A Different Perspective: Taahir Kelly the Photographer

Taahir Kelly is passionate about running, but his strongest passion may be what’s happening on the track from a different perspective.

One of his true strengths is seeing it all through lens of a camera.

From the Washington D.C. area, Kelly is a rising junior on the Texas State track and field team. He has enjoyed success in sprints, earning All-Sun Belt First Team honors four times as part of relay teams and even helped the Bobcats win a distance medley relay conference championship during his freshman indoor season in 2020.

While he may be standing out on the track, fans and others at meets may see him with a camera in his hand. The photography major has been taking photos since he was in high school. He is drawn to the creative side, and in some cases, at sporting events.

Early on, Kelly was obsessed with the equipment he had. Over time, though, he learned that experience is better than equipment, and he is still using the same lenses he had to start out with while in high school (he has graduated in the level of his camera body). He currently uses a Nikon D7200 camera with a 70-200 f5/6 kit lens, 35mm 1.8 lens and 18-55m kit lens. He started out using a Nikon D3400 camera.

Below are some of Kelly’s photos from his portfolio, showing his progress as a photographer and his range in subjects and events. He also shares where he struggled early on, but how he has grown to become more confident in his abilities.

This photo is one of the first pictures I have taken. I believed it to be such a great frame, even if you can't see the player's face (and it's not completely in focus). For me, it marks the beginning of my journey as a sports photographer. To grow, you got to start. And so this is where I started.

When I first took this photo, I just knew it would be great. After this, I began to take photography very seriously, partially because my peers were not capturing photos like this. It was here where I felt I began to separate myself from the bunch and stand out a little more.

This is where I began to experiment and explore different angels of shooting. I also began to mess around with editing software to enhance the look of my photos. I first wanted to print and frame this, but I did not have the means at the time.

I took this photo in New York City while attending a track meet. For me, it was yet another moment where I was branching out and exploring things to photograph. I used this photo and a few others in a Zine I made titled “Concrete Jungle.”

This photo was a part of a set of images and it was the first time I was intentional about what I was shooting and the guiding theme. Another way of experimenting and finding myself as a photographer. This project was titled the “Lost Boy” and was the first real photo project I did.

In this photo, I started shooting film and became interested in documentary photography. My intent was to expand my knowledge with different mediums and categories of photography. These are my teammates and coach, from left to right: Ashton Callahan, Coach Trent Edgerton, Dominick Yancy and Brian West.

This is probably one of my best portraits I’ve taken so far. More than I realize, this photo changed a lot for me, from landing my first two paid graduation shoots to boosting my confidence as a photographer of any subjects.

This was my second graduation shoot, and it was a learning curve for me as a photographer. It was windy. The light was constantly changing. So, I had to adjust my settings accordingly. Plus, it was hot! This photos is one of the “could have been’s” for me: it could have been so much better if I had the proper settings at the time to get the eyes and face perfectly sharp the exposure on point. This showed me I still have much to learn with my camera and as a photographer overall.

This was my first time shooting soccer, and I had no idea what to look for or wait for. My best friend in the picture told me to just keep the camera on him and something would happen. Something did happen: he ended missing this goal.

Here is when I realized the importance of fast vs. slow shutter speeds on cameras. I also began to understand framing my subjects better and being intentional with my shots.

This is a good representation of my current style of shooting (and a nice shot of my teammate Dominick Yancy). I’m trying to be more neutral in my tones and perfect the exposure as seen with the eye. Also, I look for my pictures to be more cinematic so you’ll see this composition a lot from me.

This photo was from my first time taking pictures of track and field. Me being a runner myself, I was always running and did not have the opportunity until getting to Texas State. My teammate Brian West got to be one of the first subjects of my track photos.

My first time with an official media pass gave me access to the sidelines for the first time and allowed me to explore different angles to shoot from. This is not my favorite picture; however, it shows me making advancements in my career as a I improve as a photographer. 

One of my favorite pictures I’ve taken from this past football season (it's of Marcell Barbee on our football team). It’s a representation of my growth as a photographer and helped me establish myself as a sports photographer.

This photo marks a time in both my athletic career and photographer. It was my first time photographing AND competing at a NCAA Regional meet. Since I was done competing at this point, I figured I would take out my camera and take photos of some of the other athletes competing. I always like to bring my camera on trips to meets.

I was attempting to be more creating in my thinking towards my photos. I experimented with using a wide angle to get a more artistic look in the photo. This is of my teammate Isaac Sadzewicz.

One of my first pictures ever taken was one of my best friend playing again playing soccer. I was super new to every aspect of photography and I put an HDR filter over this and thought it was the best photo ever.

What I like to call my true calling: wildlife photography. Wildlife photography was my first passion, from watching National Geographic documentaries to being in Australia photographing dingoes myself.

This photo holds a special place in my heart. Recently, I lost one of my dogs to cancer, and I was not home to say my goodbyes. However, upon returning home, my other dog welcomed a litter of 10 puppies, and I was ecstatic to photograph them.

This was my first time ever seeing an eagle. I used this photo for a while to tell people I saw it in the wild. But in reality, it was just an eagle at the zoo.

The last two photos are from protests at the White House in response to the police brutality. I had been to many protests before, but this was the first time I was able to capture the emotions and chaos.