Welcome back to another Through the Turnstile of Non-League Football, this time we are sitting down with an extremely talented photographer who has refined his work in the space of just 3 years, Tom Stanworth.
Some of Toms shots are some of my favourite out there currently as he manages to capture the game through many different perspectives and uses elements from around the ground to beautifully scene the shot.
I sent Tom some of my burning questions that I wanted to know the answers to and he duly delivered with some cracking insight and what he would like the future to look like for himself.
I hope you enjoy!
Name – Tom Stanworth
Age – 47
Favourite team – Cray Valley (PM) / Arsenal
Occupation – Digital marketing – I manage PPC (pay-per-click) adverts for an e-commerce seller company
Thing I love about football – Community and camaraderie, which is abundant in non-league football, and especially at Cray Valley.
My football pet hate – Narrative-driven and sensationalist football punditry
Q) What does football means to you?
Joy
Q) Did you play football growing up and if so, where did you play (were you any good)?
Yes, I did play. I was a late starter. I got into playing football as a teenager and played for a couple of seasons for Sunday League club Charlton Rangers in my late teens. I then played for a team of heavy drinkers at university called DTI (Drink Through It) Palace. Then in my mid-20s I played for a friends’ Sunday League team called AFC Shelbyville, named after the neighbouring town to Springfield in The Simpsons. I played in defence, wasn’t particularly good but I could hoof the ball a long way!
Q) When did you decide to grab yourself a camera and start shooting games?
It started in October 2022. I went to an iPhone photography workshop on my birthday because I fancied doing something a bit different. That really piqued my interest in photography which until that point had consisted of taking photos while on holiday but only occasionally when back home.
I’d started groundhopping in and around London in spring of that year and decided to give football photography a try with my iPhone SE on my next outing – Charlton Athletic vs. Ipswich Town. I took a variety of photos both inside and outside the ground. My best photo that day was taken when walking up the steps into the North West Stand at The Valley. The game was also memorable for being an immensely entertaining 4-4 draw, with four goals in stoppage time!
From then on, I took photos at games on a regular basis and eventually got my first ‘proper’ camera – a Sony compact – just over a year later. Coincidentally I used it for the first time at another Charlton home game – an FA Cup First Round Proper tie against a local non-league team that I knew very little about called Cray Valley Paper Mills. I decided to join the Cray Valley fans in the away end as that’s where the best fan-oriented photos were to be had. I got some good photos and had a great time taking in the atmosphere and watching the Millers pull off a superb 1-1 draw. My photos from the game were published on the Terrace Edition website the following day.
Little did I know that by the end of that season I’d become a non-league convert and a fully-fledged Cray Valley fan, having got to several of their league games during an exciting – and ultimately successful – title run-in.
Q) How did those first few games go for you?
They were really enjoyable, and I was in no doubt that I would continue taking photos at football matches.
My photos were a mixed bag. The best ones were always closer-up ones featuring fans in some way. The not so good ones were primarily based around match action. That set the blueprint for the sort of photos I wanted to take going forward – shots that feature football fans and say something about fan culture and the fan experience.
It also became clear that the best photos were to be had at non-league grounds where general admission means you can access most/all areas of the ground and find the best photo compositions, unlike at EFL and Premier League grounds where you’re confined to a seat.
Q) Did you learn some lessons early on?
Yes, that there’s not much point me trying to capture pure match action photos, especially with an iPhone! Club photographers have those covered and have the best gear to do so, so there’s nothing I’d be adding to what other people are doing.
It developed my current ethos which is to go out of my way to take photos that are different to what a typical club photographer would take – and preferably with an artistic or quirky twist.
Q) What’s the most memorable moment you’ve captured on the field?
I don’t take many photos where on-field action is the primary feature. But of the few that I have taken, the most memorable is of the decisive penalty save by Erith Town ‘keeper Mackenzie Foley vs. Corinthian in the SCEFL Premier promotion playoff final penalty shootout in May 2024. It was an incredible save where he dived full length to his right and lifted his body off the floor with his right hand in order to get his left hand high enough to turn the ball wide. Also, you can see the fans of both clubs gathered behind the goal and get a feel for the importance of the occasion.
Q) What is your role today and how do you find it?
My job is managing the pay-per-click (PPC) adverts for an e-commerce seller company. I fell into it a few years ago after a friend started a company selling on Amazon and I was looking for remote work.
In terms of photography, I’m a hobby photographer and have no plans to try to monetise it. I just want to continue enjoying photography as much as possible and continue to contribute photos to Terrace Edition and the Cray Valley matchday programme where this season I’ve got a regular slot for my photos from away trips – from the match as well as my explore of the town beforehand.
Q) How do you decide when to capture action shots versus candid moments on the sidelines?
It all depends on what photo opportunities stand out to me at the ground that I’m at.
I always favour photos that primarily feature things on the sidelines, as that’s where the most interesting things are to be found in non-league and where I can differentiate from club photographers.
If I choose to capture match action it’s almost always secondary to other elements within the photo, such as fans, and/or an interesting backdrop such as the architecture of the ground or the landscape beyond it. A prime example is the photo I took at the Chertsey Town v Cray Valley match earlier this season with the huge Thorpe Park rollercoaster in the background!
Q) What’s the hardest part of shooting in the fast-paced environment of a football game?
