Eddie Keogh

Canon Ambassador, professional sports photographer and official photographer of the England football team, Eddie Keogh, gives us a glimpse in his kit bag…

The industry refers to our profession as visual storytelling for a reason

aany aspiring sports photographers believe they need to attend highprofile sporting events and travel to exotic places to take interesting and great photographs – you don’t.

Despite having attended the Olympics, Wimbledon and World Cup Finals (namedrop), some of the best pictures I’ve taken have been during Sunday league football matches at my local park.

To take great photographs, attitude is key. You need to get out and about as much as you can. If photography isn’t your full-time job but you want to improve, then you need to use your evenings and weekends to build your skills and portfolio. You need to be open to shooting different sports – don’t limit your experience.

So, if you’re an avid football photographer, find another sport to keep you busy during the off-season. Local communities have multiple sports clubs that regularly practice and compete – do your research and get out and active with your camera.

In addition, it’s essential to come armed to sporting events with an understanding of the ‘side stories’. Sports photographers looking to up their game need to be fully aware of the stories that are happening around them, both on and off the pitch.

The industry refers to our profession as visual storytelling for a reason. Often the most used photographs in sport are moments captured that tell us side stories – the fans and newspapers can’t get enough of them and that’s for a very good reason!