reid, his journey in photography started back in 2016 as a personal pastime. An activity that allowed him to be creative, capture memories, and explore new environments. A world he quickly became interested in the more and more he immersed himself. This was just the beginning. Over the next few years, it was this very passion and curiosity that led Kristopher to embark on a freelance career in travel photography, lifestyle photography, and wedding photography. He was locked in. In 2021 though, Kristopher stepped away from wedding photography and was determined to explore new avenues in the space. After coming across a social media post from the Atlanta Dream, the opportunity to dive into sports photography piqued his interest. This was it. This was the new avenue he was determined to pursue. Upon connecting with the creative team, Kristopher was offered a position as a photographer for the Dream and officially began his career in sports. He hasn't looked back since. From working for the Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Hawks to collaborating with brands such as AGOGIE, Amazon, and Microsoft, Kristopher has continued to foster his personal brand in the industry. As he looks to the future, Kristopher is eager to push the boundaries in storytelling and dive into the world of content creation further in the years to come.
Let’s start with your journey early on! When did you discover that you were passionate about digital media and wanted to explore the space of photography? How did that lead you to the world of sports?
In 2016, I got started with photography. I got a Canon Rebel T6i off of Facebook Marketplace one day. I just wanted to buy something to take pictures—that was my start in it. This was also in South Korea at the time when I was serving in the military. I was kind of bored out there, so that's why I bought the camera to do travel photography and stuff like that. It was a nice little carry-around camera for me for the weekends, but I eventually started following photographers and seeing them post work. I started getting more intrigued into the sport of photography itself. I kept trying to look up ways to get sharper images and replicate things that I saw these photographers do—that just kept me passionate about photography. Over the years, I would just upgrade gear, keep up on the latest trends, (while) also trying to perfect my craft in photography. I started working with my friends first, and then I started working with couples to do weddings and engagements. I started getting intrigued in that, took a couple of classes, and started shooting weddings for a period of time. I stopped shooting weddings around 2021. From 2016 to about 2019, I was just a freelance photographer. I had no niche. I just carried my camera and took photos everywhere I went. Around 2019 is when I started moving professionally and started shooting weddings. In 2021, I stopped shooting weddings because there's just so much that comes with it. From there, one day I'm on Instagram and the Atlanta Dream popped up on my sponsored stuff. I clicked on their page, saw their photos, and was like: “Maybe I can reach out to them.” So I DM'd them like: “Hey, are you guys looking for a photographer or can I help out in that space in any way?” They told me to send my resume to them and then maybe two months later someone reached out to me, interviewed me, and I was hired that day. My first job in sports was the job that I have in sports right now, but I've had years of shooting experience in different environments. Because of my knowledge prior to jumping into sports, everything just clicked for me. It felt like I was shooting portraits on the court, if that makes sense. It just felt like I was taking my skill set and placing it in this environment.
As you tapped into the world of sports, what were some challenges that you faced early on and how did you work to overcome them?
I'd say one of the challenges I faced in this sports environment—because I came from doing freelance stuff or even with weddings where I'm the one handling the contracts and taking on the work—is that with sports it’s everyday. I remember my first week on the job…it was Friday and I'm telling people like, “Peace out,” and my boss was like: “Yes, so tomorrow at 7:00 AM we have practice and we have to be there to shoot.” I said, “You know tomorrow is Saturday.” She was like, “Yeah, there's no weekends in sports. Get used to it.” That for me was such a shock. I was like, “Wow, I'm doing this every day.” This is something that I've dreamt of. I’m fully grateful for my experience and my time doing what I do, but it definitely caught me off guard. I stopped doing weddings because the workload felt like so much. So when I got into sports, it felt the same. It was like: “Whoa! I’m going here to shoot. I'm coming back to edit. I'm going back over there to shoot. I'm coming back to edit.” So when I first started out, it felt like a lot was coming at me at once. My first year on the court I was asking the photographers on the side: “Hey, do you have any tips for me?” I had years of experience shooting but I still was open to learning (new things) in this space.
Along with photography, you’ve also worked in videography for the team. Could you share more with us about your journey there?
My transition to doing videography with the Dream kind of went hand in hand with (my) experience with the Georgia Film Academy—I just graduated this past spring. When I was doing photography, at one point, I was like: “I'm just doing freelance stuff. I want to take the things that I do every weekend or here and there when I carry my camera, and do it more professionally.” In my head, I thought about weddings—that was my next step from freelancing. I (then) felt like my next step in photography in general was doing videography stuff. During 2020, in the COVID year, I just took it upon myself. I was like, “Hey, if there's any other time to learn how to do these things, I feel like now is the time.” So just like I did with photography, I just started learning how to do video stuff. I had never touched it before—my name on Instagram is “Kris Reid Photo” because I stood on not doing video (*laughs*). I just felt at some point (though), I was placing a limit on myself. I went to the Georgia Film Academy, gained a lot of experience on videography in general, but also in a TV and film environment. They taught us a lot of things that had to do with videography—you learned the basics but then you learned about being on the set, the role of a director, and how this operation works. That was going on around the time that I was doing photography for these teams like the Hawks and the Dream, but the Dream opened up a position—which is the position that I have now. It’s an internship pretty much as a videographer. Because I was working with the team as a photographer, they let me interview for it. With my experience, the things that I was kind of already working on with the Film Academy, and just my freelance stuff, they gave me a chance. I'm so grateful for that opportunity. I was able to get the ball rolling and get adjusted to it.
Diving more into the world of content creation, could you share more with us about your time with the Atlanta Hawks?