The hardest part is deciding how best to use the limited time during the game. Do I persist in one particular spot waiting for the match action to go there and complete the composition, or do I wander round looking for other photo opportunities?
Q) Do you prefer shooting night games or day games, and why?
I much prefer shooting at day games. It suits my style much better, and I usually have a wider variety of photo compositions to go for. Also, photos are sharper at day games, whereas night photos will be grainy to some extent due to high ISO (camera setting to brighten the photo).
Q) What gear do you rely on most when you’re on the field?
My main camera is a Fujifilm X-T5 with a Sigma 18-55mm lens. It’s got good resolution and handles high contrast and low light pretty well.
But I still use my Sony RX100VII compact camera a lot – the first proper camera I bought in 2023. It’s got an excellent zoom for its size of up to 200mm. I use this for things that are further away, and for when I want to get the camera into confined spaces, such as under advertising hoardings for pitch-level photos. However, it’s not great in low light, so I don’t tend to use it much in the winter months.
Q) Is there a particular angle or perspective you always try to find in your shots?
Yes! I’m always on the lookout for photo compositions where I’m shooting through something that creates a “frame within a frame” around a subject – such as through a square of the goal net, the entrance to a stand, or even a hole in the dugout.
Q) How do you stay focused and in the moment during such high-intensity games?
By remembering my previous experiences – the satisfaction of getting the shot that I wanted by staying focused, as well as the frustration of other times where I missed out because I wasn’t quite ready!
A typical scenario is that I’ll hang around at a particular location at a ground – usually because it has an interesting backdrop – and wait for match action to come along to complete the composition. I watch the game but try to be ready with the camera on the right settings and zoom for when the moment comes, because it’ll be fleeting and I might not get a better opportunity. In these scenarios I find it’s also important to persist right to the end of the half / game and not lose heart. Some of my best photos last season were taken in stoppage time.
Q) Have you ever been in a situation where you had to quickly adapt your shooting style because of weather or lighting conditions?
I adapt my style for night games in particular, usually taking photos of things that are close-up, or experimenting with my camera settings to see if I can come up with something out of the ordinary.
For instance, at a night game at Welling United last season I took photos through the entrance to the main stand onto the pitch using a function that exposes the photo based only on the focus point – in this case the floodlit pitch – and therefore exaggerated the darkness of the stand entrance around it, giving a dramatic and moody effect.
Another example is at a Cray Valley home match last season where I took photos of match action using a narrow aperture to get an interesting star effect from the floodlights, and a slow shutter speed to get sufficient light into the shot as well as motion blur. I ended up getting a really wacky photo of Lewes player Marcus Sablier taking a corner kick.
Q) What’s the one thing about football photography that most people don’t understand but you think is crucial?
All types of football photography have their place. But in my opinion, the most interesting things to take photos of at football matches relate to football fan culture and the quirks, landscape and architecture of football grounds – rather than purely the on-field action. Non-league has all these things in abundance, plus ample opportunities to capture it.
Q) Some of your shots have been featured in ‘Terrace Edition’ – how does that feel?
Having photos featured on the Terrace Edition website, as well as in social media posts and two of the print editions, is something that I’m proud of.
Being involved with Terrace Edition has been a big part of the development of my football photography. Firstly, it introduced me to the work of some excellent photographers with distinct styles – in particular Sam Wainwright, Daniel Goody, Mike Bayly and Dave Harry – which I then tried out for myself. Secondly, having a platform for my football photography has been an added incentive to continuously improve, as has the encouragement from editor Tom Reed from an early stage.
I’m particularly proud of my most recent Terrace Edition article ‘Townhopping’ about my love of combining groundhopping, exploring places and amateur photography on Cray Valley away games in season 2024/25 – a milestone season for the club and for me personally.
Q) What is your favourite shot of all time?
In terms of the photos I’ve taken, my favourite so far is one I took at Billericay Town vs. Cray Valley in February 2025 where I framed a piece of match action in one square of the goal net. The light is superb, lighting up the clubhouse and casting long shadows. Also, it features a Cray Valley player who I’m a big fan of – all-action centre-back Kiki Oshilaja who’s since gone on to play at a higher level – who’d stormed into the Billericay penalty area.
Q) What would be your tip to someone starting out in photography?
Browse lots of photos (such as on Instagram and Terrace Edition), identify what ‘good’ looks like, see which styles you like, and then try them out for yourself. Prior research on the place that you’re planning on visiting is also handy to get some photo composition ideas before you arrive. But always be on the lookout for compositions that are spur-of-the-moment and original. Experiment with different angles and camera settings and see if you can develop your own unique style. Shoot regularly, which will help you to learn rapidly. And above all, enjoy it!
Q) What does the future hold for you?
Simply to continue enjoying photography, groundhopping and exploring places. I’ll let the Cray Valley fixture list continue to determine where I do this, and I’m hoping to get to all the away league games this season, having got to all but one in 2024/25.
I have no plans to try to monetise my photography – I’ll continue being a hobby photographer and keep it as fun and creative as possible.
Thank you so much to Tom for his time and for sharing some of these incredible shots.
I am sure you will agree he has an exceptional talent, I will be following his journey very closely and cant wait to see what other shots he manages to snag in the future.
Follow his journey here – https://www.instagram.com/tmstanworth/?hl=en
Until next time!
Parks to Pitches (your dedicated Non-League Football Magazine)
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Through The Turnstile of Non-League Football 
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