40. Steph VanWagoner: From Starting Over to Sideline Photography for the Detroit Lions

0:22Hey, it's Victoria. The game's on. Welcome back to another episode of your favorite football podcast by the girls for everyone, the game. Before we get into it, make sure that you're following us on social media at The Game, the podcast on Instagram and TikTok and following us on Substack at thegamethepodcast.substack.com. That's where you will find our newsletter, our updates on events and our all-girls exclusive group chat. So welcome to the table. Today, we are sitting down with Steph Van Wagner. She is a freelance photographer for the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Red Wings, along with freelance photographing many other sports teams around the country.

1:11She started as a 911 dispatcher and is a self-made, self-taught photographer. from photographing weddings to outreach to getting on the sidelines at Ford Field. She gives us all the details on what to do and what not to do if you're interested in photography, as well as her experience on the sidelines at Lions Games. I cannot wait. This interview has a little bit of something for everyone. So please enjoy my conversation with Steph Wagner. Stefan Wagner, welcome to the game. Thanks for having me. I am so excited to chat with you. You are one of our first on the field, behind the scenes girls on the game.

1:58So I'm so excited to talk to you all about how you got into what you got into, about the behind the scenes of your day-to-day activity, being a photographer for pro sports, what your contracts looks like, what your life looks like. But before that, I did a photo shoot for the brand yesterday to update my podcast cover. And on my way home, I was thinking like, how do photographers take all of these incredible shots and then not panic immediately that you're going to lose it? Like, is that just... I mean, I'm not going to lie. That has happened before. I remember reviewing the images on my card at this party that I was photographing and I got home and it was saying my card was empty.

2:42And I was like, you're joking. Like I physically seen the images and now you're telling me they're not there. So I had to buy a software and sure enough, the photos are still there. You just have to figure out a way to back them up. But as soon as I hit the door and decompress, I put them on my external hard drive, back them up so that way they're safe and I can relax easy knowing that they're going to be there. So yeah, I was in the car and I was like, I worked so hard on this, right? Like I'm not a photographer. I have like a nice Sony camera that like helps me with the podcast and that I like set up on my own.

3:21And I was like so proud of, I put so much work into getting one cover shoot photo and I'm in the car And I'm like, what if this gets deleted? What if I spill coffee on this camera? What if when I park to go run in and grab my dinner, like somebody steals it? So yeah, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I'm interviewing you tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah, it's scary. You've got to think on your toes, that's for sure. And always have like a backup plan for your backup plan. Yeah. And you've shot weddings as well. So I assume that weddings are even more nerve wracking than anything else because that's like one day.

3:55One and done. one and done. It's not like you can ask the bride to go back down the aisle with her father or whoever's walking her down the aisle like, I need you to do that one more time, please. Or do their first kiss again. So you have literally one shot. Literally one shot. Yeah. I love it. Okay. So you are a freelance photographer. You do weddings, got your start in weddings, and then moved into working with the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Red Wings. So tell us a little bit about how you got into this, because I know there are a lot of aspiring photographers, people posting on social.

4:36So tell us how you even got into photography in the first place. Okay, well, so I got started back in, I don't know, some of these viewers are going to be too young for this era, but back when the black and white images with like the pops of color were cool. Oh, yes. Like back. If you scroll deep in my Instagram, like what, 2008 or something, you'll find it. Yeah. Yeah. You'll find it. Like late 2000, like 2007, 2010s era where it was like, wow, this is so artistic and it's such an aesthetic. Take a picture of a flower, everything's black and white. And then you got the flower in color. It's like, yeah, So that's like how I got started just like running around with my digital camera and then whatever iPhone, like, I don't know, four at the time, you know, taking pictures on that.

