If you were to attend a Yelm High School sporting event, regardless of the game, you’d be likely to find at least one of three Yelm Community Schools students nearby with their cameras in hand.
YHS students Kaitlyn England and Hannah Hiiva and Ridgeline Middle School student Ke’koa Galindo have all found their passion through a lens.
England, a sophomore, and Hiiva, a junior, both participate in YHS’s yearbook class. Hiiva, the yearbook’s editor-in-chief over the last two years, said her passion for photography was sparked during her freshman year of high school after being placed in a digital photojournalism class.
“I have been interested in photography for a long time, first starting with horses and now sports, senior portraits and different events at the high school,” Hiiva said. “I started doing more sports photography, which led me to becoming the yearbook editor-in-chief my sophomore year and junior year. Next year, I plan to step down so Kaitlyn has the opportunity to take my place and I will be senior manager.”
England, currently an assistant editor for the YHS yearbook class, said she’s been interested in being a photographer for her entire life and that she’d like to start working as a photographer immediately after she graduates from YHS. She’d like to continue shooting sports and begin endeavors as a portrait photographer.
“I have been interested in being a photographer my whole life. The first big job I remember wanting to do when I was a kid was to be a photographer. It had changed into different careers over the years, but eventually it came back to where I am now, and I’m grateful it has,” England said. “I started to dabble in photography in my freshman year digital photojournalism class, but really developed when I was invited to be the assistant editor for 2024-2025 yearbook class.”
Galindo, an eighth grader at RMS in Yelm, said he originally picked up photography for fun but soon realized he was passionate behind the camera. After making the realization, Galindo said photography became a career he hopes to be able to seriously pursue.
“I’ve been in the game for a year now, and I’m a football player. So photography and the thought of being able to capture moments of other people that are like me, other sports, even portraits, interested me a lot,” Galindo said. “My journey as a photographer started really slow but, recently, in these past four months, I’ve been getting a lot of exposure.”
Whether it’s football, volleyball, wrestling or basketball, the three YCS students quickly gained attention for their photos at YHS athletic competitions. The three students post their work online on Instagram. Hiiva can be followed at media.maroon, England at visualsbykaitlyn and Galindo at kekoashotit.
Each of the three students enjoy seeing their work reposted by athletes and students at YHS.
“I definitely do feel extremely blessed when I see my photos being shared and posted, and most definitely, yes, it does bring me a great sense of pride to know my work is seen and shared,” England said. “I’m very fortunate to be in a community where young athletes appreciate my and other photographers’ work.”
“It always makes me happy to see everyone sharing my work,” Hiiva said. “I also think for all of us seeing a photo that I took as someone’s profile picture always gives me a sense of joy.”
The youngest of the three, Galindo, said seeing people share his photos serves as a reminder about the hard work he’s put in behind the camera.
“Seeing people use and enjoy my work, as well as how far I’ve come with my photography and my videography, has been a huge confidence boost and gives me the motivation to keep going and grinding on my craft,” he said.
Hiiva, who was recently named 4A District 4 SPSL Media of the Year, said when she first began her photography endeavors, she was typically the only student photographer in attendance at sporting events.
“If I did (see student photographers), they were all guys. It makes me really happy to see more people, especially girls like me and Kaitlyn, stepping out there and showing our ability,” Hiiva said. “Photography has gotten me a lot of places, and I put a lot of work and effort into yearbook, including getting hit in the face with a discus at a track meet last year.”
England, when asked what advice she’d give to newer photographers, said they should put as much work in toward their craft as they possibly can. The sophomore student said to take as many photos as possible and then “edit and edit and edit and edit more.”
“You will find your groove,” England said. “Find a creator to look up to, whether that’s an influencer on social media, or someone in your life whose photography work you look up to. Find motivation in knowing that, someday, when you keep putting in that work, you will be way farther in your journey then you thought you would go.”
Behind the lens of a camera is where some of the most fond memories can be captured. Galindo said one of his favorite photography memories came from a recent 7-on-7 football tournament he attended, where his photography work led to him being recognized “by a lot of people.”
“People came up to me left and right asking for photos. They were being friendly and cool. They were telling me that I’m doing good and to keep going,” Galindo said. “Felt like that was a good turning point in how I viewed my photography business, because it showed me how much growth I accomplished.”
