Welcome back to another Through the Turnstile meets, this time we are sitting down with Luke Harris who is a budding sports photographer looking to take the bull by the horns and make his way into a very popular and crowded space.

---

Name – Luke Harris
Age – 21
Favourite team – Chatham Town
Occupation – Sports and events photographer
Thing I love about football – I love the passion in games and the feeling of watching your club win surrounded by good people, the social aspect is great
My football pet hate – My pet hate would be bad refereeing it’s the worst

---

Q) Have you always loved photography and if so what in particular about it?

No I didn’t always love photography I was introduced to it about 3 and a bit months ago by asking a photographer wether I could join him at some point as I really enjoyed it, so I went to a game with him and took photos and learned how to use a camera on the job. I

Q) When did you buy your first professional camera and what was it?

I got my first camera at Christmas this year it, it’s is still my current camera it’s a canon eos r50 but I wasn’t always using it for football photography as I didn’t have a lens so I was borrowing my colleges Nikon d7500 with a 18-105mm lens so it was very bad for sports photography but I made it work with practice

Q) How have you gone about harnessing your photography skills?

To harness my photography skills I watched hundreds of videos of people using cameras and learning all the details I would need to learn to be able to take sports photos like the exposure triangle. I would also be consistent with going to games getting as much practice as I could to get better and better.

Q) What was your first steps into the world of football?

My first steps into football would have been watching England when I was younger. I wasn’t always into football as much as I am now but I am so happy I started watching it more and more and got emerged into the field and have loved it so much since.

Q) How did it feel to capture photos of a football game and was it harder than you imagined?

When I capture photos of a football game it feels amazing, it’s two of my huge passions merged into one, football and photography, I get to watch people play football, watch all the action, and try my best to capture it along the way. It was soooo much harder than I imagined I thought it would be very easy and simple, it’s just taking photos after all, but there is so much more to it, so much I had to learn that I wasn’t prepared for but I am a fast learner so I did hours of research to get where I am now, still learning more and more every day

Q) What is your favourite photo you have captured to date?

To chose a favourite photo I have taken I would say it’s impossible, here are a bunch of my favourite photos, some of them not even football, it is really hard for me to chose a favourite as I like all of these a lot. I have only been doing this for 3 and a bit months so I still have a long way to go but these are my favourites from this short amount of time If i was held at gunpoint I would have to say Reece butlers overhead kick as it was my first game for the team I love and I also really like the photos

Q) Do you have a favourite spot to stand in when capturing a game?

My favourite spot would be laying on the floor next to the corner flag on the same side of the goal as that is where the players are looking most of the time so you can see the players faces clearly and you get to see most of the attacking from there best from my experience.

Q) Has there been a time where you have wished you were in a different spot for a particular moment and if so how has that shaped your decision making along the way?

Yes there has been many times I wish I was in other times, I can’t count on one had the times that I’ve gone over to get some snaps of the defenders and I’ve missed a goal and a celebration, celebrations are my own personal favourite photos so to miss them is awful.

Q) Do you have any incidents during a game where you have got more involved than you intended on?

To be honest I always try and stay in my own lane as the photographer, don’t tend to bother the players, just be quiet and let them focus on the sport, but sometimes I like to go onto the pitch as the players are walking onto it for the first time to get some snaps but that would be the extent of it.

Q) What is your ideal camera equipment/setup for the future?

My dream setup would be canon r3 with a 70-200mm lens, a 100-400mm lens for far shots and short lens like a 24-100mm for closer shots, all as low aperture as possible.

Q) What is one helpful tip you have learnt along the way?

One tip I have learned from photography is to not compare your photos with other people’s, comparisons is the thief of joy, I would look at other people’s work, see how good theirs was to mine and be ashamed but I have learned that one day my work will be that good, I will get better and better with hard work so I have learned to appreciate my own work for what it is.

Q) Is there a club in particular you’d like to work with or would you like to cover multiple clubs?

There isn’t a specific club I would like to work with, in an ideal world it would be a team I would get a wage from like a premier league team so I can truly do sports photography for a job as I have a huge passion for it but for now I am more than happy to take photos for my team, Staplehurst Monarchs, and occasionally go over to the non league team that I support and follow which is Chatham town. Taking photos of the team I love with passion is incredible and an incomparable feeling which I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to do.

Q) What is the end goal for you, would you like to make this your full time profession?

The end goal is to have fun with what I’m doing, it is a real dream of mine to do this full time as right now i am questioning what I would like to be in the future. To do photography full time would truly be the dream, it’s in my bucket list to do a job I have a passion for and sports photography is far and beyond anything else that I would like to do so the end goal would be to do this full time

Q) If somebody wanted to reach out to you and ask you to come along and capture a game of theirs, what is the best way to get in touch with you?

The best way to get in touch with me would be through my email or my Instagram DMs, my Instagram currently is lmh_photography and my email is lukeharris4321@gmail.com

---

Thank you to Luke for agreeing to this interview – I find it fascinating to speak to people like Luke who have a real passion for the work that they do and are keen to lend a hand to Non-League clubs in a mutually beneficial agreement.

I think you’ll agree, some of the shots above are excellent and i don’t think it will be too long until we see some of Luke’s shots gracing some publications and social media of some of the top clubs in the country.

Until next time!