Courtesy of David Schamis

David Schamis ’95 is often seen taking photos on the sidelines at Yale Athletics events, with his two cameras in hand and kneepads secured. 

He started the passion project in spring 2019, capturing a Yale men’s lacrosse game against Georgetown. Now, his photographs are viewed by thousands and seen in many of the Yale Athletics previews and recaps. His Instagram account, @schamisshots, has amassed over 22,000 followers. 

“All 35 teams want him … he’s doing it for the love of Yale and our teams,”  Yale Athletics Director Vicky Chun told the News. “He always gets the money shot, which is really hard to do.”

For Schamis, taking photos started as a hobby, but “definitely moved from hobby to obsession over time.” He obtained his first digital camera when his son was a baby, and later took on his first sports photography assignment by signing up to be the photographer for his son’s football team in high school. Through YouTube videos and tutorials, Schamis learned many of the sports photography basics online.

To this day, Schamis attends and photographs sporting events at Choate Rosemary Hall, where his kids have attended high school. These include lacrosse, football and volleyball games. 

“I love it,” he said. “It’s fun, this is where I got my start, and the kids really appreciate it.”

In high school, Schamis played football and lacrosse and was recruited for the Yale lacrosse team. 

After graduation, he wanted to continue participating in athletics even though he was going into the finance industry.

“It always bothered me after I left Yale that I didn’t really achieve what I should’ve, in retrospect, athletically,” he said. “In a weird way, the photographing and being on the sidelines with these kids, and getting to know the kids on a lot of these teams — felt like a way to redeem myself.”

Schamis particularly values the connections he forms with the athletes on the teams he photographs, emphasizing that “the better you know the sport and the better you know the team, the better your photographs will be.”

Although he lives on Long Island, NY, Schamis attends every Yale lacrosse game, most football games and some basketball, volleyball and hockey games and gymnastics meets. His sideline pass allows him to be on the field right next to the athletes at every home sporting event, and the Yale Athletics Department helps him secure passes for away games.

“It’s great to be on the field,” Schamis said. “It’s a much different perspective than sitting in the stands or watching on TV, and you really feel the competition and how lively it is on the field.”

Schamis has photographed many of Yale’s historic wins and losses, but his most memorable event, he said, was capturing the Bulldogs’ upset against Auburn this past March Madness tournament. 

Sitting under Yale’s basket facing the team and shooting from a low angle, Schamis took thousands of photos.

At sporting events, Schamis typically takes up to 3,000 photos. Unlike professional photographers, Schamis includes both a “highlights” folder, with edited best photos, and a folder that includes every single photo taken when he sends out his photos after editing. 

Schamis said that one of the major differences between his work and that of hired professionals is that he gives students and Yale Athletics access to all of his materials. 

“When you’re a parent or you’re a kid playing a sport, you don’t really care about the artistic quality of a sports photo,” he said. “You care to see the one photo your kid was in, especially if your kid doesn’t play a lot, or the one that meant a lot to them.”

His ability to capture every student-athlete’s contribution to the team does not go unnoticed. His son, Samuel Schamis ’25, appreciates seeing his friends’ joy when getting that picture-perfect shot. 

Samuel Schamis has served as the student manager of the Yale men’s lacrosse team since the spring of 2022. 

“That’s really what I appreciate … seeing the players and the parents be so happy when they get the photos,” said Samuel Schamis ’25, who helps distribute the photo links to his friends and teammates.

What started off as a hobby has allowed Schamis to follow teams and athletes he cares about. “Having the Saturdays and Sundays to do this over the years has been really incredibly therapeutic,” he said. 

Some of Schamis’ more recent photographs — including one from Yale’s win over Harvard in last year’s rendition of The Game and one from Yale’s upset against Auburn — have been immortalized on the walls of the Mory’s Association at 306 York St.