As a photographer who regularly documents sporting events, one photograph I am often asked to take is a group photograph of the team, either before or after the main event. This is a type of photograph I have always enjoyed the process of creating, one which provides a brief shift away from the fast-paced, reactive nature of sports photography towards a much slower and methodical approach.
What people often remember about sporting events are individual moments of brilliance which change the course of the game or competition. Whilst sports photography undoubtedly does an excellent job in capturing these important moments, group photographs are in my view equally important as they remind the viewer of the collective strength and unity of the team as a whole.
There is also something deeply nostalgic about this type of photograph. Due to the unpredictable nature of sport – and of life itself – it is never a certainty that all members of the team will ever appear in the same photo ever again. As such group photographs act as a poignant reminder of a particular moment of time, with all individuals involved in the experience of the day or event captured into a single and permanent visual record.
IMAGES
- Photographer, Unknown (Undated). “Football: group portrait, ten players wearing striped shirts and three men wearing caps, unidentified team“, Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive Collection, SJPA/014559. Collection Search | Jersey Heritage
- Photographer, Unknown (1929). “Sport: group portrait of eleven young women, unidentified netball team, including back row from left: Phyllis Le Marquand (later Doughty) ?, Kathleen Le Seeleur, ?, Avice le Seelleur and Dorothy Foster-Ward (later Le Marquand). Front row from left: Ada Le Marquand, ?, ?, Phyllis Le Rossignol (Later Le Druillinec) and Muriel Le Marquand.“, Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive Collection, SJPA/034836. Collection Search | Jersey Heritage
- Dunham, Percival (1913). ”Football at Westmount – The Green Howards team” showing eleven men in football strip, two in uniform and one in a suit, bas published in the Morning News edition of 11th November 1913″, Société Jersiaise Photographic Archive Collection, SJPA/033075. Collection Search | Jersey Heritage
Max Le Feuvre, Assistant Archivist – Societe Jersiaise Photographic Archive
