School Sports Photography: Why It Matters
School sports photography is about capturing the energy and vibrancy of sporting life at your school, college or university. It also creates the opportunity to show what the sports experience is really like for students.
Sports photography is not always about capturing a winning goal.
It’s also about creating images of teamwork, determination, and everything that happens during a sporting fixture and in sports practice sessions throughout the academic year.
While words on your website can convey the sporting achievements of your students, images are the most effective way to demonstrate how engaged students are in a variety of sports.
Important split-second moments captured during a cricket match
School Sports Day Photography
School Sports Day is one of the best opportunities for a sports photographer to capture a wide variety of sports. It’s also a chance to capture relaxed groups of friends interacting in a sports setting.
At Sports Day, there’s a bit of everything—running races, jumping, throwing events - and often plenty of emotional reactions and facial expressions to capture from both students and staff.
It’s also one of the few times where the whole school is involved, which makes it valuable from a marketing point of view. You get a mix of ages, abilities and personalities all in one place.
A career in sports photography
I started my photography career photographing sports and have covered Premiership football matches, national basketball games, international extreme sports festivals and national cricket matches.
When photographing sports, knowing where to be is key to getting great photos.
Combine that with technical ability and fast fingers to change camera settings quickly to accommodate the demands of the sport and changing lighting conditions.
Only then do you have the starting point for some great school sports photography!
Sports day
The Challenges of School Sports Photography
Photographing school sports matches is slightly different. Things move quicker during a match, and the photographer has less control over where the action happens (this is why luck is helpful).
Rugby Matches
With sports like rugby and football, the play can shift from one end of the pitch to the other in seconds, so positioning is important.
I am a Rugby fan myself, so I find Rugby the easier one to photograph.
Hockey and Football Matches
That said, I have spent a lot more time sitting on the sidelines of football matches over the years.
The gameplay in football and hockey is faster, and the ball moves around a lot quicker, so it often takes longer to get the shots you want.
Cricket Matches
Cricket is a slower sport, but timing is everything. When photographing a cricket match, I’m always watching for the delivery, the shot, or a key moment in the field.
Netball & Basketball Matches
Netball and basketball matches are the tricky ones to photograph. They are so fast, with arms often covering faces. Then, you blink, and the ball is at the opposite end of the court…
Any school sports photographer definitely needs to be working at 110% for these sports!
Rugby Match Action
Why School Sports Photography Is Valuable
There are many reasons why its worth investing in school sports photography:
Variety of images showing the school experience
Good quality, professional sports photography gives schools a completely different set of images compared to those captured in a classroom setting.
They help show balance in the school offering, supporting the academic images captured in class
Sports photos show another side of school life
Whether taken on Sports Day or during sports lessons held throughout the school year, images show school life as being active, competitive and often passionate.
They show physical and team-based activities.
Versatility of the images for school marketing and communication
Sports images work well across websites, prospectuses and social media. They’re also popular internally - students and parents tend to connect with sports images because they feel more immediate and recognisable.
A team of school girls play netball
School Sports Photography: Good To Know
One thing to be aware of if you are planning to commission a sports photographer is that if your educational establishment is playing sports against another school, college or university team, then you need to let that competitor school know that you intend to capture photographs during your match.
The GDPR rules around photography are a nightmare and really restrict what was once straightforward!
The other school generally need to agree that you can take and use pictures of all their students, preferably before the match.
Otherwise you will be chasing them for the necessary permissions afterwards and will be unable to share the photos until that permission is secured.
A school team play basketball
Looking for an experienced school sports photographer?
If you’re searching for a sports photographer in London, UK or throughout the South East, get in touch!
I would say this, but it’s definitely worth choosing a sports photographer who understands how schools work as well as how sport works (as I do!).
That’s what makes the difference between a few nice shots and a really strong set of usable school sports photography images.
Contact me today to discuss the sports photography you need. I’d be very happy to help!
Danny