Women fight for their place in sports media
Only 38 percent of women are sports photographers, while the other 62 percent are men, according to Zippia.com. Throughout history, the photography and sports media industries have been heavily dominated by men. Women have fought for a place in sports media and continue to work to create more gender equality within the industry.
Katharine Lotze has established a successful sports media career as a Getty Images photographer, having been a former Division 2 college track and field athlete at Central Washington University. When Lotze joined her school’s yearbook staff as a freshman in high school, she fell in love with storytelling through sports photography. Her experience as a college athlete supported her in capturing angles in sports media and in thinking outside the box to capture creative pictures. “I have many women sports photographer friends, and over the years, I went from being the only woman on the sidelines to one of many. It’s amazing to see. We’re also in a great moment for women’s sports; they are getting much more coverage and interest in the last few years,” Lotze said.
Whether a team wins or loses, regardless of the outcome of the game, Angel Ziese, a photographer of thirty years, aims to find a unique story to tell within every game. To Ziese, the most rewarding aspect of her career is that she expresses her passion for sports photography, which she described as being able to “live [her] dream.” “I would urge young women to get into sports media because the sports world needs more of a women’s perspective on the field. Us women see things differently on the field and bring a new perspective to make art,” Ziese said.
For Hannah Lafferty, sports photo journalism is more than just a job, but a way to channel her emotions. Through her photos, Lafferty hopes to capture stories beyond the surface-level, but also to empower and inspire athletes that it is possible to achieve anything they work towards, regardless of where they come from.“Women in sports have, and still are, growing to be a more socially acceptable standard,” Lafferty said.
Lafferty’s career initially started almost five years ago when she took photos for a softball tournament during her freshman year at Woodlake High School. Lafferty feels that throughout the years, the most rewarding aspect of sports photography has been being able to help showcase athletes’ skills and performance. “Especially for those who live in smaller, rural areas who are amazing athletes, [they often] don’t get the coverage they deserve. Throughout my time shooting, I have slowly begun to notice an increase in female photographers as well as women in sports in general,” Lafferty said.
From the Paris Olympics to the 2025 World Series, Lotze has captured incredible athletes and worked alongside other talented photographers. Lotze argues that in any field dominated by one demographic, it is beneficial to share the viewpoints and perspectives of a variety of people. “Life experience contributes to how one views or solves a problem, and if you only have one type of person in any given industry, it can become an echo chamber with a lot of sameness,” Lotze said.
