THE PRO INTERVIEW
The official England football team photographer and Canon Ambassador reflects on a lifetime of sports photojournalism
EDDIE KEOGH has been in sports photojournalism in the UK for over three decades. While he’s worked at the top of his game capturing the England football and rugby teams in some of their biggest sporting moments, he says he gets just as excited documenting the antics of a grassroots match on a Sunday morning. Eddie doesn’t just focus on football, and he has covered horse racing, tennis, athletics, and even shot for Rolls-Royce.
There are several elements to consider in sports journalism. There’s the action and the fast-paced camera settings. Then there’s the drama, the intrigue, and considering how to tell your story. Eddie is a creative sports photographer, whose signature style blends humour and emotion to connect you with his subjects – no matter their perceived status or celebrity. But what else drives his career, how does he still find inspiration after such an impressive length of service, and how has he seen sports journalism change in that time? We caught up with him at home to find out.
Eddie, you’ve had an impressive career in sport. Could you share where you started?
For me, the idea of taking photographs started when I was about 15 years old on holiday with my mum, travelling in a Volkswagen camper van around Europe. She had a camera that took 110 film with tiny, miniaturized negatives, and I discovered that I liked taking pictures. The next summer I did a job with my local council sweeping the roads around Harlesden. I’d just saved enough money to buy my first film SLR camera which I carried around with me on the job, and whenever I met interesting people who were in Harlesden it was a chance to get to know them and ask if they would mind having a portrait taken.
The sports part came in because I love and played a lot of football. I took the camera down to the park to photograph my brother playing, and that’s where the grassroots stuff kicked in. These were the days of black-and-white film. I’d go back home to my bedroom, black out all the windows, develop the films and make prints with an enlarger. I’m not sure my mum knew what was going on really.
So, to begin with, you combined your enjoyment of photography with another passion.
Yes. That’s the wonderful thing about photograph