5:30And then I purchased my first kit from Sam's Club. It came with two standard lenses and a camera body. And it was like circa 2013, maybe. and just kind of was like doing things for free just to get a hold of like what it was like to be a photographer, you know, a lot of YouTube university. But, you know, I evolved from there and I started taking on bigger things like engagements, family sessions, weddings, things like that. And it wasn't even technically my full-time job. I always did it as a side hustle. So I was actually a full-time 911 dispatcher and photography was my stress reliever. You know, I'm working 12, 16 hour shifts on my weekends off.

6:19I'd be shooting weddings, families, things like that. So, I mean, that's really, I've been doing this, I mean, professionally for about 10 years or so weddings and things like that. But yeah, I just, you know, I took a leap of faith in 2022. It was September. I told myself I was over it and I quit my full-time job. I didn't have anything established. I just was like, I'm done. And I absolutely took a leap of faith and started my business and, you know, just evolved from there. And yeah, that's, that's, I mean, that's where I'm at today. And we can get into how I got started for it too. That's a whole nother story in itself.

7:03Okay, before we go into more photography, what is the qualification? Like, how does one become a 911 dispatcher? Because that is a very necessary job for the world, but also like very niche and feels very stressful. It was incredibly stressful. I actually left twice and came back. Like, it was very much that like love-hate kind of relationship. But it was like, it was one of those things that, you know, you felt as if that career was, you know, you wanted it to be a career and that was like your end all be all, like you were never going to make any more money than, you know, what they were paying you.

7:41You know, they had all of these benefits and there was, there was a ton of benefits. The pay was great. The overtime pay, holiday pay, you know, it's, it was phenomenal. And it's like, I can't get better than that, you know? So that's kind of how they suck in. But, but it was, I hired in, in 2016. I didn't have any sort of experiences, you know, as far as like being a 911 dispatcher. The only experience I had was listening to the police scanner when I was little with my grandpa. That's the only experience that I had was listening. You're bringing up all these throwbacks. I know a police scanner.

8:16People are going to make, what's a police scanner? Like it was like a literal like brick of a scanner like that we would sit and listen to. Wow. So nostalgic. But anyway, so that's what, you know, that's what we used to sit and listen to. But there was a series of like tests that you had to go through. You had to go through an extensive psych evaluation, all these different things in order to get hired. Once you're hired, there's about six months or so of training. And I worked in a very busy dispatch center. So, you know, you would train on phones and then you would train on police radio, EMS radio, fire radio.

8:54So there was all these different things. But yeah, it's one of those things where it's super stressful, but you got the job done and made sure all the first responders got home at the end of the night. Even though you're on the radio end, but you want to make sure that those that are front-facing, they get home to their families at the end of the night and that they're safe. Do you think that that level of empathy and ability to handle stressful situations made being on the sidelines like at your first Lions game any easier than maybe if you had had a more average HR job or something like that?

9:36Yeah, absolutely. Like I see sometimes in, in this is, you know, within the photography world and other, you know, other things as well. I see things that get people so hyped up and stress them out. And I'm like, it's not that big of a deal. You know what I mean? Like I say, you know, because I've been put in those situations where I have to stay calm, cool, collected that somebody else's big emergency is not a big emergency to me. But, you know, I have to treat it as such and, you know, go with their flow. Yeah. Your fire is not my fire. Exactly. Yeah. So I like I'm used to I'm used to chaos.

10:19I'm used to and I almost I almost thrive in that kind of environment. Like it just it pushes me even more. Yeah. The chaos and the unknown and everything. So, yeah, it's wild what a job like that will do to my whole demeanor. as a photographer. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you for sharing that because that is a wild, a wild job. Let's get back to the photography side. So you said that you started doing things for free. What kind of events are we talking? Are we talking like family's birthday parties, or are you just going places that you were normally going to go and like bringing your camera?

10:57so gosh it was my like one of my friends kiddos he was I think two at the time I took pictures of him in like their front yard and then like I took pictures of my cousin's birthday party she was turning maybe seven you know seven or eight just to get a general feel for my camera and settings and things like that you know I had no idea what I was doing but it's you know those things are like that are like opportunities to learn more. But yeah, I would like take senior pictures and family pictures, or again, I'd go back out and I'd take pictures of flowers and you know, my dogs and things like that.

