At 16 years old, Danielle Earl launched her own photography business, driven by a love for figure skating and a dream of one day working rink side alongside the sport’s top photographers. 

Years later, that dream has taken her to three Olympic Games and some of the biggest figure skating events in the world. From local Ontario rinks to the Olympic photographer pit, Earl has built a career capturing defining moments in the sport while navigating an industry where women remain underrepresented. 

At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, she was among the 18% of accredited women photographers, part of a shift in sports media that she hopes continues to grow. 

Capturing Olympic Moments 

When Earl learned she had been accepted to her first Olympic Games, PyeongChang 2018, the moment didn’t feel real.  

“I stared at my computer screen for 25 minutes and then texted my mom, ‘I think I’m going to the Olympics,’” she recalled. 

Her mother, Irene Earl, was working at a competition in the Eastern Ontario Section — the same organization that had given Danielle one of her first contracts at just 18 years old. When the news came through, the reaction was immediate and emotional. 

“Everyone at the competition was sobbing,” Earl said. “All the people there felt like they were part of the journey too.”  

At only 25, Earl stepped into an overwhelming but formative Olympic experience, learning to quickly adapt to the pace and high intensity of international sports media.  

By the time she arrived at her third Olympics in February 2026, she was no longer simply witnessing history on the ice – she was helping document it.  

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Danielle Earl (@danielleearlphotography)

One of her most meaningful moments in Milano Cortina was Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier’s emotional Vincent free dance, a performance that brought Earl to tears while earning the Canadian ice dancers their first Olympic medal. 

For Earl, moments like these are about more than capturing a photograph. They are opportunities to document milestones in athletes’ journeys she has followed and supported throughout her own career. 

Turning Passion into a Profession 

Earl grew up immersed in the skating world, but a back injury ended her competitive career. Around the same time, her mother bought a camera, and Danielle began experimenting with photography as a way to stay connected to the sport she loved. 

A defining moment came in 2009 at Skate Canada International in her hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo. Sitting in the stands taking photos, she watched the photographers at ice level and thought, “One day I’m going to be in that photographer pit.” 

With the support of her family, she launched her photography business at 16, began vendor work at 18, and carved her way into the skating world. 

While studying photography in college, she received a call that changed everything: a photographer working with Skate Canada’s Eastern Ontario Section recommended her to take over a contract he could no longer fulfill. Earl took the opportunity, left school, and committed to photography full time. 

In a competitive and tightly knit industry, she learned by observing, adapting, and staying patient to steadily build her career. 

Today, Earl works at the biggest figure skating events in the world, documenting athletes from early career breakthroughs to Olympic podium moments.  

Forging a Path for Women 

As Earl advanced in her career, she became increasingly aware of how few women shared the space around her.  

“Many people had a hard time seeing me as a professional rather than a kid having fun,” she said with a laugh. “Which technically I was… a kid having fun.” 

Sports photography remains a male-dominated field, particularly at the elite international level. At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games, there were roughly 2,000 accredited photographers, only about 70 of them women. 

“It was crazy to realize I was one of 70 women in the entire photographer pit,” she said. 

Over time, Earl has seen that landscape begin to shift. At the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, she witnessed that change firsthand during the figure skating Team Event media ceremony, where seven of the eight pool photographers were women. 

She shared the moment on social media, where it quickly resonated across the sports community and sparked conversation about representation in sports photography. 

For Earl, moments like that matter just as much as the images she captures on the ice. They reflect a shift she hopes to help build, so young women no longer have to imagine themselves in the photographer’s pit, but can instead see it as a place where they belong.