So we are joined on our first ever ‘TTTONLF meets’ by Max English, Max until recently was a club photographer for Chatham Town. We are sitting down with Max today to look over what the role of Club Photographer for a non-league club looks like Chatham. We are also going to look at what some of the challenges he faced are and why he was drawn to photography in general.

Name – Max English
Age – 18
Favourite Team – Chatham town FC
Occupation – Bartender/Photographer
One thing I love about football is – Last minute winners!
Football pet hate – VAR inconsistencies
Best player you have ever seen play in real life – Tom Eaves

Q) Max if you could take us back to the time when you first knew you were interested in photography, how old was you and what did you first start taking photos of?

It was around 4 years when I grew interested in photography, growing up I competed in karting and grew up around motor racing. I reached a stage where all my fellow racers were moving up into higher classes of motor racing and I didn’t have the funds to go up with them, however I still wanted to go to their races and be involved with the sport. So I saved up my wages from my part time job and sold my old game consolse and bought my 1^st camera and started attending and photographing the race events instead and have never looked back since!

Q) Can you remember when you got your first ‘proper’ camera, what model was it and how did you feel?
I still have my 1^st camera that I bought, it was a canon 4000d with the kit 18-55mm lens and 70-300mm lens. It was the 1^st major purchase ive ever made by myself and couldn’t of felt more proud!

Q) When did the passion of photography start to manifest itself into the sports world?

In a way, due to growing up loving sport and playing different sports growing up I kind of just fell into doing sports photography naturally, combining something I was familiar with, with something that I was learning and experimenting with.

Q) How did the job at Chatham Town come about?

It all started one evening when my dad suggested that I bring my camera to one of the home games, just to add to my portfolio and try something new, for a couple of games I just came down and shot from the stands and posted on social media. The club saw the images and asked if I could send them over. And from that point at the next game I was given a high-vis jacket by one of the staff and carried on from there, eventually going to both home and away games with the club

Q) Lets paint the picture now, it is the morning of a matchday. Chatham are playing at home at 3pm, what does your day look like hour by hour from the moment you wake up?

I normally like to pack my gear and charge everything up the night before.

I normally get up around 9-10am and have some breakfast, from that point all I need to do is double check all my equipment and chill out before going to the game

I normally get to the games for around half 1 to 2pm as this would allow me to unpack and set my cameras up ready for when the fans start coming in and players come out for their warmups (also gives me and my dad time to have some cheesy chips or a burger at the club)

For the last hour before kickoff I spend talking to my mates at the club and snapping away at the players and fans for the pre kickoff social media posts

Q) What equipment do you use, and how important is it to have the right gear when covering a football match?

For pretty much every event I use two cameras and two lenses. My current set up that I used at the end of last season was my canon 5d mk3 with a 35mm prime lens by sigma, to capture all the celebrations and crowd shots. To focus on the match action I have my trusted canon 90d paired with either my 70-200mm sigma lens or my new 100-400 canon lens, both equally amazing lenses.

Its always important to have a variety of gear for a match as you never know what will happen and where it will happen, by having a lens that can capture far and one that can capture close up allows for me to never miss a moment. One tip I learnt the hard way, always make sure you have weatherproof gear on hand just in case the weather changes for the worse

Q) Can you share a particularly memorable moment or favorite photo you’ve captured while working with Chatham Town?

My most memorable photo I have is probably the title lifting photo from the isthmian south east season, the whole day was memorable and I still have the image as my background on my laptop and pc

Q) How do you manage to capture the emotions and intensity of the game in your photographs? Do you have any specific techniques or tips?

I feel like its all about being at the right place at the right time and those moments will come to you. I have no specific techniques or tips, however if a player celebrates in the different corner to where I am I will always run behind the goal and get to them so that the moment can be captured.

Q) What has been your most challenging assignment or match to photograph, and how did you overcome those challenges?

I feel like my biggest learning curve was my 1^st ever away day, I didn’t realise that some clubs don’t like people running behind the goals for safety reasons and was explained that I wasn’t allowed to, from that point I learnt to always double check and ask if I am allowed to move about when the ball is out of play so I don’t accidentally put myself or someone else in danger throughout the game.

Q) What is your favourite moment you have captured and why was this photo so special to you?

Ive been so lucky to be apart of so many special occasions at the club its tough to pick. As both fan and volunteer at the club I would have to say the last-minute equaliser in the Kent cup final at Priestfield. Despite losing on penalties later, hearing the roar from the Chatham fans is something I will never forget!

Q) How do you handle the post-processing of your photos, and what’s your approach to selecting the best shots to share?

The best way to process photos for me is to hit whilst the iron Is still hot, as soon as im back home I load the images straight onto my laptop and go through every image and select the ones I made a mental note to include during the game. When editing for social media I always like to get creative and push the colours to create a cinematic feel to help share the moments or turn the images into black and white to focus the images for there emotional impact. I never want no two photos of mine to look the same and will spend time making every photo is unique and different in their own way

Q) What impact do your photos have on the club and its fans? Can you share any feedback or interactions you’ve had with players, staff, or supporters about your work?

The images allow the fans to relive the special moments that they got to witness and be a part of, as the seasons went on, I got to know more of the fans and they got to know me more as well, its always nice saying hello and having a chat with fans before games. It was incredible this season to of even had my own chant from the fans

“he shoots when he wants, he shoots when he wants, maxi English, he shoots when he wants”

Its been amazing getting to know the players throughout the season, especially after doing the media shots for the new signings, and seeing the players use my images on social media after a game always puts a smile on my face!

Q) What advice would you give to aspiring sports photographers who want to break into non-league football photography or sports photography in general?

Ill probably say the advice my own dad Darren gave to me “its not what you know, its who you know” the best thing to do if you want to get involved is to ask! From what ive seen over the last 2 years is that clubs will always welcome volunteers and are always appreciative of the work people do.

If you want to get involved with your local non-league club ask to get involved, every game you get to do is another opportunity to learn and grow your photography skills!

So that brings the inaugural Through the Turnstile meets…

Thanks to Max for taking part and being so open and honest.

I hope you found it interesting and that some of you out there now has a greater understanding of the work that goes into being a photographer for a non-league club. Also I hope that a few of you are inspired by what you have read from Max and that you will take that leap of faith into doing something you are passionate about in this game we all love!

Until next time!