11:40So anything that I would take pictures of, I was annoyingly like there with my camera. Yeah. Okay. Okay. That's awesome. And okay. Tell us about the transition. So you started to take photos. You started to build somewhat but of a portfolio, what did it look like jumping from weddings and family portrait photography, which you still do a little bit of into sports? Like, were you always interested in sports? How did that transition come to come to life? Okay. So it's, it's one of the most things. Okay. So I've been around sports my entire life, right? Like I, I played softball, volleyball, soccer.

12:26I cheered. My brother played travel hockey, baseball, golf, you name it. Sports girl. We revolved around sports. If we were having Sunday dinners at my grandparents' house, you know, the TV in the living room was turned to face the dining room because the lions were playing or the Tigers were playing and it didn't matter. Sports were on TV. Like we lived, breathed eight sports. And, but it, I, you know, I, at one point when I was in school, I was like, do I want to do something in sports marketing or sports management or, you know, anything like that? But I hated school. I hated school. So, you know, I went through all these different jobs.

13:08I went to, I have college credits. I didn't finish college. I had all these other full-time jobs as 911 dispatcher. And then, you know, photography kind of fell into play. And I just decided one day, like my boyfriend and I went to a Michigan basketball, Michigan men's basketball game in January of 2023. He actually just brought it up like a week ago. And I was videoing on my iPhone because I had bought like third row seats. So I was like, oh, this would be cool. Like, I'm going to try to play with like the video on my iPhone. And so like, I created this whole like hype video as like a fan POV and I uploaded it to Instagram and like the, some of the basketball players saw it and they were like, Hey, can like you send me that clip and so on and so forth.

13:53I was like, this is sick. This is sick. I'm onto something here. So I decided why not try photographing sports. So I contacted a local community college. I mean, this was February of 2023. I contacted a local community college and was like, Hey, like I'm wanting to get into sports. Do you mind if I come photograph a few games? You know, I'll give you whatever I edit, you know, do with them what you will. I just want to get my feet wet with this. Yeah, no problem. Of course, everybody likes, you know, free pictures and things like that. So I started photographing the basketball games, did a little bit of research on YouTube just to see like what my settings needed to be.

14:38But outside of that, like I learned everything while I was sitting there, what worked, what didn't work, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, all that other kind of stuff. And fast forward to April, 2023, I was photographing a friend's varsity baseball team. go photograph some baseball you know it's a different sport why not try it it's a different change of pace I'm outdoor natural lighting let's see how this goes so I built up a little bit of a portfolio and I was like I wonder what it takes to be in sports full-time as a photographer so I then started I call it Josh Allen the Josh Allen of the photography world I just start submit, like I just start DMing and emailing any athletes like, Hey, if you want free pictures of you working out, you know, whatever, like I'm just trying to build a portfolio.

15:29I would reach out to team photographers at like a college level, professional level, asking for advice or feedback on my portfolio. Or, you know, do you need any sort of degree to get into, into the sports photography world? You know, what, what do you need for next steps? Like, how do you get to that point and things like that. So I did that enough. I was left on read. I was answered and then ignored and ghosted and all this other stuff. And I'm like, somebody's got to answer. And the team photographer with the Detroit Lions ended up responding and like a few hours later, and I thought, there's no way, there's no way he's going to see it.

16:09Like, why am I even doing this, you know, like what, what's the point? And he ended up responding. This was May of 2023. And he ended up responding and we met for coffee and went over everything the next day. And yeah, I signed a contract with them in June of 23. So. Wow. So wild. So you're inviting them. You're saying, Hey, I'm looking to build my portfolio. I would love to shoot with you. How did you get to a coffee with him? Did you ask for the coffee or was he like, oh, nice. So you just said, I'm looking to build my portfolio. Here's what I have. And he said, let's grab a card. Yeah. I asked for advice.

