FPA Member Profile

What came first, sport or photography? 
“Leicester City came first – I went to my first match at 10 years old. The pubs, the characters, the experiences you’d see at home games, and the adventures at away games meant I was completely obsessed with going to football. Eventually I realised, in the middle of it all, the cause of everyone’s highs and lows was a sport. I’d always liked taking pictures, but I wasn’t taking it seriously yet. Eventually the two combined.”

What was your career path? 
“I worked part-time as an assistant for an agency called Associated Sports Photography, which eventually ended up with me in a trainee sports photographer role. I was there for a year, before leaving and eventually being offered a position as a junior photographer at Action Images. I was at Action Images for 10 years (except for a brief dalliance with Empics in 2005). I had started working closely with the FA at Action Images, and in 2009 Getty Images won the FA contract and offered me a job to help them cover it. I’ve been at Getty for over 10 years now, and through them I work almost exclusively in the football industry, including clients such as The Premier League, Nike, FIFA and UEFA.”

What awards have you won?
“Quite rightly, I haven’t won any awards.”

Do you have a favourite memory or anecdote from your time as a football photographer?
“On the 7th of May 2016 I had the privilege of photographing the Premier League champions lifting the trophy. As the Premier League’s designated photographer I had a foot on the stage as Leicester celebrated the impossible. I’ll never top that in a thousand years.”

If you weren’t a photographer what would you be? 
“I would have to be involved in the media in some way.” 

First football match photographed? 
“My local pub team, Groby Pool FC. I can’t remember the opposition but a recent lottery winner was playing for them, so bizarrely Darren Staples of Raymonds was also covering the game.” 

Who did you look up to as a youngster and who were your mentors? 
“My first boss George Herringshaw had a huge influence on me. There was a level of pride in his craft, on trying to take the perfect picture no matter the event. Since then its been important to me to see everyone as someone to learn from. Whether that’s colleagues or even young photographers coming through. You have to keep learning new approaches – good or bad – and making your own mind up about them.” 

Favourite footballer to work with, and why?
“Paul Pogba. He’ll walk on set, give it the ‘nice and quick guys, I have to go soon’ line but then give you all the poses you need inside three minutes.”

Favourite football ground to work at and why? 
“Goodison Park can be a nightmare. You’re sat in with the crowd, they spill over you when Everton score, stewards block the view and the crowd can be ferocious when they’re angry. On its day it’s brilliant.”

Biggest lesson learnt?
“Seek out photography and study it. Doesn’t matter how irrelevant it seems to the world of football, fashion, landscapes, abstract, reportage or whatever… It all sinks into the melting pot and comes out again as one of your own ideas.”

Canon, Nikon or Sony? 
“Nikon.”