About Me

Hey! My name is Austin Van Meter. I’m a freshman at Kansas State University majoring in News and Sports Media. I also work for K-State Athletics as a student photographer. My responsibilities include game day coverage for all 12 of our athletics programs; conducting studio shoots for our athletes and recruits; capturing other athletics-related events such as community service or pep rallies; culling, tagging, uploading, and archiving our photos on Photoshelter; and assisting our social team by editing photos during games.

I began my photography journey in my sophomore year of high school. I covered our baseball team as they went on to win the 2021 KSHSAA 3A State Championship in my backyard at Tointon Family Stadium. The opportunity to shoot at a collegiate baseball field played a huge role in discovering my love for sports photography; specifically, baseball.

As my high school career continued, I accumulated many awards, including the honor of being named the 2023 Kansas Scholastic Press Association All-Classes Photojournalist of the Year, two KSPA state championships in photography categories and a runner-up finish.

In my senior year of high school, I was allowed to work with K-State Athletics for the first time by shooting the Mizzou football game on September 10. This led to more opportunities to shoot with the creative staff during volleyball season, men's and women's basketball, tennis, and baseball. In May, I was officially hired as a full-time student photographer.

During my time at K-State, I've had my work featured on all of K-State's social accounts, NCAA Baseball and Volleyball, March Madness, D1 Baseball, Baseball America, MLBDevelops, and have freelanced for Presbyterian Women's basketball, the Kansas High School Activities Association and TikTok influencer Nathan Freihofer.

In April of 2024, I was blessed to be selected to attend the Women's Final Four photography workshop hosted by Clarkson Creativ and NCAA Photos in Cleveland, Ohio. You can see my work from that workshop here.

Once I finish my time at Kansas State, I hope to work full-time with a Major League baseball team. I’m blessed with the position I am in right now and am excited to keep creating for K-State.