To photograph pre-season friendlies is actually one of the things I really look forward to each summer – and what’s more, they’re perfect for beginners as well as pros.
When pre-season rolls around, I’m always excited to get back pitch side shooting games. Sure, kit photoshoots, media days, pre-season training and everything else that takes place at this time of year is fun, but the matches are definitely the highlight.
I often take a slightly different approach to photographing these games versus competitive fixtures. There are several reasons for that which I will set out below:
1) More freedom – it’s not just about the story of the match
The one obvious difference about pre-season games is that the outcome of the game is very rarely the news, nor is anyone that interested. In competitive fixtures, I’ll almost always sit in the same approximate positions – behind the goal line, either side of the goal.
However, I will vary it up for friendlies sometimes, you don’t have to sit near the goal so you don’t miss the game-defining goal or missed chance. Instead, you can experiment, practice and just refresh your creativity by moving around.
I find it also just makes you think about things a little more, which again, adds to the creativity. You find new angles for goals, for example.
2) More variety required – New players + new kit = new stock needed
Here’s the big thing – everything is new, and it needs capturing. Almost every team plays pre-season now in its new kit. So, straight away, it’s time to start building stock of every player in that kit. Many players are new signings, fans always want to see new signings in their team’s kit as soon as possible.
This is where the freedom of points 1 and 3 also help massively. You want photos of every player – goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards. Because you’re not stock in the same position or worried about missing something, you can go an get those shots and vary them up.
The only downside is that often friendlies have few, if any, supporters in attendance. So, quite often you can identify a pre-season photo a mile off due to the absence of any fans in the back of shot.
3) Less fans, more space!
And bringing those two points together, it’s a great chance to move around the stadium. At Tranmere, for example, games at the home stadium (Prenton Park) will often only have a small number of fans present, to the extent where two or three sides of the stadium will be closed.
That gives me absolute freedom to roam – I can shoot the entire match from the back of the stand, from the corner, from stairwells, wherever I want. Not that I would shoot the entire match from those positions, but you can really mix it up.
4) New equipment
Like the football kits themselves, the governing bodies and sponsors love to freshen things up every season. My favourite is a new match ball, of which the EFL release every year. But so many things will be new and present the opportunity for a quick snap – stadium signage, water bottles, sponsor adverts, non-football staff, new facilities, club stores with new product in etc.
5) Unique (and obscure) player photos
Pre-season is great for snapping photos of trialists. Players who have yet to sign for a club and are currently playing and training with them in a bid to impress and earn a contract. I’ve probably got a great selection of such images. Amusingly, some players you completely forget about, only to years later hear of them playing for a rival club or at a high level. On the flip side, trialists may be senior players who have already hit the heights of their career so may be high-profile.
I sometimes wish I had been photographing Tranmere games since I was about 10 years old. Some of the weird and wonderful trialists that have made fleeting pre-season appearances down the years would make for some great photos; from Daniel Amokachi to Sasa Curcic, and a whole host of internationals past and present in between.
6) Rule changes
Finally, rule changes seem to be an annual thing now. This season, the changes in how injuries to goalkeepers are dealt with from a time-keeping perspective is new. Last season it was the introduction of a corner kick if a goalkeeper took too long to release the ball.
Depending on the level you shoot, over the last decade or so we have had white spray for referees to use when pacing out the distance of a wall on free-kicks, the introduction of VAR, and goodness knows what else. Trying to snap photos that illustrate the rule changes is a lovely little challenge for yourself which starts from pre-season.
What makes pre-season good for beginners?
All of the above points help make pre-season a great time to get experience and exposure to shooting professional football. Being able to shoot with minimal expectations, freedom to move around and experiment really helps you get comfortable with being pitch side.
It’s not just professional games either, right down to grass roots pre-season games many of these apply.
Don’t stress about getting the goals and action (practice doing so if that’s what you want), but use it to be familiar with your gear, your surroundings, what’s new, etc.
To any photographers reading this, I hope you have a great season!
