PITCH SIDE AT THE SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP
Louise Anderbjörk
When I began photographing grassroot football in Edinburgh this summer, I never expected to find myself at a Scottish Premiership match before the year ended. Yet on the 22nd of November, I walked onto the pitch side of Easter Road Stadium in Leith, invited to photograph Hibernian F.C.’s home game against Dundee F.C. For someone used to community pitches, entering a professional arena with a capacity for thousands of supporters felt both unreal and exciting. Hibs was on a winning streak against Dundee this season, and with more than 17,700 tickets sold the atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.
I arrived around 1:30pm for the 3pm kick off. The photographer’s entrance was tucked away at the side of the stadium, a simple doorway leading straight into the working areas behind the stands. After signing in and collecting my blue media bib, I settled into the photographers’ room. As the least experienced photographer there, I felt a bit nervous at first, but everyone was very welcoming and quick to share their experiences and insights. They helped explain the structure of the game from a photographer’s point of view, where we were allowed to stand, how media movement around the pitch worked, and how we would switch ends together with the team we were covering at half time.
After familiarising myself with the venue, I headed inside to make use of my complimentary coffee that was kindly offered to the media. When I got back out on the pitch side, the stands had slowly started to fill with spectators and the teams had taken to the pitch for their warm up sessions. Warm ups are always a great chance as a photographer to get used to the venue and match your camera settings to the lighting conditions before the game begins. Then, just before kick off, it was time to position myself behind the south goal, where Hibs would be attacking for the first half. As a football photographer, you always want to be on the attacking end of the team you are covering, since most decisive moments happen there. Being close to the goal allows you to capture clean, front-facing action, and it is usually where celebrations unfold when a score goes in.
As soon as the first whistle blew at 3pm, any worries I had earlier about this being my first time at a big match like this disappeared, and it was just me, my camera, and the players on the pitch. Following such a big game through a viewfinder at ground level was one of the most immersive sporting experiences I have had. Most of the first half went without a goal, although with some great attempts and corners from Hibs which made for strong shots of all players centring in on the goal and fighting for possession of the ball. Then, with only a few minutes remaining of the first half, Hibs’ Kioran Bowie scored the first goal of the match, securing the lead for Hibernian F.C., and the stadium was filled with an absolute roar of fans shouting, clapping, and jumping up and down in celebration, which was a joy to photograph.
With Bowie’s goal marking the end to the first half, it was time for a quick reset during half time before heading over to the north goal side for the second half of the game. By this time, the sun had fully set, so it was time to figure out how my camera settings would change for the second half, including the ratio between ISO and shutter speed depending on where the players were on the field. To ensure that my photos never come out with too much noise in situations like these, I try to always set a base ISO that I avoid changing too much throughout any half of the game, and then fix the small lighting changes that come with how far away the subject is by altering my shutter speed in the 1/1000–1/2000 range.
The second half was similar to the first in performance. Dundee had a few more shot attempts, but Jamie McGrath ultimately secured the 2–0 home win with Hibs’ second goal of the match. Once again, getting the chance to capture the celebrations of both the fans and the players was fantastic. It really showed the human side of sports, and made for some of the best sports photography I have ever been able to do. Looking through all my photos at the editing desk later that evening, I was so happy with the experience and my shots, and I look forward to hopefully getting the chance to experience the pitch side of a Premiership game again soon.
This article first appeared in the PRISMA Newsletter, 30th of November 2025.