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How and when did you get into photography?
“I have two passions in life, videography, and sports.
I was always too small to play football and I still wanted to be a part of the team, so I decided to make football highlights. During my junior year of high school, we ended up winning a state championship in Central California. I fell in love with creating highlight recaps of each game and was fortunate enough to travel to every game with the team.
Once I entered college, I had to prove to the new head coach that I wasn’t going to create a HUDL-style mixtape but bring my own unique style into editing. I have been filming with the team since and have evolved my skill set and cameras since. I shoot with the Sony A7Siii along with my lighting and stabilizers. I created season openers, jersey reveals, and game recaps, as well as mic’d up and sports recaps of the entire college for their sport award show at the end of the year. I post every single video to my Instagram where many people reach out for their own videos.
I had the opportunity to come to the NFL Pro Day in Bozeman, where I met the Raiders scout who suggested that I apply to the positions that were open. My passion to live, breathe, consume football will forever stay strong, and am ready to start from the bottom again to prove my worth.”
What has improved most since you started?
“Definitely the editing style and quality. I started filming Carroll games in the beginning with a $400 camera and now shoot with a $6k rig and shoot 4k.”
“The color editing has also improved since as well. I film in raw video, so it looks extremely de-saturated. I learned how to put in color to make it look cinematic.”
What subjects do you photograph?
“I photograph sports, weddings, and graduation shoots.”
Where do you get your inspiration?
“I look at all the D1 schools and NFL teams, look at their social media as inspiration, and put my own twist on the videos and pictures. Often an idea will come up in my head, for the season opener I listened to a song and knew it would be perfect for a video, so I listened to it around 30 times and imagined every scene to the song and turned my ideas onto the screen.”
What is your process?
“I will pick a song and listen to it and think of all the scenes I could film during the song. Then I will do whatever I can to turn that idea into reality. All the effects I have done are DIY I have learned how to do myself. Instead of buying a $6k virtual wall, I will shoot a projector through a screen, and it is a DIY virtual wall.”
“I study film and photography every day learning how to get better. I will stay up late if I must or ask people their opinions before I post it. If you really want to make your passion a career, you will be willing to study day and night and work on your craft until, one day, you make it.”
For more of Luke Olmes’ photography, check out his Instagram.
