Behind the Lens with Photographer Jay Ruzicka
- Harrison Soep
- Oct 16
- 3 min read
If you go to a Dean sporting event, chances are you will see Photographer Jay Ruzicka. But for Ruzicka, it wasn’t the original plan; in fact, he says he “accidentally fell into it”.
Instead of shooting photos, Ruzicka started with filming. “I started in the film industry out of college and worked on movies and reality TV shows,” Ruzicka explained. “As a filmmaker, I owned a DSLR camera and would shoot in video modes because it allowed me to use different lenses instead of the old camcorders.”
A camera once meant for filmmaking ended up changing his career. One day a friend asked him if he could take their engagement photos. Nervous about how it would turn out, the results surprised him. Ruzicka said, “Luckily, it turned out great, and I realized I really liked the process.” A few shots later, photography became far more than a side interest, it became his passion and soon his career.
Finding a home at Dean College
After years of shooting for D1 Schools, he began to feel like his work was losing personal meaning. “I looked around at one game and saw five other photographers on the sidelines,” he recalled. “It wasn’t that my photos weren’t good, there were just so many that none of them really stood out.”
The realization hit, and it inspired him to look toward smaller programs. “I figured D3 schools probably didn’t have as much media coverage, so I wanted to show up, shoot a few games, and give them something special,” he said.
What started as just one men’s and one women’s basketball game turned into many games. One player reached out saying how much the photos meant to the team. “It was really hard to say no to that,” he said. “I came back, and before I knew it, Dean felt like home. Two years later, I’m still here and still enamored with the community.” Ruzicka explained that he loves being at Dean in large part because of the great relationships with the athletes, coaches, and communications team.
The Importance of Sports Photography
Sports photography is very important. Ruzicka explained that as a photographer we tell stories and want people to feel that image. “I want my photos to work in tandem with the written stories to let people FEEL like they were there. Visuals help tell the full story.”
What matters most to Ruzicka is the memory and value for the student athletes. “Long after I'm gone a student athlete will bring up my photos to remember that time in their life and to share it with others. The importance of those photos will remain for the rest of their lives.”
Behind the Lens
Ruzicka looks for two things: emotion and peak action. “I want to see the athletes doing what they do best, but I'm also a storyteller, so I want their faces and expressions to be central to the heart of the photo,” he said. “We’re photographing people, not just jerseys or numbers. We are telling stories of teams but also the individuals.”
After each sport/event Ruzicka devotes hours to editing. He mentioned the process could take 7 to 10 hours per game. He rates each image, makes the changes needed like the color or lighting, and then selects a handful to put on social media. “I try to add a variety of shots and also try to get shots of athletes who follow me on socials so they can see them and enjoy them even before the full album is done.”
Inspiration and Hobbies
Upon interviewing, it became apparent that Ruzicka doesn’t draw much inspiration from other photographers; he instead looks to painters like Norman Rockwell and other art forms. “I listen to jazz when I edit, it helps me relax,” he said. “Sometimes I see a photographer’s shot and wonder how I could make something like that in my own way. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it fails spectacularly.”
Outside of photography, Ruzicka is a big baseball fan cheering for his favorite team, the New York Yankees. He enjoys museums, traveling, and reading. After years of building his business from the ground up, he is able to make time for hobbies such as hiking, filmmaking and even poker. And of course, photography. “It’s funny that my hobby is also my work, But I love being able to donate my time to places that don’t have big photo budgets or capture little moments in my own life.”
