Nothing expresses the emotion of sport quite like photography. We believe in the power of a moment, and in an instant, sports photographers can capture the passion, joy, triumph, teamwork and drama that unfolds during a sports event.
For fans, on the other hand, they’re eager to see images that resonate and connect with their emotions, and those images have even more impact when they are shared with them in real time. Whether it’s capturing the action as it happens on the pitch, court or track, speed is the name of the game in sports photography.
It’s through the photographer’s lens that special moments in sports history can be frozen in time. Sports photography is the aperture through which fans can contemplate and relive those special moments in their own time.
Today we want to give a shout out and focus on the amazing work of sports photographers in Europe – From the England women’s football team photographer who captured a historic moment, to the sports fanatic who finds his calling in para sports photography. We have gathered a list of 10+ incredible sports photographers to follow in Europe. These photographers showcase the best moments of sport action, with authentic behind the scenes moments, media day portraits and much more.
This list is just the beginning! Who else deserves a shout-out? Tag us on Twitter or Instagram (@psforbrands) and let us know. We’ll continue to add more photographers to this list as we hear from you.
Hy Money
She’s known as ‘Britain’s first female Sports Photographer’. Money got into sports photography in the early 1970s when she went to a football match at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace’s home stadium, to fulfil her son’s birthday wish. The colourful and joyful football atmosphere of people and families enjoying themselves got her thinking about capturing those special moments.
Although it wasn’t easy to be a female photographer in the 70s, Money’s persistence led her to photograph the greatest games in the club’s existence. In a recent interview she sent an inspiring message to women: “If you believe in what you do, and you have the right to do it, whatever young girls out there, follow your dreams.”
Molly Darlington
Molly was born in England and is one of the youngest sports photographers in Europe. She’s had an amazing career so far; her major achievements include covering some of the biggest football matches in the women’s game and high-profile motorsports championships.
For young people aspiring to start a career in photography, Molly says: “Sports photography is the best job in the world – I’d encourage more young people to get involved. Gaining skills and being mentored by experienced photographers is vital to achieving success. If you work hard enough, you can do it.”
Richard Heathcote
If you’re after images that capture the drama, tension and sweat in sports (literally) Richard is your sports photographer to watch. With his stunning photos of jaw dropping moments in sports, a quick glance at the homepage on his website can stop you in your tracks. From the boxer coming under fire from his opponent to the golf shot that took everyone by surprise, Richard manages to capture the emotions of sports effortlessly.
He has 20 years in the industry and is recognised as one of the best sports photographers in the UK. He’s won many awards including the British Sports Photographer of the Year Award at the 2019 British Sports Journalism Awards, and the 2020 World Sports Photography Awards.
Tom Jenkins
With more than 30 years of experience, Tom Jenkins has captured some of the most iconic moments in sports, including covering the seven football world cups and summer Olympic Games. He’s worked for the Guardian and Observer newspapers since 1990 and became a Canon ambassador in 2017.
He’s often seen with three cameras running along the pitch to capture the action and thinks that Rugby is an ideal sport to photograph. “Rugby makes fantastic pictures because it’s such a physically intense sport – there’s a lot of ferocity. You can get some crunching action pictures.”
Lynne Cameron
Lynne has one of the most high-profile sports photography jobs in Europe. She’s the official photographer for the Lionesses, the England women’s football team. Scrolling through her Instagram feed, we can see the amazing work that Lynne has done in capturing the emotions, hard work and journey to glory of the women’s team.
Prior to her role for the Lionesses, she was the official photographer for the Rangers FC and the Scottish Rugby Union.
Marc Aspland
One key element of sports photography is unpredictability. It’s why capturing that once-in-a-lifetime moment not only requires great timing, intense focus, or technical ability, but also some knowledge of the sport could go a long way to help understand what may happen during a match. This would increase your chances of capturing those fleeting moments that can turn into the best photos.
A photographer who knows this very well is Marc Aspland. He’s a British sports photographer with great experience photographing just about every sport – football, tennis, swimming, horse racing – he’s done them all. Major sporting events he’s photographed include six summer Olympic Games and four FIFA World Cup Finals.
Matt Watson
As the official sports photographer for Southampton Football Club, the English football team which plays in the Premier League, Matt has captured some of the most memorable moments of the club’s history since 2014. His love for photography started in his teenage years while doing his favourite hobby – BMX riding.
He went on to study photography at university and then worked at a local newspaper covering many regional sports teams. Southampton FC was one of the teams that stood out, which made him realise how much he enjoyed sports photography and more specifically, football photography. Matt says: “Pressing the shutter button on a camera is like pausing life, yet it allows you to keep that moment forever.”
Luc Percival
Determination and willpower are some of the attributes that sports photographers have plenty of to capture the most challenging photos in sport. Luc is one of those sports photographers who has used these attributes considerably to document the lives of athletes practising extreme sports.
He was born in England and was originally a rock-climbing photojournalist. He’s now based in France. As a sport fanatic, he found his calling in para sports photography years ago, stating that it’s the type of photography that has captured his imagination the most. The determination and perseverance that para sports athletes have has inspired him to document their lives and tell their stories through photography. In a recent interview he said: “It’s very much about putting those guys at the forefront of people’s minds with images to say, look, you can do whatever you want and you can be the best you can be if you try and you don’t give up. We are all just ordinary people capable of doing quite extraordinary things if we choose to.”
Geraint Ashton Jones
A combination of love of the outdoors and sport have been key drivers in Geraint’s photography career. In the past he’s taken part in different sports; rugby, sailing, cycling and running, with Rugby and other endurance sports being the ones he photographs the most.
He’s the director of Alligin Photography, a UK-based business that provides technology and media support to professional and semi-professional sports clients. He and his team have extensive experience photographing sporting events for the rugby union teams of the British Army and Royal Navy, such as the annual flagship Army-Navy rugby match at Twickenham stadium. He uses PhotoShelter for Brands to share his images in real time and says: “To me the success of any photograph is if it provokes an emotional response. Sporting photography is very often focused on either success or despair, but I have a keen interest in the mental challenge of sport, particularly endurance sport, and I try to capture the psychological battle the athlete may be experiencing.”
Joel Marklund
Curiosity and learning about athletes’ lives are some of the reasons why Joel loves sports photography. The Swedish born award winning photographer has been part of the official photography team covering the Wimbledon tennis tournament for The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. He’s one of the Nikon European Ambassadors.
Joe’s favourite photo that he’s taken is from the Sweden vs England friendly football match in Stockholm 2012. To be able to capture that moment, Joe had to go through various logistics hurdles involving negotiations with stadium officials, but the hard work paid off and that year he won ‘Swedish Picture of the Year’ in the Sports News category.
Aleksandra Szmigiel
Prior to sports photography, Aleksandra used to be a middle-distance runner. She took part in sports competitions for almost ten years. She believes that her empathetic insight for sports helped her gain a new perspective to build her sport photography career. For Aleksnadra it was a long road to become a sports photographer, which she admits has been filled with many mistakes but also some great lessons.
She’s an award-winning photojournalist and sports photographer who has covered major athletic events like the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships. She also works for brands like Nike, New Balance and Sony.
To round up this inspirational list of sports photographers, we’d like to invite you to follow them on social media and share your favourites by tagging us (@psforbrands) in their posts on Twitter or Instagram!
Related content: The Best Football Photographers to Follow on Social Media
At PhotoShelter we’re very proud to work with some of the best sports photographers around the world, supporting their creative workflows so they can share their stunning images in real time. If you’d like to learn more, follow us on @psforbrands or join our PSB Creative Slack community.
