As the basketball season approaches, many students are eager to know which players will take the court and who will be behind the lens capturing the action. For Hudson Smith, 9, this season presents a unique circumstance; he may have to do both. Not only is he a basketball team member, but he also runs a sports photography business where students can pay to have their games shot.

Smith intends to play and shoot photos this basketball season. Though it is time-consuming, Smith plans to shoot for varsity while playing for a different team, since the games are on different days, and practices are during school, it will not take up his photography time.

Smith said, “I enjoy basketball, I have since I was young, and I do photography because I love sports and capturing the action. Basketball is during school and photography is after, so I should have time for both of my passions this season.”

Smith puts his full effort into both basketball and photography. Though difficulties may arise, he does it for the love of his craft. Smith makes an impact on the team, and for those who appreciate his sports photography.

Ashwin Madhusudhanan, basketball team manager, 9, said, “Hudson is a star player. He impacts the team by not only being there but also going above and beyond, and his photography? I really love his photography; I love how it is displayed.”

To promote his sports photography, Smith runs a social media page, @Huddyvisuals. This allows students to contact him for photoshoots or to just view past photos. This allows Smith to fund his passion so he can continue to provide photography services to students, and it allows him more free time to practice basketball.

Smith said, “Of course, I do it for money too. After a hard shoot or long day or something, I remember I’m getting paid, so that keeps me going.”

Despite the long hours of work, Smith continues to pursue his passions. Though there may be hours of training for basketball or steep learning curves for photography, Smith won’t quit.

“Basketball; it’s a lot of work and you can get injured, and photography; there’s a lot of learning curves,” Smith said, “It’s hard, but I keep doing it because I love it.”