Position Introduction

The Director of Photography provides strategic and creative leadership for all photography efforts within OU Athletics. Serving as the department's subject-matter expert and primary decision-maker for photographic content, this role exercises independent creative judgment to conceptualize, produce, and deliver original visual storytelling that reflects and advances the OU Athletics brand.

This position is responsible for setting the visual direction and photographic style across all programs, ensuring consistency, originality, and alignment with institutional brand standards. The Director of Photography oversees all photography operations, including creative planning, execution, archiving, and asset management, while supervising full-time staff, student workers and contractor photographers. The role collaborates closely with internal creative teams and external partners to produce high-impact visual content that supports marketing, recruiting, and communications objectives. This position requires regular evening and weekend work to creatively capture and direct coverage of athletic events and departmental functions.

Essential Functions

• Serve as the primary creative authority for all photography requests across OU Athletics, independently planning and executing studio, practice, competition, and location-based photo shoots from concept through final delivery.
• Create original photographic works that capture the emotion, energy, and defining moments of OU Athletics through artistic composition, lighting, timing, and storytelling.
• Exercise independent creative judgment in determining photographic approach, style, subject matter, and visual narrative for each assignment.
• Edit and finalize images using professional photo-editing software, applying advanced artistic and technical expertise to ensure high-quality, publication-ready content.
• Establish and maintain the department's photographic style and visual standards, working collaboratively with creative staff to ensure cohesive brand representation across all platforms.
• Provide primary oversight of the department's digital photography archive, determining best practices for organization, metadata, and long-term asset preservation.
• Manage the photography budget, exercising discretion in allocating resources and collaborating with other departments to support project needs while maintaining fiscal integrity.
• Hire, supervise, train, and mentor a team of student photographers, providing creative direction and feedback to ensure consistent quality and coverage.
• Coordinate and direct on-location photoshoots for each sport program, producing high-quality action photography, headshots, portraits, and special projects.
• Review and approve photographic content prior to distribution to ensure adherence to creative, brand, and quality standards.
• Collaborate with sports programs, marketing, communications, and external vendors to deliver custom photographic assets tailored to specific audiences and objectives.
• Oversee the selection, use, and maintenance of professional photography equipment, including cameras, lenses, lighting, and studio resources.
• Evaluate existing workflows and photography processes, recommending improvements and innovative approaches.
• Stay current with emerging trends, techniques, and technologies in photography and visual storytelling to keep OU Athletics at the forefront of collegiate athletics imagery.