Rugby Match Photographer
About the Role
We are seeking a passionate and skilled photographer to capture the excitement and action of our rugby matches. This volunteer role focuses on photographing our men’s and women’s home games, creating a visual record of our teams’ performances and providing engaging content for our website and social media. This is an excellent opportunity for photography enthusiasts to build their sports photography portfolio while contributing to our club community.
Match Schedule
– Senior Men’s (First XV and Second XV) matches take place on a Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at 2/230/3PM usually (these change as the days get shorter over winter).
– Ladies matches take place on Sunday afternoons, kicking off at 2PM, though for special teams (like Guernsey where they fly over), these may be earlier.
Key Responsibilities
- Attend home matches for the men’s teams (First XV and Second XV) and Ladies XV.
- Capture high-quality action shots during gameplay, showcasing key moments, tries, tackles, and team celebrations.
- Document the atmosphere and spirit of match days, including team preparations and crowd reactions
- Edit and select the best images for submission
- Provide photographs in a timely manner, ideally we would like 10 photos within 24 hours of the match for social media and website use, the rest can be used (ideally within 24 hours of the match) for website and social media use.
- Work collaboratively with the match reporter and social media team to co-ordinate content.
- (Nice to have) Opportunity to take good quality headshots of players for use in social media posts and on the website player profiles.
Required Skills and Qualities
- Experience in photography, particularly sports or action photography (amateur photographers welcome)
- Access to suitable camera equipment capable of capturing fast-paced action.
- Basic photo editing skills.
- Reliable attendance at scheduled matches.
- Ability to work independently on the side-lines without disrupting gameplay/coach talks.
- Understanding of rugby sufficient to anticipate key moments.
- Enthusiasm for the sport and club community.
Equipment Requirements
– Personal camera equipment (DSLR or mirrorless camera recommended)
– Appropriate lenses for sports photography
– Personal editing software/capabilities
– Weather protection for equipment during inclement conditions
Time Commitment
– Saturday afternoon availability for men’s matches
– Sunday afternoon availability for women’s matches
– Approximately 2-3 hours per match day
– Additional time for selecting, editing, and submitting photographs
Benefits
- Opportunity to develop sports photography skills.
- Building a diverse portfolio of action photography.
- Press access to matches.
- Potential for photo credits on club website and publications.
- Contributing to the club’s visual history and online presence.
- Valuable experience in sports media.
- As match photographer, you would get 1 drink and a portion of the delicious post-match meal for free!
Support Provided
- Club branding (logos, fonts, colours etc) as required.
- Access to match information and team details.
- Guidance on key moments and players to focus on.
- Feedback on submitted work.
- Job references for future relevant work, if desired.
Intellectual Property
We understand that photos you provide may have a logo in the bottom corner, but this should not overpower the image or be like a watermark (e.g.: across the whole image). We will provide attribution in posts, tagging your Instagram/Facebook/website as appropriate.
We are keen that the 10 photos you provide us as the “best of” be “our property”, free to do what we like with. However, the rest of the photos are for your stipulation. If you wish to put them on your website/Instagram for public consumption that is up to you. We know the players really enjoy the moments captured on the pitch though and encourage you to share the additional pictures with the players.