Laura Wolff Sees the Soul of the Skyline

By Tim Miner on December 10, 2020

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If Charlotte’s skyline has a soul, Laura Wolff, gameday photographer for the Charlotte Knights, is in the right place to find it.

“I love the Charlotte Skyline because it is always changing,” she said. “Yes, they are always adding buildings to it, but the appearance also changes based on the conditions. I have been at Knights games and looked to the outfield and seen the skyline change from tan to orange to magenta to blue all within five minutes. [T]he soul of our skyline is the vibrancy.”

Wolff was recently featured on an episode of WFAE’s podcast, FAQ City with photographers Joshua Galloway, Matt Henesy and others answering the question,“Where are the best places to take pictures of the skyline, especially when lit up at night?” Listen to the podcast here.

After giving her top pick (the I-277 overpass at Central Ave.), Wolff added, “To me, it’s a really cool feeling knowing that you’re photographing this thing that is just so much bigger than you are.”

Finding Her Creative Lens

Wolff’s road to Charlotte and love affair with the skyline started years (and tens of thousands of photographs) ago.

Creative passion comes honestly to Wolff; her mother is also an artist — a painter.

“I have never been good with creating something out of nothing in an artistic sense,” she said. “I enjoyed photography as a creative outlet because it provides a starting point that I can run with.”

Once she started running with photography as a junior in high school, she never stopped. Graduating from Virginia Tech in 2014, she knew she wanted photography to be her profession. She was ready to put the work in to do it. And, her family was behind her all the way.

“After I graduated, I mailed my photography resume and portfolio to about 500 colleges and sports teams of all levels,” she recalled. “I vividly remember my dad and me in the conference room at this office surrounded by my cover letters, resumes and envelopes that needed to be stuffed, sealed and stamped.”

At Home in Charlotte

Laura and her father mailed all 500 portfolios. While she didn’t hear back from the majority, there was one notable response. Tommy Viola, vice president of the Charlotte Knights, responded by inviting her to travel to Charlotte and shoot the Knights’ exhibition game against the Major League Chicago White Sox in 2015.

The Knights won 10-2. And, Wolff became a member of the Charlotte Knights team.

Over the past six years, Wolff has become an active and recognized member of the photographer community in Charlotte, freelancing and acting as a gameday photographer for the Carolina Panthers, as well as the Knights. She’s come to love the community of creatives she’s found in the Queen City.

“There is a massive creative community in Charlotte,” she said. “I love being able to scroll through my feed and spot a photographer or creator solely based on their creative style. Oftentimes, I can peg the artist before I look at the account or the credit tag. I think that is really special in a city like Charlotte where there are so many creators.”

Enjoy More of Laura Wolff’s Photography

Wolff selected 15 of her favorite Charlotte photos and arranged them to give us additional insight into her creative life: “I have arranged them in a way that tells a story about how my year looks,” she said.