Some of the most iconic, celebrated moments in football are gone in a flash. Between inconceivable plays, intense emotions, and scenes you just can’t recreate, the person who captures them is able to preserve them for a lifetime.
That’s exactly what Mady Mertens, a creative team photographer for the University of Georgia football team, does every game day.
Even when she was a kid at Georgia football games with a point-and-shoot camera, Mertens knew she was meant to be on the sidelines doing it for real.
“Whenever I was on a field taking photos, I was just so happy. I was in my element, and I knew I wanted to continue at the college level and beyond,” she says. “So I learned, I continued to grow, and I built my experience.”
Getting to the sidelines
After building her portfolio with photo assignments for The Red & Black and Pandora, it was a dream come true when the Athletic Association asked Mertens to come in for an interview for her current role. Although there were initially no spots when she had applied previously, they had kept her application on file.
There was no imposter syndrome for Mertens once she got the job. She got some intense chills at her first game (especially during the Dawg Walk), but knew she had a job to do.
“I had a lot of feelings and was proud of and grateful for how far I’d come,” she says. “But I felt like I was supposed to be there. That was my place.”
Each game day, she’s with the team and staff, from tailgating to the final touchdown, making sure the highs and lows are documented. The days are long and exhausting, but there’s nothing Mertens would rather spend her time doing.
“It is an unreal experience, and I don’t take it for granted. When I’m with the team and documenting their incredible experiences, I think of how blessed I am,” Mertens says.
Her game day photos don’t just capture the moment — they tell a story. Featured across digital stories and social media, her work drew the attention of USA Today Sports, which offered her a freelance contract.
“Growing up, I would look down and see the photographers on the field and knew I needed to be there.”
Capturing every moment
Since accepting the opportunity, Mertens has gotten to photograph the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta United. She also covered the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star week and All-Star Game, the 2024 National Championship football game and the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris. Her photos have also appeared in Sports Illustrated and the Associated Press.
One of Mertens’ favorite images, however, is framed in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. It’s an epic photo capturing Cash Jones’s touchdown celebration with Oscar Delp during the eight-overtime win against Georgia Tech in 2024.
It reminds her, and hopefully others, why her job is so special.
“You can read: ‘So-and-so scored a touchdown,’ but if it doesn’t have a picture, it has less meaning,” she says. “It’s so important to document what happens so you can look back at these amazing moments.”
She also believes in the other key part of her duty — giving fans a different glimpse at the student-athletes.
“These aren’t just players, they’re humans.”
It’s a special thing to commemorate Georgia football frame by frame. Mertens hopes to become a photographer for a professional team. But first, there’s a specific shot she’s got to cross off her bucket list.
“I want to get a photo of a player reaching out with the ball and brushing the pylon in the end zone as he’s scoring.”
That, and she’d love to be behind the lens during a national championship victory for the Dawgs.
