Michelle VanTine – "Always Shoot for Highlights!"

Michelle VanTine has been a full-time photographer since 2008, working all over the US and in the UK. The main focus of her work is creating scroll-stopping images for amazing brands and amazing people.

Michelle VanTine has been a full-time photographer since 2008, working all over the US and in the UK. The main focus of her work is creating scroll-stopping images for amazing brands and amazing people. She is known for creating images that increase visibility, communicate high quality, and cuts through the noise working with sports brands and athlete portraits. Having been an athlete all her life, including NCAA Division 1 Rowing in College, it's been natural progress that her art degree and her love for athletics led her into sports photography. Named #5 of Top Sports Photographers in Miami in 2019 and #4 in 2021- she was honored to be the only female on the list both years. She is based in Miami and continues to work with athletes and brands to deliver beautiful, strong images.

As a child growing up in Montreal, it was soon obvious what I would be when I was older. My mother tells the story that when we walked to the grocery store, which was only four short blocks away, it took a serious 15-20 minutes as I would point out every flower pushing through the cracked pavements and other peculiar objects which caught my eye that could just NOT go unnoticed. Georgia O'Keeffe aptly states: Nobody sees a flower really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time. When I think back, seeing was a notable part of what I did in my free time.

I grew up in an urban neighborhood in Montreal. We lived in a busy street with lots of traffic and hubbub. I observed people running frantically from my bedroom window to catch the city bus, walking in and out of the grocery across the street, or strolling leisurely to the park down the block. In the summer, I was perched on the highest branch of the apple tree in our backyard, and people watched.