Breaking in to football photography was something I’d always wanted to do at the back of my mind, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2013 it became a real target of mine.
How I came to love sports photography
I’d been writing about football for years, be it online, in printed columns for a local newspaper and many other forms of media and media outlets. On one of the earliest websites owned by a large media company, I had access to the vast libraries of images held by huge agencies such as Getty and the Press Association. I’d also used Action Images on occasion.
I would find myself often writing stories based on the images available, and if there wasn’t a good photo readily available to use for something I’d already written, I didn’t quite have the same excitement of publishing it that I may have done.
As someone who had zero technical knowledge of photography at the time, I used to wonder why photos from night matches in the football league seemed overly grainy, why there wasn’t a good selection of shots of every single player, etc.
I’d get picky about what shots I’d use, the style of photos I’d like and what looked good in digital.
Imagery and its use within digital content
Moving away from journalism and communications in my professional career back in 2010, after a period travelling around the world, I returned to the UK and began working for an internet consultancy working solely with content.
While sports photography very rarely cropped up, the general use of imagery in a digital landscape was something that became very interesting to me. Already sitting in front of a computer for far too much of the day, I no longer did any writing, and so I wanted another way to express my love of football and scratch my creative itch.
Football photography would become that.
Getting the break in football photography
In my introductory blog, I broadly wrote about my photography skill set (or lack of) when I ordered my first DSLR from eBay. I’d begun using it for shooting a local football team for whom I played in late summer and autumn of 2013. We’re talking park football, and at low standard!
In to the winter, I’d try and get out and snap as much amateur football as possible, but I spent an incredible amount of time reading about sports photography, the equipment, the execution and the mistakes that can be made.
Despite a few forums and blogs suggesting that football photographers could be rude and not willing to help a newbie out, I reached out to a couple through their own websites. I won’t name them, but in the several relatively brief email exchanges we shared, I got some invaluable information, critique and tips. I’ll always be grateful.
My break, of sorts, came in April 2014 when I was invited by Tranmere Rovers – the club I’d supported for 20+ years – to photograph the final three home games of the season at Prenton Park. I’d previously asked about doing a couple of reserve or youth team games to get a feel for things, but despite the nerves, I could not turn down the opportunity to jump straight in at first team level.
The first game was against Shrewsbury Town, and Rovers were on the fringes of a relegation fight. Despite shooting the game with a very old Canon 400D and a temperamental Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 – the entire setup costing £150 – I managed to capture both Tranmere goals that day, including a late second half winner in the rain. It was noisy, as you’d imagine, but focus and timing was there.
I’ll always cherish that shot, and those of the celebrations that followed. For all the world Rovers looked like the 2-1 victory would be enough to secure League One status.
As it happened, my final game of the three match trial culminated in shooting pics of my heroes in tears as the club was in fact relegated.
On the plus side, the club asked me back to be Club Photographer for 2014/15.
Surely that would have a better outcome on the pitch…
