Meet Amanda Malini | Sports Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Malini and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The single most important decision I made that contributed to my success was realizing that I can’t please everyone. I need to edit my photos in a way that represents me/my brand and worry less about what I think the subject wants out of me. This was crucial in getting started because I wasn’t able to find a style that best suited me, as I always wanted someone else to tell me what looked better. Yet, I learned that my style will attract people to me, not that I need to cater my style to them.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am both a sports commentator and a sports photographer. The cross between the two professions is rather slim, but I find myself enjoying it. As someone who commentates I find new and slightly unorthodox approaches to calling games because of how I see the game through my lens. For photography, it gives me an opportunity to think about how I would focus on the game as a commentator and find the details in the photos I will produce. It’s not easy for number of reasons, mostly with being a minority woman in such a male dominated industry. I have overcome these challenges by putting in the time where I needed it most, and by having a personality that others want to bring around again and again. However, I have learned that there are people that won’t like my personality and what I bring to the table, and I just have to deal with that. I want the world to know that I want sports to be accessible, I want to be able to humanize these athletes and remember that they are human and not gods.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love visiting the Star in Frisco, Legacy West in Plano is one of my favorite places to hang around and do work, I like to go to The Colony’s Top Golf. To eat, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Hattie B’s, Zalat’s Pizza, and Cookie Society and SomiSomi.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Kevin Snyder – I have looked up to him for most of my life, I have learned a lot from him, and when I think about my photography, I think of where I started and how he has taught me to improve my craft.

Chris Devenski – When I met him, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life as I was still in high school, but as I’ve gotten older he has supported me time and time again since then.

Website: https://amandamalini88.wixsite.com/portfolio

Instagram: @amalini53

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-bachelder/

Twitter: @amalini53