# @paulrutherford_ on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc1i13xlE8r
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70074684-paulrutherford-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/bd86ad757d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-03T19:17:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Paul Rutherford (@paulrutherford_) — https://gondola.cc/paulrutherford_

## Caption

A question I get a lot is how someone can shoot professional sports. That question has many different answers as there are a lot of outlets/people/interests/companies to photograph for. But the one thing you need is to show you are capable of getting images the client wants. Aka a portfolio. 

When starting out it is very unlikely you’ll have access to professional sports so you need to find local sports to photograph. I started out photographing a lot of Ultimate, I played in college and very much enjoy the sport. I had great access to the games for unique photos and the weekend long tournaments gave me plenty of time to practice. 

It even turned into a traveling gig. I was photographing college, beach, and club championships in Florida, California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Texas to name a few. I even got to travel to Germany to photograph the World U24 tournament for team USA. 

It was so fun to be able to work, explore new places, and meet players and photographers. In addition to the fun it also helped me learn to work on a deadline, caption images, and deliver images the clients needed. 

Find your sport/team/person to cover in your area and make great photos. I miss getting to shoot Ultimate all the time, but it is still one of my favorites to cover.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 423
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 13

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Paul Rutherford | @paulrutherford_ | https://gondola.cc/paulrutherford_ | Photographer |

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