My name is Matt Smith. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennesse. I've been taking pictures since 8th grade. In high school, I was photo-editor of the St. Benedict yearbook for three years. I received the "Excellence in Photography" Award two years in a row. I was also mentioned in the Yearbook Yearbook Awards for having one of the best pictures out of all the yearbooks from across America. 

In 2015, as a freshman at the University of Memphis, I was hired an official Student Employee in the Media Communication Department for Tiger Athletics. During my time at Memphis, I would shoot every sport offered at the U of M. I would also travel to several Bowl Games with the football team, including The Birmingham Bowl, The Liberty Bowl, and The Cotton Bowl.

On August 1st, 2019, I had my first sports magazine cover shoot for Athlon Sports, featuring the #1 high school recruit of 2018 and #2 NBA Draft pick of 2020, James Wiseman.

During the summer of 2021, I signed a Photo Contract with the University of Memphis Athletic Department and shoot any and all sport-related events. 

The Wiseman cover was part of Athlon Sports’ College Basketball series. A lot of attention had been on Wiseman after he was named ESPN's #1 College Recruit in the Nation. The magazine hit the shelves on September 1st, which was especially cool to me because that day is recognized as 9/01 Day in Memphis, paying homage to our legendary area code.

After working with the basketball team for a good year, I had been able to show off my work to the players, coaches, and more importantly, the Director of Operations, Rodney Hamilton. Rodney was the one who told Athlon they would not need to send their photographer and that the team had one of their own to shoot Wiseman, me.