Interview

Cover clicks

Photographer Julian Finney tells us what it was like to work with Eberechi Eze for the cover photoshoot of Champions Journal issue 25

INTERVIEW Aaryan Parasnis

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

Yeah, I didn't know much about him, so I did a little bit of research going into the shoot to see what he's about. It was nice to get close to him and be able to talk to him directly and photograph him. His religious roots were what I thought were most interesting. We asked him about that and he said, ‘yeah, that's my celebration,’ and we got some cool shots of him doing that.

I did lean into that aspect of his personality. The other one was the cross with his fingers. It was quite important to recreate that in the studio. He was completely comfortable, nice to work with and was a really nice person. Really softly spoken, just relaxed and laid back. A lot of the times the players are in a rush or they're not too keen on doing photoshoots, but he was very engaged and he actually told the Arsenal press officer he was so excited to be on the front cover of CJ.

How much time did you actually have with him?

Probably five to seven minutes. It’s always really quick, so you can't really stop and properly talk to them, get to know them and make the atmosphere relaxed. But to be honest, we didn't need much more because he was so good at posing and he was a natural in front of the camera. The time was tight, as it usually is, but he actually was comfortable.

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

As a photographer, just try to be as organised and prepared as you can be. So ensure the lighting is spot on. You need to arrive early and set lights up and test before your talent arrives so you’re completely ready. I tend to write down like a list of shots that I'm trying to get. So, when the player arrives, I'm not all flustered and my mind gets going. It's on a bit of paper in front of me, and I roll through it. And then by doing that, they respect you because they know you're organised and professional. It makes everything run smoothly. When they respect you, they give you what you need.

Sometimes I like music to play to help the mood, though we’re not always allowed to, but the atmosphere has to be right for them to be engaged and to enjoy it. So I tend to offer them the speaker, and they can play some music and then they actually play up to their true personality by enjoying the moment and getting in their comfort zone. But when you can’t do that, it’s just by being polite, having the right ideas, doing research so they know what they’re doing, and they’ll be happy with the poses you ask them to do.

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

How much time did you actually have with him?

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

Read the full story

Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

How much time did you actually have with him?

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

"he was a natural in front of the camera"

Julian Finney

Was there a specific mood you wanted to capture? You said you had a list of shots, but had you researched what you wanted with him specifically?

Well, I didn't really. The problem is that you don't get much time to prepare for these shoots because you find out a day or two before. But what I like is for them to look quite lifestyle-y. Obviously we’re used to footballers wearing their kits, but they can tend to kind of arrive looking like they're just come off the training ground and I didn't want that effect. I don't think that works, especially for a front cover photo or whenever you're tapping into their personality away from the pitch. You want to learn more about the person as a human being, you know? Is he into music, is he into fashion, is he into jewellery?

I knew the club photographer and I asked him to prep him with some lifestyle clothes and it worked because he came in a nice adidas tracksuit. The shoot had like a blue and yellow theme and UEFA actually had asked for a yellow backdrop. But it wasn’t just plain yellow, it had a texture to it. It really worked well with the clothes he was wearing. In terms of poses, I just wanted to tap into his personality, his celebrations on the pitch – recreating his swagger, his coolness. There was a bit of going low angle, moving around him a little bit and he actually started making poses naturally. And then you just ask him to move around on the spot a bit.

Don't always look straight down the camera. I’d maybe ask him to turn his body three quarters, look around the room, rub his hands. He's got a nice bit of jewellery on his fingers and then it all shows up in the photos if you just keep working at it. And I think we got a good range of shots.

And finally, over the years, what have you learned doing these photoshoots with so many big players?

I think just similar things like be prepared, be organised because you really don't have much time. You have to be ready for it. If you're not, shoots go badly wrong very quickly. The athlete can be disengaged, and you just don’t get your shots. If we had more time, we could’ve gotten even more extra stuff but I’m happy with what he got here. But plan the creative outlook of what you want to achieve and how it's going to look would be what I've learned.

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Interview

Cover clicks

Photographer Julian Finney tells us what it was like to work with Eberechi Eze for the cover photoshoot of Champions Journal issue 25

INTERVIEW Aaryan Parasnis

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

How much time did you actually have with him?

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

Read the full story

Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

"he was a natural in front of the camera"

Julian Finney

Was there a specific mood you wanted to capture? You said you had a list of shots, but had you researched what you wanted with him specifically?

And finally, over the years, what have you learned doing these photoshoots with so many big players?

Interview

Cover clicks

Photographer Julian Finney tells us what it was like to work with Eberechi Eze for the cover photoshoot of Champions Journal issue 25

INTERVIEW Aaryan Parasnis

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

How much time did you actually have with him?

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

What was it like working with Eberechi Eze? What was he like and what struck you most about him when you saw him?

How much time did you actually have with him?

What do you usually do to make the players comfortable in that short space of time?

Read the full story

Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!