Eddie Keogh: inside the England team photographer’s World Cup kit bag

Have you ever wondered what it takes to capture dynamic, front-page-worthy imagery of a world-class football team? 

Well, doing just that is Eddie Keogh’s job. A sports photography veteran of more than 35 years, he is currently the official photographer for the England football team via Getty Images. That means he travelled to the USA with the team for the World Cup 2026. He was there at every training session, every time they travel, and of course, at every game.

We were hugely excited to interview Eddie and find out more about what this experience is like (read that interview here). But first, because we’re geeks, we wanted to know what kind of kit a photographer would take for such an important challenge. Eddie was kind enough to open up his kit bag for us to find out…

Cameras

Eddie’s camera setup is straightforward: two Canon EOS R1 bodies and two Canon EOS R3 bodies. With the Canon EOS R1 especially, he’s able to take advantage of the latest technological advancements to improve his chances of bagging the shot.

“The autofocus is slightly more AI-enabled, the algorithms are better,” he says. “It picks up on the eyes really well – and it picks up on the ball as well. The new Action Priority is fantastic as well for sports. It really helps with certain situations like corners, which are difficult when you’ve got eight or nine players going up for a ball. You’re trying to get the focus on the right person and all their heads are in really similar positions – it’s so difficult to pick out the person who’s going to head the ball. So the Action Priority really does help put you in the right area for getting that header on goal.”

Lenses

Eddie keeps a comprehensive suite of lenses to make sure he covers all his bases. His arsenal includes: the RF 16mm f2.8 STM, the RF 24mm f1.4L VCM, the RF 24-70mm f2.8L IS USM, the RF 50mm f1.2L USM, the RF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM and the RF 400mm f2.8L IS USM.

It’s the latter two that see the heaviest use. “The 400mm is the main beast for my job,” says Eddie. “That and the 70-200mm are the real workhorses. At the games, I’ll have an EOS R1 with the 400mm and the 70-200mm, and a 24-70mm down by my feet in case anything happens really close.” 

The shorter lenses tend to see more use off the pitch. “I’ve been using the 24mm and the 50mm quite a bit as well when we’re doing behind-the-scenes stuff in the gym. The two prime lenses are really nice to capture what’s going on in close quarters.”

Eddie generally prefers primes, but his zooms have a place too. “I’d take the 24-70mm in certain situations, like if I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen or where things are going to be,” he says. “It covers my back a bit more. If I need to shoot things like people shaking hands, people meeting, I’ll probably use the 24-70mm, get myself a bit more depth of field, make sure I get those people sharp.”

Accessories

Accessory-wise, Eddie doesn’t need too much. He carries a Speedlite EL-5 flashgun, but it doesn’t often come out of the bag. “The thing is, the ISO is so good on these cameras, there’s not many light situations where you can’t shoot with available light – and on a personal level, I’ve always liked available light. But now and again, if I need to I’ll put the flash on.”

He also carries PocketWizard triggers. “I’ll have a camera behind the goal, so PocketWizards will be in the bag with a mini tripod.” Also on board is a monopod to support the longer lenses, and he keeps a collapsible stool for use throughout the long games.

And another important accessory, which was particularly for this World Cup in the USA, is rain covers. Though he also finds that a simple towel is a useful thing to have – quicker to use than the rain covers. “The weather here can be really tricky. It’s either boiling hot or it’s absolutely throwing it down,” he says. “They do everything bigger in America, don’t they? Even rain is bigger and wetter!”

As you can see, there’s a lot of kit involved in bagging the best shots of the England team. If you’re inspired to try shooting sports for yourself, check out our guides to the best cameras for sports photography and the best lenses for sports photography.

See more of Eddie’s work at eddiekeogh.com, and keep up with his work with the England football team on Instagram, @england.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by England Football (@englandfootball)

About the Author

Jon Stapley is a London-based freelance writer and journalist who covers photography, art and technology. When not writing about cameras, Jon is a keen photographer who captures the world using his Olympus XA2. His creativity extends to works of fiction and other creative writing, all of which can be found on his website www.jonstapley.com