Skip to content Skip to footer

From the sport to behind the lens: Famous athletes turned photographers

Athletes turned photographers. Taking their unique and skilled eyes on the field/court/ice and transferring it to behind the lens.

Some of the best athletes on the planet have shown to be talented in other fields, like becoming successful designers or actors. And in recent years, athletes have also turned to photography to showcase a completely different side of their talents.

As these athletes get behind the lens, they often find themselves photographing sports events. Some have also gone outside the sports world and photographed concerts, wildlife and their experiences in other countries. 

Here are some of the most notable names of athletes turned photographers.


Kevin Durant

KD, The Slim Reaper, had a front row seat to Super Bowl 50 when he was invited by the NFL as a credentialed photographer for one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

Kevin Durant photography. It even also has a nice ring to it.

Durant has talked about wanting to explore himself outside of basketball. And photography is one of the many ventures he has shown an interest in. He is as skilled a basketball player as there is on the planet. But he has also shown that his talents go beyond the basketball court.

Durant’s photography portfolio looks like it will just keep on building.


Ken Griffey Jr. 

One of the best baseball players to ever play the game and as influential a baseball player as there has ever been. The Kid has picked up a camera and become a professional photographer, working for places like ESPN.

He has been seen on the sidelines of many NFL and NCAA football games, even photographing a game in which his son played in. Ken Griffey Jr. has taken photography seriously ever since he retired in 2010. He is the prototypical example of star athlete turned photographer


Randy Johnson

One of the best pitchers of his era is The Big Unit.

Johnson, who majored in photojournalism in college, began photographing for major media outlets after his retirement. He has photographed for NASCAR.

Johnson has also gone outside of the sports world with his photography. He has captured wildlife like the African safaris, musical artists and concerts. Still, nonetheless he remains one of the most famous and prestigious athletes turned photographers.


Tyson Chandler

The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner got into photography right in the prime of his career.

He debuted a photography exhibition called “A Year in a New York Minute.” It documented photographs he took over the course of a year in New York City, London, and Tanzania.

Chandler has said that his 7-foot-1 frame allows him to see angles that most aren’t able to. A benefit of being one of many athletes turned photographers.


Annice Lynn

A former National Figure Skater, Lynn has become an award-winning sports photographer. Her work often captures what goes on behind the scenes of figure skating. She uses her experience as a figure skater to capture the moments that someone not familiar with the sport may miss. 

View this post on Instagram

Apparently there’s an occasion for practically EVERYTHING, so Happy World Photography Day !

For the third year in a row, I’m super stoke and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival as an exhibitor and panel speaker for both @womenphotographersmy & @womenstreetphotographers to share the love of photography and visual story telling. Due to the amidst concern of the novel coronavirus, @malaysia_klpf will be hosting its annual exhibition virtually from the 19 August – 19 September 2020. Making KLPF 2020 the first online photo festival in the region.

So mark your September calendar guys and join me on the #KLPF2020 FB Live. Here are the programmes lineup schedules:

Women Street Photographers (@womenstreetphotographers) A dialogue by the curator and the photographers. Panel: Gulnara Samoilova (@gulnara_nyc Founder of Women Street Photographers), Ximena Echague (@ximena_echague Documentary & Street Photographer) & Annice Lyn (Visual Artist, Documentary & Sports Photographer) Country: USA/Malaysia Date: 13 September 2020, Sunday Time: 9.30pm to 11.00pm (Malaysia Time)

Women ‘Photographers Malaysia (@womenphotographersmy)
Her.Perspective’ – An Observation of the Female Eye: A showcase of powerful visuals by women photographers in Malaysia and is intended to break boundaries, impact, and encourage an inclusive culture within the creatives industry in Malaysia. Speakers: Annice Lyn, Aisha Nazar (@aishanazar), Carol Yong (@kehrol) Date: 15 September 2020, Tuesday Time: 9.30pm to 10.30pm

This year will be a special in particular, as the WPM shutter sisters & I were given a platform to conduct an open call to Women Photographers across Malaysia to participate and be apart of something much larger than us an individuals. Not to mention, able to have the capacity to provide windows of opportunities for others, that was once bestowed me was unfathomable, in a good way !

Hence do check out the KLPF 2020 Virtual Online Exhibition, LINK IN BIO ! #WPMPhotos #WomenPhotographersMY 
#KLPF #KLPF2020 #HERPerspective #WomenStreetPhotographers

A post shared by Annice Lyn (@annicelyn) on


Isaac Rochell

A defensive end for the Los Angeles Chargers, Rochell has photographed boxing champions. But he also uses his platform to warn people of the dangers social media can have on someone’s mental health.

Rochell has also photographed many soccer games and even a Lakers game. Like everyone on this list, Rochell has shown he is more than an athlete. An athlete turned photographer.