"I spent a day shooting top-flight football with an entry-level mirrorless camera", student learns pro camera skills at Motherwell FC
Photography student Chantelle Cook bagged photos worthy of a pro with her crop-sensor Canon EOS R50 –here's how
Chantelle Cook, a photography student at Edinburgh College in Scotland, recently had the opportunity to shadow a professional soccer photographer for a day. The 2026-27 soccer season is in full swing, and with her newfound digital camera skills and interest in commercial photography, Chantelle decided to broaden her repertoire by learning the ins and outs of soccer photography.
Her mentor, Raymond Davies, is the club photographer for Motherwell FC, a team that competes in the Scottish Premiership. Despite both Chantelle and Raymond using Canon cameras, Chantelle opted for the entry-level EOS R50 with a 24.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, while Raymond utilized the professional-grade EOS R5 Mark II.
During the day, Chantelle focused on understanding the various subject detection autofocus modes available on her camera, particularly for capturing athletes. She also adjusted the autofocus sensitivity to prevent misfocus during the fast-paced action on the field. By utilizing the AF Stop button, Chantelle was able to maintain focus on the subject, ensuring a higher success rate in capturing the perfect shot.
Written by urgent.news from Digital Camera World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
