Real Talk with Carrie Giordano

TFK Kid Reporter Meyer Ballas spoke with Carrie Giordano, a sports photographer based in Los Angeles, California. She takes pictures on the field for two professional teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams. Her job is to document important moments during the games. In September, Carrie captured a moment in baseball history: Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.

Read the transcript below to learn about Giordano’s career in sports photography, in her own words.

What’s it like to be a sports photographer?

It’s my dream job. I started out shooting Little League, and I didn’t know if I would go down the route of sports photography. I thought of documenting just one Dodgers game back then, but it felt so far off.

How did you get into sports photography?

I was one of those kids who always had a camera, but I didn’t think it would be a career path for me. When I started shooting Little League, it was just a side job. Later, I got a job at Dodger Stadium, and I went back to school for photography. When I got the job, I had always thought I would do landscape photography. 

One time, at Dodger Stadium, I met [Dodgers photographer] John SooHoo, and he let me hold his camera. From that point on, I was hooked.

How did you get your job with the Dodgers?

I started off doing all those little shoots no one wanted to do, like [photographing] someone signing autographs really far away. I started working for a sports media company, which is basically a company that shoots the games and supplies them to the news. The bad thing was, the pay was terrible. But I did that for a couple of years until one of the Dodgers photographers was leaving. So that’s how I got in.

Giordano captures Dodgers pitcher Gavin Stone in action.

CARRIE GIORDANO

What’s your favorite moment to have documented?

There have been a lot of good ones, but any walk-offs are really exciting, since I get to run onto the field. If I had to pick one, it would be when the Dodgers clinched their division in 2019. It was so exciting—they had a huge celebration.

What advice would you give someone who’s interested in photography?

I would say just to work hard and work up. If you wanted to take some pictures, I’d bet you could go out and shoot some sporting events. For example, I don’t shoot a lot of soccer, but my son just started playing, so I’ve been shooting at his games.  

So really, it doesn’t take a big arena or pro sports to get good at it. Once you have a good portfolio—whether it’s Little League, high school, or college—then you can kind of show people that, and they might trust you for a job. So really, just document as much as you can.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.