Meet Kate Kirsch

We were lucky to catch up with Kate Kirsch recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

I have never really been the type that would be labeled as a “risk taker” but after having my children I think I lost myself a little bit and being a photographer for a few years I was ready to try something new. One day, pre-season, I just reached out to the Norfolk Tides and asked if it would be possible to come out and shoot a game. The worst that could happen would have been no reply or a no, right? Well, luckily for me, they reached out with a few dates and had me come shadow one of the team photographers. From the moment I walked into that dugout I was hooked. I believe the Norfolk Tides, specifically John Stanley, is a huge contributing factor as to how I have developed the ability to take risk. If I hadn’t gotten a reply I am not too sure I would have tried many other places. That one “yes” lit a fire in me.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a sports photographer. I love all sports, but baseball has my heart. The main difference shooting different sports is the speed of the game. I started with football with a starter camera and I didn’t truly know what I was doing, but I knew my settings well enough that I thought in my head “I could shoot baseball”. When I reached out to the Tides I had no clue what I was in for, I knew the game and thought this will be so easy. I guess the speed of the pitch and the speed of the ball off the bat did not compute in my head with where my settings needed to be. I loved and still do love, the challenges of trying to freeze the ball in my images.

My goal since that first game last year, has been to get to the big leagues. I will say, I am in no rush to leave my minor league team. I listened to a podcast that Scott Kornberg and Troy Johnston have and one of them said “no one wants to be in triple-a” and while yes, my ultimate goal is to get to the Major Leagues, I still have all the love in the world for my triple-a team.

This year I have just been focused on of course, catching the action in the exact moment needed, but also just trying to be creative with my work and I love the freedom I have to be expressive. I have also started my journey into sports videography but I have a long way to go with that one!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Honestly, I know a lot of people that think photography is just a click and then you have this beautiful image. There obviously is way more to it than that, just knowing how to use your gear can put you miles above someone else who you might think is better because they have more expensive equipment. I think that is when imposter syndrome comes knocking.

With photography in general whether it’s portraits or sports, you have to be able to adapt. Social media is an everchanging industry. You have to be somewhat in the know of what is trending and what the audience is currently into. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. But I will say that it pushes you, I have tried and failed so may times but the one time that you get the picture you want it’s all worth it.

I am such a reserved person and baseball has forced me into talking to so many other creatives. If I hadn’t found my little circle of creatives that I go to for advice and inspiration to I am not sure how original my work would continue to be.

I am pretty certain that if I didn’t know how to use my gear, how to communicate, and adapt I wouldn’t be where I am today.

This is my favorite question and I love it so much when people ask, what advice would you give. Simply, just try it. Ask if you can photograph a game, ask someone you admire all of the questions, ask anything and everything because the worst that can happen is a no. Fail. Failing is a part of life, and it will only make you better. Just don’t let your fear get in the way of your success.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

This is my second season with the Norfolk Tides, and I can say without a doubt, my biggest area of growth is cutting back on overshooting. I was so afraid to “miss” things last year that I would shoot way too many images that didn’t help the social and media team at all. I cut back from easily 1,600 images a game to about 300-500 depending on the outcome of the game. Sometimes, less is more! Or at least a lot easier for the media team to go through and see what is useable!

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