CHICAGO — In between countless photo clicks, Sarah Sachs sometimes takes a break to pinch herself.
Since January, the 24-year-old Columbia College Chicago graduate has been the official team photographer for the Arizona Diamondbacks. She spends dozens of hours a week taking photos of the major league players at games, in the community and wherever else she's needed.
Sachs is one of only four female head team photographers in 30-team Major League Baseball, according to the Diamondbacks' media relations department.
"It's crazy. Once a day, I sit back, and I can't believe this is my life now," said Sachs, a 2014 Columbia College alumna. "It's my dream job to be with a professional team. The fact that I am where I am at 24, I feel very fortunate and very lucky. I couldn't be happier."
While at Columbia College, Sachs interned for the Chicago Bulls, which included snapping photos of the players. Her favorite was Joakim Noah, whose "energy and his passion were always fun to watch."
After graduation, Sachs, a St. Louis native, worked as a photo intern for the Cleveland Indians. She applied for the Diamondbacks job in October. She was hired in January.
Sachs now has two interns working for her.
Sachs has loved photography since eighth grade, when her grandfather, Paul Gusdorf, gave her a few film cameras. She served on variety of high school publications and chose Columbia College because of its small class size, and the fact that professors were still working in the profession.
"It wasn't just classes to go to classes," she said. "I was always learning something about photography."
Check out some of Sachs' photos below or in the slideshow above:
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