A photograph can be powerful. It possesses the ability to capture the raw emotion of a singular moment and preserve an otherwise fleeting snippet of time while telling a story in the process.
Over the next few weeks, we're going to take a look back at 10 of the best photos from the 2024-25 season along with commentary from Chiefs' Director of Photography Steve Sanders.
Here's what we've covered so far:
We'll continue with No. 7:
"From the Fan's View"
Setting: Week 16 vs. Houston
The Subject: Defensive end Charles Omenihu fires up the crowd prior to kickoff.
Taken By: Kyle Rivas
Camera Model: SONY ILCE-9M3
Focal Length: 400 mm
Exposure Time: 1/5,000
Aperture: f/2.8
Steve Sanders' Thoughts:
Q: What was going on here, and why did you include this photo in the collection?
Sanders: "On game day, Kyle is everywhere. He's out in the parking lots, he's running around the upper bowl – he's everywhere. I can't even imagine how many steps he logs on game day," Sanders said. "For this one, he put himself with the fans to capture this moment. This was during pre-game, and Charles just stopped right there and gave a yell. Kyle didn't know this was going to happen, but he had positioned himself well, and he was able to find a nice view there between the fans cheering. He made a great image."
Q: What stands out to you about this photo?
Sanders: "It has great lines, and the player is clean. That's one of the things that we always try to achieve – a photo with a nice, clean background behind the athlete," Sanders said. "I think this just puts the viewer in the seat of a fan. It's as if you were sitting there and watching this moment happen."
Q: What's the value of positioning your photographers in the stands like this?
Sanders: "We plan this out. We have a system where we have people moving constantly to follow the ball, both from a low and high angle," Sanders said. "It allows our whole team to capture different perspectives of the game. You want to have the perspective from both the fans and the players on the field, and you want to mix that up so that you're not just repeatedly taking the same photos."
Q: How was Kyle able to frame this so perfectly?
Sanders: "I imagine he moved all around the row there, and he found that perfect window," Sanders said. "He had the right lens, too, so he could capture this shot."
