Meet Lydia Schembre | Photojournalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lydia Schembre and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lydia, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
One of my favorite quotes/affirmations is “you deserve to take up space”. I think this applies to a lot of things in life but I find myself needing it most when I am at a sporting event. Games can be hectic and crazy and sometimes you can find yourself being overwhelmed and feeling like you don’t deserve. I have found myself so many times looking at the person next to me and comparing my camera to theirs or seeing how many instagram followers they have. Especially in basketball, you can find that space is really limited, but that doesn’t mean I need to get up or move. I have had to remind myself that someone picked me to be at this game and I am deserving to be here. I deserve to take up the space I need because I have just as much of a right to be on the sidelines as anyone else.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have always had an interest in photography and I was an athlete growing up, so it made sense that I fell into sports photography. I don’t think I experienced many challenges until I came to college. I honestly think the hardest part about photojournalism/photography is finding your style. I try to make sure that every time I cover a sport I try to do something different each time. I never want 2 basketball games to look the same, but I want people to be able to look at a photo and say “oh Lydia definitely took that”. This can be difficult in photojournalism, because you cannot heavily edit or change things so you cannot rely on colors to set you apart from everyone else. I was really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make a career out of photography, and I am so glad people pushed me to look more into it and to go for it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I really enjoy going to local parks and exploring new places. Going downtown to Smale Park and walking on the riverfront is amazing. One thing I love about Cincinnati is how many different places there are to eat. I honestly think I have been able to try a new place every time the 3 years I have been here. I have never lived so close to so many attractions so there is an endless amount of things to do in my opinion. Kings Island and the Zoo always make for a fun day trip! You can also catch a sporting event almost every single night all year round here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
At the University of Cincinnati, I would love to shout out Bearcats Digital. It is an absolutely wonderful and creative group of people who have pushed me to be the best version of myself. Bearcats Digital is behind every post and video you see on a ‘gobearcats’ account. I have never met a more dedicated group of people. They all put in so much work no matter what the sport is. I am so lucky to be apart of such an amazing group of people and I love all of the friends I have made from it. It truly has made my four years at UC a wonderful time.

Website: https://lydiaschembre.myportfolio.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lydiaschembrephoto/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydia-schembre-862114215/

Image Credits
I took all the photos in the second slide. The photo of me was taken by Gianna Catania.