Ken Griffey Jr. Steps Behind the Lens in New Masters Photography Documentary

The image that kicked off "Photographer No. 24" is one of the most loaded in recent golf history: Rory McIlroy's reaction the moment he completed the career grand slam, snapped by a 13-time MLB All-Star working his first-ever tournament at Augusta National. In April 2025, Ken Griffey Jr. took notable photos as a credentialed member of the Masters photography pool, including McIlroy's reaction to winning the Masters for the first time in his career. Augusta National turned that assignment into a documentary.

The Masters' official X account shared a trailer for the upcoming feature about former Moeller High School and Cincinnati Reds standout Griffey, a National Baseball Hall of Famer, with the caption "The Kid behind the lens. Photographer No. 24 premieres April 5 on NBC." The special aired at 1 p.m. ET.

Griffey came to Augusta as a legitimate credential, not a novelty act. The 13-time All-Star described himself as a late bloomer in sports photography, having started when his children got into sports. When he first became immersed in the hobby, he phoned former Seattle Mariners teammate Randy Johnson for advice, knowing "The Big Unit" had taken photojournalism classes and worked sporting events after retiring from baseball. The motivation was personal: Griffey originally picked up a camera to pay attention to his children's sporting events without distractions from other patrons, and from there he fell in love with the art of photography itself.

He has since shot the World Series, All-Star games, NFL games, and soccer. Beyond the 2025 Masters, Griffey also worked at the Ryder Cup in 2025, wearing his famous backward cap. Most recently, he served as a credentialed photographer for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, capturing Team USA's biggest moments, including Aaron Judge's home run celebrations.

The trailer made clear Griffey understands exactly what his name gets him, and what it doesn't. "I get some doors open because of who I am," Griffey said, "but I take what I do very seriously." That seriousness shows up in how he talks about craft. "I'm getting better at it because I'm starting to understand and know what they expect from me," he said of shooting for Masters.com. "I can go out there and rattle off 30,000 pictures, but it's about so much more than that. The lighting is a big thing, the background, so many things. You can have a good picture of someone, but if the background isn't right it can turn out terrible."

He ended up with a press pass at Augusta after one of his friends learned he had picked up golf; that friend had a connection to the Masters and reached out, which led to an offer for Griffey to shoot photos for Masters.com. The 2025 Masters was Junior's first time shooting golf, though he had played Augusta National once before.

The documentary's premiere landed less than two weeks before the next tournament at Augusta. The 2026 Masters is scheduled for April 9-12. For anyone who shoots sports and has ever wondered what separates a credentialed pool photographer from a fan with a telephoto, watching a Hall of Famer describe himself as "the low man on the totem pole" at Augusta National is a pretty good place to start.