Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, in partnership with the Castleton Spartan student newspaper.
Scattered along the sidelines of professional sporting events, you will notice the photographers standing with their cameras always at the ready. They wait patiently to capture the defining moments of the game, telling a story as each play unfolds.
Among them is Vermont State University Castleton first-year student Summer Lamont.
At just 19 years old, Lamont has photographed sports at all levels, including professional.
Through her work with the photographic wire service, Icon Sportswire, she has covered iconic organizations like the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and New England Revolution.
Her work has also included capturing images of some of the world’s top athletes, including soccer icon, Lionel Messi.
For Lamont, an avid soccer player herself, her pathway into sports photography began at a young age.
She recalled her aunt letting her play with her camera when she was little, but it wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that her interest in photography began to really take off.
“My freshman year of high school, I really made sports my identity, which I still struggle with, but it was really bad then,” Lamont said. “All I would ever do and think about was soccer, but at the half-way mark of my freshman year, I hurt my knee.”
Unable to finish the season, she began to search for an outlet to keep herself occupied and stay connected to sports.
That’s when a question from her father sparked an idea that led back to someone she had known since childhood.
“My dad was like, what do you want to be when you’re older? And I always thought it was cool what Fred did. I wanted to be like him,” said Lamont.
Fred Kfoury, a New England-based photographer for Icon Sportswire, has known the Lamont family for most of Summer’s life.
Kfoury’s connection to the Lamont family began while photographing Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution, where Lamont’s father regularly attended games and sat behind him.
Over time, the connection became personal.
“I don’t shoot weddings as a general rule. I’ll shoot just about everything, but I don’t shoot weddings,” said Kfoury. “But, her parents got married on the field at Gillette [Stadium], so I was like, ‘okay I’ll be the wedding photographer.’”
At this wedding, he met a very young Summer for the first time.
Not long after, she began accompanying her father to Revolution games, where she spent years observing not only the action on the field, but also right in front of her.
So, when Kfoury heard Lamont aspired to follow in his footsteps, he gladly packaged up one of his old cameras and gifted it to her for Christmas.
“I remember opening up the box on Christmas, and I was so excited. I was freaking out, and I remember the first thing I did was follow my cat around the house,” said Lamont with a smile.
After a bit of practice and chasing Whiskers around the house, Lamont was ready to take her skills to the next level.
Three years ago, she started her own photography business. She began by shooting senior photos, which is something she continues to enjoy during the summer.
Then came the sports aspect.
“Back at home, I was just going to my local high school games, working with the school paper, and as an athlete, a lot of the coaches at my school knew me, so I would get asked to do other stuff because of that,” Lamont said.
Eventually, she got the opportunity to join Kfoury and photograph her first professional game with the New England Revolution.
She spent her senior year shadowing him at Revolution games.
Kfoury knew right then that she had a bright future in the industry.
“So, I talked to my contact out in California, because it’s primarily me and another guy here, and we’re both getting older. They’re going to need to replace us at some point. And I said, ‘hey, I’ve got the person who can shoot for the next 30 years for you,’” Kfoury said.
Sure enough, when Lamont turned 18, she signed a contract with Icon Sportswire and officially became a credentialed photographer.
She continued to work alongside Kfoury, where she also got experience shooting Bruins hockey games.
And when it was time for Kfoury to have a procedure done on his hip, it was Summer’s time to shine.
“My first time, I did it all by myself, was the Messi game in Boston. I was so scared because I was like, if I mess up, like Messi’s here, like this is bad,” said Lamont with a laugh.
From there, Kfoury suggested she cover Patriots camp while he continued to recover from surgery.
She jumped at the chance and quickly made a name for herself.
“She was by far the youngest person covering camp, and her pictures started selling right away,” Kfoury said. “It was funny watching her dad freak out so much. It was really great, she was really great.”
He even jokes that Lamont may have been the good luck the Patriots needed to get back to the Super Bowl.
While Patriots camp and covering the Messi game were certainly highlights of her young career, Lamont recalled some of her favorite moments as things that made her realize her skills.
“My high school team made it to the final four, and they got the banner and everything, and they all stopped and stood in front of my camera. Then, when I did the Patriots, there were a bunch of photographers, and one of the players wanted a photo with these people, and he goes, ‘Oh, she’ll take it,’” said Lamont.
It’s moments like these that have really boosted her confidence.
“It’s like when people choose me and stuff like that, it’s like, wait a second,” she said with a smile.
Her work has already been featured on some of the leading sports news sites, including Sports Illustrated, CBS News, and FOX Sports.
Now, she’s in her freshman year at Castleton, where she’s majoring in communications with a minor in photography.
Here she continues to grow her skills while balancing the always busy student athlete lifestyle, which she admits has been a bit of an adjustment, but she is confident she’s on the right path.
“I have so much to learn and so much room to grow. It makes me excited for the future because this is just the beginning. I don’t like to get cocky or anything, and there’s times I still think I do bad, but at the end of the day, I’m only 19. I still have so many more years to learn and grow, and I’m excited for that,” Lamont said.
