How Lao Photography

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How Lao Photography Howard Lao is a photographer based in the Pacific Northwest with an emphasis on sports photography

Howard Lao is a photographer based in the Pacific Northwest with an emphasis on sports
photography and the surrounding athletic lifestyle. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he ran track at Cleveland High School and continued his athletic career by running collegiately at the University of Washington. Howard discovered his passion for photography his senior year at the UW taking photos in betwe

en his own races, for teammates and friends. Howard combines his background as a Division 1 athlete with his photography, capturing the essence of athletes and the moments that bring fans closer to the competition. His clients include Sports Camp of America (Japan), athletic apparel & shoe companies, professional athletes, and his alma mater, the University of Washington athletic programs.

Kaylee & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in typical KD & HL fashion - at a track meet working the Prefontaine Class...
06/07/2026

Kaylee & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in typical KD & HL fashion - at a track meet working the Prefontaine Classic (hey it’s called the Diamond League for a reason). It was extremely special for us to be at this meet because 10 years ago that’s where we first met, bonded over the joy that we got an infield bib.

5 years later, the day after the Olympic Trials, I popped the big question. And YES, I took those photos with my remote camera (ring in one hand, pocket wizard in the other).

I am truly successful today in my career because of Kaylee - so everyone should be really thanking her for believing in me. It was a great weekend being together.

WE LOVE TRACK & FIELD ‼️

My main photo position for PreClassic is “infield” - My goal is not only to capture the action & emotions but also to fi...
06/07/2026

My main photo position for PreClassic is “infield” - My goal is not only to capture the action & emotions but also to find unique angles, details, fans - bringing you all closer to the action than what you can see on broadcast ❤️

Photos for TrackTown USA x Nike Prefontaine Classic

I covered my first Prefontaine Classic in 2016, it was my first year in photography, and my first “big” meet…. Let me sh...
03/07/2026

I covered my first Prefontaine Classic in 2016, it was my first year in photography, and my first “big” meet…. Let me share with you some of the fruits of my labor - My photos on the side of the Nike Eugene store, inside the merch tent, and even on a shirt. Year 10 loading, what a way to kick off the meet! See ya out there 📸

Finished covering my 8th NCAA Track & Field championships, with this year arguably being one of the best/fastest of all ...
15/06/2026

Finished covering my 8th NCAA Track & Field championships, with this year arguably being one of the best/fastest of all time. Multiple collegiate records, and even a world record was thrown into the mix. I had the pleasure of working with 10 different teams over the four days delivering live images, and capturing history in the making. Here are some of my favorites. 🫡

A big thank you to all the teams for having me 🫡
Special thank you to Delaney & Jack for helping me live transmit images

15/06/2026

One of the most common questions I get is “what gear do you use?” - I interviewed some of the best photographers at the NCAA Track & Field Championships on their load out for the week. Featuring freelancers, team photographers, hybrid photo & video, and photo journalism.

Gear list & photographers below:

HowLaoPhotography
Teams: Freelance / 10 Teams
Canon 1dxmk2 + Canon 8-15 F4 fisheye. Canon R5mk2 + Canon 100-300 F2.8 + Canon 24-105 F2.8

Cayce Smith
Team: Ole Miss
Canon R3 (two of them) + 24-70 F2.8 & 100-300 F2.8

Kristen Young
Team: LSU
Nikon Z9 (two of them) + 70-200 F2.8 & 400 F2.8

Bransen Phillips
Team: LSU
Nikon Z9 + 70-200 F2.8 & 120-300 F2.8

Isaac
Team: NCAA Photos
D5s (two of them) + Z6II + 400 F2.8, 24-70 F2.8 & 35 F2.8

Chris
Team: NCAA Photos
Canon R3 (two of them), + 1dxmk2 (two of them) 16-35 F2.8 (two of them) 100-300 F2.8, 24mm F2.8

Travis Ellison | Sports Photographer & Creative
Team: USC
Sony A9 Mark III, A1mkII, 50-150 F2, 24-70 F2.8

Ben Lonergan
Register Guard
Sony A9 III (two of them), Sony A7 IV, 400mm F2.8, 70-200 F2.8, 16-35 F2.8

Hopefully this helps!

I spent the last few days with at the Festival of Miles in St.Louis. We put together a little fun summer time studio se...
06/06/2026

I spent the last few days with at the Festival of Miles in St.Louis. We put together a little fun summer time studio set for the kids to get pre race portraits & then spent the evening watching them run some fast times - Including the #3 all time mile time by Elley Lincoln 🔥

Thank you HOKA, FieldKit for having me!

Set & production:
Digi tech:
BTS:

01/06/2026

Using just the Godox V1 mid for these Track & Field portraits - One light, hand holding, outdoors with some very talented athletes.

Thank you to Godox for sending me this product, I’ll be keeping this in my bag!!

This is what you get when you combine my passion for photography with my passion for coaching track athletes. I just wra...
27/05/2026

This is what you get when you combine my passion for photography with my passion for coaching track athletes. I just wrapped up my 11th season at Cleveland - My gift to the athletes a ~20 min photoshoot during Tuesday’s practice before they go off to state at the iconic Hayward Field. Introducing the 2026 State Qualifiers from Cleveland HS: Noah, Milo, Reuben, Ia, Olivia. Go Warriors!!

A photo x coaching fun fact: The last slide is of our school record holder, he ran 22.22 in the 200. So I put him in lane 2 ✌️

I filmed a ton of BTS from this shoot, it was with one flash & one camera. 👀 Reel & shot breakdown soon.

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