Cass Edwards: Sports & Music Photography Master | Get The Shot Ep. 2

Step into the fast-paced world of performance photography with Cass Edwards, a dynamic Perth-based shooter making waves in the AFL, NRL, and Ice Hockey scenes. In this episode, we dive deep into the technical demands of shooting low-light sports, the art of networking, and the honest reality of managing mental health in a creative freelance career.

Watch the full episode here:

Episode Overview: Capturing the Energy of Live Performance

Host Joe sits down with Cass Edwards, a prolific sports and music photographer who has carved out a unique niche capturing the raw energy of live performance. From the chaotic rinks of the Australian Ice Hockey League to the massive stadiums of the AFL, Cass reveals how she anticipates the action and tells a story through her lens. Beyond the technical, this episode offers a refreshing look at the business side of creativity, discussing how to leverage TikTok to build a brand and the importance of recognising the highs and lows of the creative roller coaster to prevent burnout.

Techniques: Anticipation and the “Action-Reaction” Rule

Shooting sports isn’t just about following the ball. Cass breaks down her philosophy on capturing the complete story of a match, emphasising that the magic often happens off the field, in the crowd.

  • Performance is Universal: Cass notes that athletes and musicians are similar to capture; both are giving their absolute everything, and the photographer’s job is to document that raw performance. [00:59]
  • Action and Reaction: When a big moment happens, like a goal, Cass looks for two things: the celebration (action) and the crowd’s response (reaction). Getting both creates the most dynamic shots. [02:04]
  • The Chaos of Ice Hockey: Unlike some sports with frequent pauses, ice hockey is non-stop. Cass explains that with players constantly battling and setting up plays, you never run out of things to shoot. [03:09]
  • Finding Stories on the Pitch: It is vital to let your eyes wander the field to find athletes who are focused or reacting, even if it means risking missing a main play to capture a unique story. [02:40]

Workflow: Editing High-Speed, Low-Light Images

The post-production process varies wildly depending on the sport. Cass contrasts the ease of editing daylight sports with the technical challenges of indoor ice rinks.

  • Day vs. Night: For outdoor sports like AFL in good lighting, editing is minimal: mostly cropping or minor adjustments, because the shot looks great in-camera. [04:15]
  • The Ice Hockey Challenge: Shooting ice hockey requires high shutter speeds in dark rinks, leading to high ISOs and underexposed images. This demands significantly more time in post-production to balance and polish the final image. [04:39]
  • Immediate Editing: For big events, Cass often edits during the game to meet client needs. However, she also reviews images immediately upon getting home to ensure she “got the shot” before resting. [03:29]
  • Volume of Shots: In a single ice hockey game, it is not uncommon to shoot up to 6,000 photos, requiring late nights to cull and edit the best moments. [03:22]

Business: Networking and Building Community

Cass attributes much of her success to persistence and the modern power of social media. She shares how she bypassed the gatekeepers by building her own audience.

  • The TikTok Niche: Noticing a gap in the market, Cass started posting “game day” vlogs and photography tips on TikTok. This quickly built a supportive community of other female photographers and hockey fans. [08:16]
  • Cold Emailing Works: A lot of opportunities came from simply sending emails introducing herself. She treats it as a numbers game, noting that persistence is key even if the response rate is low. [19:19]
  • Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Cass initially feared other photographers would judge her work, but found that reaching out created a valuable support network rather than competition. [18:16]
  • Freelance Variety: While she loves her role with the Perth Thunder, Cass values the freedom of freelancing because the variety of shooting different sports keeps her engaged and motivated. [07:03]

Wellness: Managing Creative Burnout

One of the most insightful parts of the conversation revolves around mental health. Cass opens up about the “dopamine crash” that follows major events and how she manages her energy.

  • The Post-Event Comedown: After the intense high of shooting a major event like the State of Origin, Cass often experiences a mood crash the next day, which she now recognises as a chemical comedown from the excitement. [11:38]
  • Identifying Patterns: By recognising these patterns of euphoria followed by sadness, she can now plan to be gentler with herself in the days following a big shoot. [12:14]
  • Work-Life Balance: Having a partner who encourages her to step away from the computer and “look at some plants” has been essential in breaking the cycle of overworking. [10:40]
  • Social Media Ghosting: To protect her mental space, Cass sometimes takes month-long breaks from social media when the pressure to post becomes overwhelming. [12:47]

“Build community. When I first started, I was actually really scared of having other photographer friends because I was worried that they would look at my work and be like, “Oh, she doesn’t actually know what she’s doing.” Which I think a lot of photographers think about themselves… So I think the biggest piece of advice is: don’t be afraid to like create community.”

– Cass Edwards

Q&A

Q: With your niches being music and sport, would you say performance is the word that captures all of it?

“Yeah I think it is. I often think that both athletes and musicians are both very, very similar to capture… They’re just people that are out there like giving their absolute everything and I get to capture their performance”

Q: When you’re at a gig or a sporting event, what are your priorities?

“In sports, if there’s a like a massive goal you’re kind of capturing the goal, the celebration, but then you’re also capturing the crowd’s reaction to it. So it’s kind of like action and reaction, they’re kind of the two things.”

Q: Do you prefer being tied down with a company or do you sort of prefer freelancing?

“I have so much variety in my week, and I think I would really struggle if I was doing kind of the same thing every week – so variety for me is always what keeps me going.”

Q: Do you have a piece of networking advice especially if you’re in a creative field?

“Don’t be afraid to create community… Follow the photographers in your city, follow the photographers who are doing the same thing. Don’t be scared to reach out and ask them questions.”

We hope this episode inspired you to pick up your camera and shoot what you love, regardless of the lighting conditions or the niche. Cass Edwards’ journey is a testament to the power of passion, persistence, and the importance of looking after your mental well-being in a creative industry. Be sure to subscribe to Get The Shot for more insights from Australia’s leading creatives.

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In this series, we speak with photographers from all walks of life about the stories behind their work; the behind-the-scenes chaos, the spontaneous camera rigs held together with tape, the interactions with strangers, and everything that got them there. Sometimes you gotta go out of your way to get the shot.