16:50I still have our conversation saved. Just do I need a degree? Are you willing to give me feedback? How do you get to this level? So on and so forth. And we exchanged some messages of him being transparent with what it takes and you know, things like that. And then he's like, well, you know, something along the lines of if you're, if you're free tomorrow, I can review your portfolio. I'd be happy to help or answer any questions that you have. So being the emotional person that I am, I started crying and screaming and I was like, I can't believe it. So yeah. So I met with, met with him to have coffee and yeah, the rest, the rest is history.

17:33That's amazing. I, it's crazy how many people actually are willing to help you. Yeah. Even people that you don't know, they're like, oh, I was in your shoes once or, Hey, we actually have openings. Like, let me tell you what I know. It always is surprising because people are like, oh, well, it's so hard to get in and people are so hard to reach, but you never know. No, exactly. And like, if you shoot your shot, I mean, you never know what's going to happen. And I, I feel really bad. This is something that's been super heavy on my mind is I feel really bad. Cause like my DMS are full of questions and, but you know, my, my mental capacity sometimes is just, I don't have a lot there to like answer.

18:18And I feel really bad. It's like one of those things where it's like, okay, I need to take a day and respond to these people because like I was there once. Like I wild to think that like three years ago, I was trying to push for advice and feedback and things like that. So 2026, that's what I'm going to try to do better is to, is to actually start responding and carrying on conversations with, you know, these, these new photographers in my DMS. Cause I, I've been there and I know it's just with all that I have going on, it's, it's difficult to try to have that mental bandwidth at the end of the day to carry a comment.

18:57So we'll promise. Girl, she's coming for you. She's going to help you. You just got to be patient. You just got to be patient. Okay. Maybe we could do the top three questions you get asked right now and just answer some of them for them and just put them on social. the ones that they do ask you're like help with you know what I mean like so the biggest questions and I think what not to ask well okay we'll do we'll do this I love so we'll say what not to ask like if you are a new a student photographer a new an aspiring photographer and you want to know what it takes to get to that next level, do not under any circumstance message or email a photographer and say, can I get a credential for X game?

19:56That's, it's usually a nerf, you know, you know, that's, that's not something that's not the way to ask what to network the correct way. and you want to make a good impression, you know, be inquisitive and know that like your chance will come eventually, you know, there's a timing for literally everything. Mine just happened to be that one random day in May. You know what I mean? That's, they were just, it was decided. Hey, it's your turn. So yeah, it's just don't ask for that because it's, that's usually going to get you not responded to, unfortunately. But yeah, I just don't ask that. Just ask for feedback, advice, and what it takes to get to that level.

20:47Because you'll leave some sort of impression if you start off on the right foot and not like, hey, just can I get a credential? Right. Because you're like, I don't know you. No. I don't know you. I can't bring you with me to my professional job that I'm getting paid for, that I may, especially as like a freelancer, you know, like you have that authority to do so. You know, I'm, I'm a contracted photographer. Like I don't, I'm not the team photographer, you know, to where I can be like, yeah, she's clear. You know, I don't, I don't call us that. It's like, I contribute to the organization and to the photo team, but I can't do that for you.

21:30Yeah, so don't, maybe one day. but don't ask for the credential. So I mean, what I'm hearing is don't make too big of an ask, but ask for feedback and send some of your work. So then you can at least leave a good impression. For sure. I think that's really good advice because also if you're someone who, if you see an incredible portfolio, you might be like, oh my gosh, I love this. This is what I would tweak if you're sending it in or let me connect you with X. Right. Yeah. It's like, put, don't put the cart before the horse, like make sure you're doing the work before you ask for something as big as a credential.

