“…At my height, I might have some different angles than other photographers.”

All Photographs/Quotes by Kevin Durant, Players’ Tribune.

The packed crowd at Superbowl 50 was full of a collection of superstars and celebrities, but few could have predicted that one of those celebrities would be on the sideline, photographing the game. Well that’s exactly what Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant was doing. Durant was invited by the Players’ Tribune and the NFL to be a credentialed photographer for the game, and he accepted. Durant knew that he wasn’t a great photographer, but he likes trying new things and in his words, “I also like to think that at my height, I might have some different angles than other photographers.”

Once Durant got to Levi’s Stadium he realized just how big in scope the Superbowl actually is. “This was a global event,” Durant said, “there’s nothing that compares to the Superbowl.” Durant was able to say hello to a few players he knew like Von Miller, but then it was straight to his “job,” photographing the game. But that wasn’t the easy part. As Durant soon found out, taking quality action photos at a football game is incredibly difficult. “It’s a lot of guessing and adjusting as you go,” Durant said. At one point Durant began guessing if the play was a run or pass, and then focus in on one player to make things easier.

Afterward, Durant said that he can’t believe the amount of talent and focus that a sports photographer must possess when shooting in a stadium or arena full of so much noise and distractions. “I have a ton of respect for people who do this as a profession,” Durant said. Initially, Durant was only going to photograph the game for the first quarter and then go back to his seat, but he ended up covering the whole game and din’t want to miss any of the action through his lens. After it was all said and done, what was the only negative thing about Durant’s trip? His NFL-approved photographer vest didn’t quite fit. “Next time, can I get a Double-XL?”