On Thursday evening (29 October), Pudsey Camera Club welcomed sports photographer Sean Chandler to deliver his talk, From the Sidelines: Capturing Emotion in Sport.
Sean grew up in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, and has been a Brentford supporter since he was taken to his first match at the age of two. He now lives close to Pudsey, so we were pleased to have a local photographer with us. That early love of matchday culture, terrace atmosphere and local identity still shapes everything he shoots.
Sean has worked at the very top of the game, from Champions League nights under the lights to the Premier League and the WSL (women’s top-flight football). But the heart of his talk was the work beyond the big stadiums. Between 2023 and 2024 he spent an extended period documenting the Afghan Women’s Development Team. He also embedded with Farsley Celtic Deaf FC for a whole season, following their domestic campaign and their qualification run. He then travelled with them to Warsaw to cover their debut at the Deaf Champions League.
Although much of Sean’s work is football, he also took the time to show us images from the tennis court. He was enthusiastic about tennis as a way to develop your skills as a sports photographer. Because the courts are smaller, you can get fantastic results with a 70-200mm, a lens most club photographers already have in the bag.
Sean’s background is in community development, video journalism, social outreach and healthcare support, and it shows in how he works. Embedding with a team takes patience, active listening and genuine trust, and the pictures reflect that. He looks beyond the 90 minutes and the scoreline to raw emotion, fan tension, player reactions and communities that don’t often get the spotlight.
What made the evening so engaging was that Sean took us through his whole career to date. We saw how his voice and style as a sports photographer have grown and changed. There was no ego about it. He was open and generous, and the room responded.
As always, the talk turned to gear at the end. Sean shoots Canon crop-sensor DSLR bodies and mainly works with shorter focal lengths. He knows his range with them and works within the area he’s been assigned. When the action is at the other end of the pitch, he’d rather use that time to capture crowd reactions and atmosphere than take long-lens shots that might only show a player’s back.
For those of us who like photographing people, place and community, it was an inspiring evening. Emotion is what makes a picture stay with you, whether it’s a goal celebration or a quiet moment on the touchline at a local match.
Thank you to sports photographer Sean Chandler for a fascinating and inspiring evening. You can see more of his work at seanchandler.info and on Instagram at @seanychandler.
Pudsey Camera Club meets on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm at Pudsey Library. The next meeting is on 5 November and is the first round of this year’s club competition. Guests and new members are always welcome. Find out more at pudseycamera.club.
