More than a decade ago, Buff came to me at the North Little Rock Times and said he knew a guy who could take some good sports pictures.
Desperate for freelancers, I asked who, and he said, “Jaison Sterling,” and, “he’s the one who got the Tenpenny photo.” I immediately knew who he meant.
Jasion had taken a picture the previous football season of North Little Rock’s Altee Tenpenny high-hurdling a defender that had caught the state’s attention, and mine too.
From that point, he was my go-to photographer for sports, and Callie, his wife, a talented writer and photographer herself, churned out some excellent and award-winning copy. I can’t recall how many awards they won, but it was a bunch, from the Arkansas Press Association and national awards as well.
Jaison still continues to be a contributing photographer to ArkansasNewsroom.com while running his own photography business, Rock Town Sports.
He uses smoke and lighting and scale-altering effects in his shoots to make athletes look like superheroes. Some, like Caitlin Clark, actually are.
Photos by Jasion Sterling
I’ve somehow managed to be doing this for three decades now, and Jaison is the most talented photographer I’ve worked with, or around.
His skills were on display last week when ESPN hired him to shoot the Women’s Final Four Media Day featuring South Carolina, Iowa, UConn and North Carolina State.
Some of those images went viral, but that’s old hat for Jaison. His work now has a global reach, thanks to his relentless social media efforts.
What follows is a Q&A with Jaison that has been lightly edited and formatted for publication.
Some of his images from that day, as well as videos, are embedded as well.
>> How did you make the connection with ESPN to shoot the Women’s Final Four Media Day?
They initially reached out on Instagram and asked for my email. They said they have several projects they would like to work with me on!
>> How long did the shoot take?
Let’s start from the beginning!
My assistant (Jaris Johnson aka DJ Jellybean) and I left Arkansas at 11:30 p.m. on Monday night and arrived at the Cleveland convention center by 2:30 p.m. We had everything set up and ready by 5 p.m. when the convention center closed.
Next day we were there from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and took photos from 10:30-3. We had anywhere from 2-7 minutes with each player, depending on the production needs for those players (there were three other rooms for TV production the teams had to be in). NCAA strictly mandates how much time each team/player can be with the media.
We had anywhere between 15-30 minutes between teams, just long enough for me to import my images, quickly edit a few and upload to ESPN. Talk about a tight deadline!! They wanted the photos ASAP to share on social media, and a few were even on the broadcast!!
After we broke everything down and packed up, I had to have Jaris at the airport by 6 p.m. to catch a 7 p,m, flight home. He had a DJ gig on Thursday he couldn't miss.
Dropped him off at the airport and I drove 5 hours to Louisville, Kentucky. Stayed the night there and drove 8 hours home on Thursday.
Friday I photographed a Little League baseball team and Saturday, 80 cheerleaders!!
>> Besides yourself, how many helpers did you take with you to get everything done?
Just one, Jaris or DJ Jellybean.
>> What was your favorite moment at the shoot?
Honestly the entire shoot was my favorite. I enjoyed getting to meet all the players and coaches who have had such a huge impact on women’s sports.
Seeing their reactions to my images was also great!
>> What was your favorite image from that day?
I have about 50 images of (South Carolina Coach) Dawn Staley dancing that are hilarious! She went on for about two minutes just dancing with a rim and mini basketball.
I post on four different platforms daily, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. I’d say I’m pretty active on social media!
>> What has short-form video, like TikTok and YouTube reels, meant to your business, and also, what seems like your global reach?
It’s completely changed my business. I would not be where I am today without starting a TikTok three years ago.
I’ve been doing this style of photos since 2014, but it’s just recently gained national popularity thanks in part to my social media presence.
>> What was the most popular video, so far, that you've done?
Two videos I’ve shared have hit 100 million views!
One is a compilation video of high school girls basketball, the other is high school volleyball.
>> As I recall, you started taking pictures for the Times in 2012 and I remember a ton of awards, but do you remember how many and what was your favorite photo that was published?
Honestly, I have no idea! Callie keeps them in a drawer somewhere. [Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Callie noted on Facebook, “I would like to note that Jaison Sterling has lied on the record. I do not keep our APA awards in a drawer. They are placed neatly in a closet on a shelf, waiting to be hung in the new studio when it opens.”]
>> What's next?
I’m teaching two photography workshops in San Diego next weekend. I also have workshops scheduled in Chicago, Virginia and Arkansas for the summer.
In between the workshops I’ll continue my normal team and individual sports photos.
>> Anything else you'd like to add?
Can’t think of anything. You’re the best!! Wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for the NLR Times!!
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Jaison Sterling takes it to another level
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Thanks Mark Buffalo!
