Most sports photography is done by men. Meet three lenswomen who are rewriting the narrative, expanding the visual universe of female athleticism. 

Women's sports are finally getting a podium slot in mainstream media coverage, and sportswomen at the top of their game are dominating international headlines. The accompanying images? Those are almost always shot by men. 

A 2024 image of the photographers’ bleachers at the Paris 2024 Olympics went viral after it highlighted the gender disparity in sports photography. A 2024 report by Zappia found the industry was over 62 percent male; only five percent of NFL photographers are women. From photographers to videographers and even on-camera pundits—the world view of women’s sports has been shaped, historically, without women. 

But a new generation of lenswomen are reframing the narrative. These women are spotlighting not just photography as a career for the next generation—it’s hard to be what one cannot see—they are changing the visual landscape entirely. They are depicting women athletes with a natural nuance; through her lens, the female athlete is a 360-degree being. “When women photograph women, the energy changes,” says Atlanta-based photographer Tiaras Polite, who shoots the WNBA. “There’s intuition. There’s softness when it’s needed and fire when it’s deserved.” 

Polite joins the Danimás line-up of lenswomen to watch alongside New York-based Ashé Davis and Maureen Stockton in Los Angeles. “There is a dynamism and grace of movement in the way they portray athletic physiques,” says Danimás’ founder Dany Garcia, a Hollywood producer and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions, which recently released The Smashing Machine. She also co-owns the UFL. “Each image tells a beautiful story with a depth that is not always present in mainstream sports photography.” 

Their diverse visual styles also prove that there is not just one way to capture or view women’s sports or sportswomen. Photographers, just like players, cannot be pigeonholed based on gender alone. 

Davis has had a stellar 2025. In June, the athletics photographer and former track runner was invited to shoot Faith Kipyegon’s Breaking4 attempt in Paris—her image wound up being a global Nike campaign. “As a black woman photographer, specifically, covering a black woman’s historic attempt felt unreal,” says Davis, who grew up on Long Island. 

Her gaze is one that empowers. “If men can participate in sports and be unapologetically themselves, why can’t women do the same?” asks Davis. She started shooting her teammates in high school after receiving a Sony camera as a gift. “Women have been told to ‘not be too muscular; don’t be too loud; be lady-like’… When I am shooting women, I want to go against that.” 

Take, for example, the black-and-white image taken at the start line, at the 2024 US Olympic trials. It’s a flurry of power and precision; it is shoulders and deltoids and triceps and hands that move through the air with intention. It’s a split-second moment immortalized forever; the muscle and tissue of the female physique are reframed as art. 

Another example is the image of Tara Davis-Woodhall, taken rather unusually from the ground up, capturing the moment she stood, queen-like, toward the auditorium and basked in the crowd’s cheers. This shot captures not just a moment, but a mood. It’s Davis-Woodall as athletics royalty—seen, adored, victorious. “Women work hard for their bodies and their sport, and I love highlighting the shadows and striations of the muscle an athlete has,” she says.

Davis enjoys capturing the emotion of competing, from moments of pre-race prayer to finish-line elation. “I believe one of the most raw emotions that you will find [is] the athlete before competing,” she says. “Women athletes want to be seen for more than just their bodies and what they can do for the male gaze.” She’s conscious, however, about facial expressions, releasing images that speak to the intensity of feeling or effort, while also being an image that captures each athletes’ own beauty. “I would often get complimented on my ability to run and be photographed with my mouth shut,” says Davis. 

She cites the image of Anna Hall from 2024 (see main image) as an example. Hall, having come back from knee surgery, a broken foot and an injury to win a spot on the Olympic team, is pictured bursting with smiles and true raw emotion. It’s passion and pride and power. Through the male gaze, this image would typically be gritty, with an air of the grotesque. Through her lens, with her angle, the photograph becomes an expression of humanity and femininity. The image is stunning. “It’s not only about women athletes being captured, but how they are captured that’s important.” 

Tiaras Polite has built a niche shooting women athletes at a grassroots, college, and professional level. Focusing on documenting under-represented sports, Polite cut her teeth by showing up to games, volunteering to take photos. Soon, she was hired by universities and then the WNBA came calling. In February this year, she quit her 9-5 job to turn pro. “It validated the lane I chose—giving women’s sports the same creative, cinematic, high production energy men have always received.” Her story shows it’s never too late for passion to become a profession. 

Polite has always been interested in storytelling. “For me, it’s the in-between details athletes rarely see of themselves,” she says. “The hair flying mid-sprint; the tension in a gymnast’s form or her toes; the quiet intensity in a cheerleader's expression. It’s choosing an angle that emphasizes the ball and the strength of a kick. It’s paying attention to timing instead of just pressing the shutter. It’s the framing that reveals their presence.” 

Lenswomen are, she says, more observant. “Women athletes are sometimes multi-dimensional in ways you wouldn’t know unless you took the time to notice. I have captured softball players who are also published models and pageant competitors. The duality is incredible, and it deserves to be photographed with intention.” She thinks the female gaze is more honest. “It expands how women athletes are seen instead of flattening them into a single perspective.” 

Polite sets up her lens to enable these moments. She uses lower angles during jumps or sprints to make the athlete feel larger than life, “not minimized or passive.” She waits patiently for clean, technical moments. “I will run up an SD card if it means capturing the perfect gaze or smile or jump,” she says. She’s deliberate about the images she publishes. “Women’s bodies are judged more harshly and publicly than men’s. I choose images that highlight what their bodies do, [and avoid] unflattering moments that pull them out of the story.” 

As a high school soccer player who developed breasts early, Polite has always been mindful of the female body. “I was heavy chested and self conscious and the few photos we did get never made me feel strong or beautiful,” she says. “Insecurities can form early, especially in sports when your body is constantly on display,” she says. “It matters for women and girls to see themselves reflected with intention, dignity, and pride. Not just documented, but truly seen. In a perfect world, I want girls to run towards the camera, not hide from it. The female gaze helps create the world that tells them: You belong here. You look incredible doing this. Don’t shrink.”