"It's a really interesting period of sports photography and how we shoot it," says Getty Images sports photographer Julian Finney. "Technology is changing things. There are so many different pictures you can now capture quickly." Taken on a Canon EOS R3 with a Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 100mm, 1/5000 sec, f/2.8 and ISO 1250. © Julian Finney/Getty
You know which way they will be facing, and the direction in which they are travelling – but any predictability in athletics ends there. "It comes back to experience," says Getty Images photographer Julian Finney. "Shooting these disciplines, you make your mistakes, you learn, and you have a mental note of how they photograph best in the future. Experience is a big thing in athletics."
An international sports photographer based in London, UK, Julian has worked for Getty Images since 2004, shooting major sports around the globe. Usain Bolt, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane: he's photographed the industry's biggest names, on and off the field, and was named UK Picture Editors Guild Awards Canon Sports Photographer of the Year in 2022.
Skill and experience are key to success in sports photography – but alongside them, new imaging technology is providing photographers with more tools than ever before to capture those defining moments. And the latest tool in the professional sports photographer's kitbag is the Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8L IS USM. This advanced L-series RF lens combines the versatility of a zoom with the focusing speed, sharpness and optical quality of a prime lens – and with a f/2.8 aperture across its zoom range, that applies indoors and outdoors, on and off the track.