A Challenging Task

Shibu P. is an internationally published photographer with exceptional knowledge on photography. Shibu’s passion for photography has turned him into a professional who guides and teaches photography and post-processing techniques. He is well-versed not only in sports photography but also in different genres like product, wedding and wildlife photography. He aspires to create timeless images – live photographs which have a story behind them. He says, “I never wanted to be someone who takes predictable, boring photographs!”

- Shibu P

We take it that your favourite genre of photography is sports. What made you decide to opt for sports photography?

My journey started with wildlife photography. I also possessed a strong interest in football and played for my school and college teams. When I moved to the UK, I applied for sports photojournalism since I had experience in photography and interest towards football.

Where have your work been published?

I have had work published in The Sun, The Star, Doncaster Free Press, Mansfield Chad, Derbyshire Times and many more. I currently shoot for three football clubs (Chesterfield FC, Mansfield FC and Doncaster Rovers FC).

How do you find out which sport is going to be held where and how do you manage the permission for taking the photos? Do you go as an official photographer or do you manage to shoot from the lines?

There is a website for each league which provides all the details of the game, date, time and venue. I send my preferences based on the game schedule to my agency and they book me in. I get access to pitch side, gantry, interview area, press conference, press lounge, press box and mixed zone as an official photographer to the clubs assigned to me. This also gives me extra access to the players’ dressing room.

What difficulties do you generally face as a sports photographer?