KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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The Kansas City Chiefs' photography crew works to share photos with fans in real time.
“We’re one of the only teams that really shoot finished work out of the camera," said Steve Sanders, director of photography for the Chiefs.
Sanders said he's "meticulous" when it comes to the technical side of photography. For example, he focuses on making sure his photos are color-balanced. That way, his photos can be shared with fans in minutes.
“Social media is a now media," Sanders said. "If a touchdown happens, we have that photo out of the camera and to our designers, to our social team, to our editors here within seconds, and they can have it on X or Instagram within a minute or two.”
Sanders said he feels like he's living a dream.
“Really, I’ve seen the whole ebb and flow of the team since 1996," he said.
From five Super Bowls — winning three — to going to the White House to meet the president, Sanders says he's photographed more history with the Chiefs than he expected when he began working with the team nearly 30 years ago.
He said his favorite photo from Super Bowl LIX was from behind the bench, where Hollywood Brown was sitting and Xavier Worthy was approaching.
"Xavier's got a towel over his head, his head is kind of down," Sanders said as he described the photo. "You can tell Hollywood is down, too, but they're coming together, they're giving a handshake. You got the green confetti behind them, so you know it's not good for us. It just continues to tell that story of we still have to work no matter what."
Just like the players, Sanders' crew aims to win.
"Really just try to challenge ourselves every week to win at the photo game," he said. "We work on speed. We want to get images out to the public as quick as possible."
Sanders said the players get photos in real time, too.
"Those arrival photos are some of the most important to the guys," he said. "They love those. We send those out to them as we're taking them."
Bri Ali, a seasonal photographer for the Chiefs, photographed players arriving Sunday at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. She said it's all about the fashion.
“You see, he got his bag, he got the shoes — subtle, he got the nice slacks, and whatever that says [on his shirt], it's fire," Ali said of Chiefs wide receiver Nikko Remigio.
For Sanders, that's what it's all about — mentoring younger photographers like Ali. Because 30 years ago, he didn't know he would be living his dream.
“Go to five Super Bowls — win three — go to the White House, see the president, go to the Oval Office," he said. "I mean, these are all things way up the list that I never thought I’d be able to do.”
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