No, really. Thanks Buff.
More than a decade ago, Buff came to me at the North Little Rock Times and said he knew a guy who could take some good sports pictures.
Desperate for freelancers, I asked who, and he said, “Jaison Sterling,” and, “he’s the one who got the Tenpenny photo.” I immediately knew who he meant.
Jasion had taken a picture the previous football season of North Little Rock’s Altee Tenpenny high-hurdling a defender that had caught the state’s attention, and mine too.
From that point, he was my go-to photographer for sports, and Callie, his wife, a talented writer and photographer herself, churned out some excellent and award-winning copy. I can’t recall how many awards they won, but it was a bunch, from the Arkansas Press Association and national awards as well.
Jaison still continues to be a contributing photographer to ArkansasNewsroom.com while running his own photography business, Rock Town Sports.
He uses smoke and lighting and scale-altering effects in his shoots to make athletes look like superheroes. Some, like Caitlin Clark, actually are.
I’ve somehow managed to be doing this for three decades now, and Jaison is the most talented photographer I’ve worked with, or around.
His skills were on display last week when ESPN hired him to shoot the Women’s Final Four Media Day featuring South Carolina, Iowa, UConn and North Carolina State.
Some of those images went viral, but that’s old hat for Jaison. His work now has a global reach, thanks to his relentless social media efforts.
What follows is a Q&A with Jaison that has been lightly edited and formatted for publication.
Some of his images from that day, as well as videos, are embedded as well.
>> How did you make the connection with ESPN to shoot the Women’s Final Four Media Day?
They initially reached out on Instagram and asked for my email. They said they have several projects they would like to work with me on!
>> How long did the shoot take?
Let’s start from the beginning!
My assistant (Jaris Johnson aka DJ Jellybean) and I left Arkansas at 11:30 p.m. on Monday night and arrived at the Cleveland convention center by 2:30 p.m. We had everything set up and ready by 5 p.m. when the convention center closed.
Next day we were there from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and took photos from 10:30-3. We had anywhere from 2-7 minutes with each player, depending on the production needs for those players (there were three other rooms for TV production the teams had to be in). NCAA strictly mandates how much time each team/player can be with the media.
We had anywhere between 15-30 minutes between teams, just long enough for me to import my images, quickly edit a few and upload to ESPN. Talk about a tight deadline!! They wanted the photos ASAP to share on social media, and a few were even on the broadcast!!
After we broke everything down and packed up, I had to have Jaris at the airport by 6 p.m. to catch a 7 p,m, flight home. He had a DJ gig on Thursday he couldn't miss.
Dropped him off at the airport and I drove 5 hours to Louisville, Kentucky. Stayed the night there and drove 8 hours home on Thursday.
Friday I photographed a Little League baseball team and Saturday, 80 cheerleaders!!
>> Besides yourself, how many helpers did you take with you to get everything done?
Just one, Jaris or DJ Jellybean.
>> What was your favorite moment at the shoot?
Honestly the entire shoot was my favorite. I enjoyed getting to meet all the players and coaches who have had such a huge impact on women’s sports.
Seeing their reactions to my images was also great!
>> What was your favorite image from that day?
I have about 50 images of (South Carolina Coach) Dawn Staley dancing that are hilarious! She went on for about two minutes just dancing with a rim and mini basketball.
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>> How active are you on social media?
I post on four different platforms daily, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. I’d say I’m pretty active on social media!
>> What has short-form video, like TikTok and YouTube reels, meant to your business, and also, what seems like your global reach?
It’s completely changed my business. I would not be where I am today without starting a TikTok three years ago.
I’ve been doing this style of photos since 2014, but it’s just recently gained national popularity thanks in part to my social media presence.
>> What was the most popular video, so far, that you've done?
Two videos I’ve shared have hit 100 million views!
One is a compilation video of high school girls basketball, the other is high school volleyball.
>> As I recall, you started taking pictures for the Times in 2012 and I remember a ton of awards, but do you remember how many and what was your favorite photo that was published?
Honestly, I have no idea! Callie keeps them in a drawer somewhere. [Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Callie noted on Facebook, “I would like to note that Jaison Sterling has lied on the record. I do not keep our APA awards in a drawer. They are placed neatly in a closet on a shelf, waiting to be hung in the new studio when it opens.”]
>> What's next?
I’m teaching two photography workshops in San Diego next weekend. I also have workshops scheduled in Chicago, Virginia and Arkansas for the summer.
In between the workshops I’ll continue my normal team and individual sports photos.
>> Anything else you'd like to add?
Can’t think of anything. You’re the best!! Wouldn’t be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for the NLR Times!!
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