22:09Yes. Yeah. You know, cause a credential that takes a, that's a lot. And you know, that's, I mean, that's a big ask and yeah, it's just not something that everybody it's, they can't pass it out like candy. Right. Okay. So how does one get a credential? Is it through like on the photography side? Is it all through freelance and like contracting in? Like, what does that look like in terms of actually getting your credential? Because you sign. Well, let's start with this. Tell me about the contracts that you sign with the Lions, Red Wings and Tigers and what each of those looks like in terms of the work that you produce for them.

22:50So the Lions, Tigers and Wings, it's a little bit different. You know, technically, I'm a contributing photographer for them. I contribute to, I mean, it's, it's all three teams, but I contribute to the organization, excuse me, the organization, the rights, they have the rights to everything. So like I can't sell or profit or any of that stuff under, you know, with my work, Like it's all theirs, which is fine. Great. You know, my name's on it with them. You know, I get credit for it, but it's copyrighted to, you know, it's copyrighted to them. Got it. You know, and just that like things don't get, you know, again, reproduced for profit and things like that.

23:37We can use them for our own social, our portfolio and things like that. But I mean, the biggest thing is just that we can't make any sort of profit off of those images. okay and to abide by the rules you know nfl they're big on the no gambling policy baseball and hockey they you know they they're more like no gambling on that side but i don't gamble anyway so it's not something that i have to worry about so i don't yeah i don't pay much attention to it i just know that one day i panicked when i saw somebody hacked my account and there was mgm on my statements and i was like no you're joking like this can't happen

24:20I was like, please, I'm going to lose my job. Like I really love my job. No. So I panicked, but anyway, I, I'm a rule follower. So yeah, I just, I stay away from all that kind of stuff. Anything that can get me in trouble or a mistake, I'll cry and yeah, I'll have anxiety about it for weeks. three to five business days. Yeah. Okay. How long are your, is your contract for with the Lions? Are you going season to season? Are you going game to game? Are you home games and away? It's season to season. Okay. So, you know, each season it's asked like, Hey, do you plan on coming back for, you know, the 2026, 27 season?

25:07Yes. Okay. I'll send you the contract, sign it, Just send it back so that way we have an updated contract agreement. So, yeah, it's just season to season. And with the Detroit Lions, it's every home game events with any players or community relations, public relations, you know, things like that. And then we have the opportunity to photograph concerts that take place at Ford Field. So we're considered like the house photographers. If the touring manager, if the tour allows us to photograph, some some tours won't allow it. But yeah, so it's you know, there's a lot there's a lot of responsibility that comes with with that.

25:50Yeah. So are you required to do it? Like, are you you're contracted for the games, but is it a requirement that you're at every game, every community event? Or do you get to pick and choose what you're? So it's a requirement for us to be at every home game because each of us, each photographer has their own responsibility on game days. But we have two backup freelancers. So for some reason, like, I can't be there, you know, like, then we'll bump everybody up kind of like, you know, and then they'll fill in the backup freelancer somewhere. Got it. And so you become like a team with the other freelancers because you guys are there every weekend together.

26:32Yes. That's so fun because you kind of think about like freelance. A lot of freelancers kind of have like a lonely path because they're kind of always on your own. Like you're dealing with your business expenses and your own business stuff on the side, as well as like other events, weddings, all of that. So it's really cool that you can kind of build community because you're there on game day every single week. I feel like this is different than maybe other freelance industries. If you're a little bit bored of your weekday food routine and you need to spice it up, it's winter, it's cold. And we know that sometimes a good meal, especially when it's dark, really hits the spot.

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28:51Okay. Make sure all my batteries are charged, make sure everything's packed. My laptop, my external hard drives, make sure my cards are ready. The shot list is ready. However, there's most days that I do everything the night before. The morning of, I panic and think I'm going to forget something. So unfortunately, I'm kind of type B in that aspect. I get things done the morning of and I kind of run around. But that's the way I know that I'm not forgetting anything. It's like, again, chaos. I thrive in chaos. So back to that. But so I get everything ready. I live about an hour from Detroit. So my day starts a little bit earlier than most.