Britball photographer Charlotte Murden’s path to the gridiron

With the coverage of football in the United Kingdom growing over recent years, many new up-and-coming creators are emerging.

One young photographer who has burst onto the scene as of late is University of Gloucestershire student Charlotte Murden. In just over two years of watching the sport from behind the lens, the 21 year-old has photographed for multiple teams, from the likes of the Bristol Aztecs and London Warriors to the BUCS University All-Star teams.

Charlotte’s contribution to the Britball scene puts her among the top photographers in the landscape, and she hopes to continue to capture the growth of the game in the UK.

We spoke to Charlotte about her experiences in photographing American football and her hopes for the future.

AFI: How did you get into photography? 

Charlotte: My passion for photography ignited during my school years, when I was offered the opportunity to participate in a county wide photography competition. Successfully winning the competition, I was awarded a voucher prize, allowing me to purchase my first camera. This fueled my passion for photography; leading to my further development of knowledge and skills through A-Level photography and a degree in BA Photography.

AFI: What made you start photographing football? 

Charlotte: In my first year of university, I met the Gloucestershire Gladiators team at the Freshers Fayre, after chatting to them they asked if I would be interested in attending their training sessions, even though I had no prior experience with sports photography. Because of this interaction, I began practicing and learning from Pete Wilson who has been photographing the team for many years. In addition to this, I attended their classroom session to develop my understanding of the game and to anticipate the players movements. This then developed to shooting photos of adult teams such as the Bristol Aztecs where I met other amazing photographers such as Martin Preedy and Alexxander F Chan who have helped me develop. This has led to a passion and love for American Football and the people within its community.

AFI: Is photography a hobby of yours or do you see it becoming a career? 

Charlotte: I aspire to immerse myself in the American football community, contributing my passion and skills to the heartbeat of this industry. 

AFI: What is the part you find the most satisfying about your role? 

Charlotte: I find that the most satisfying part of my role is seeing the joy that people experience when looking at and sharing my photos, in addition to when I perfectly time my shots to capture an intense moment in the game.

AFI: Tell us a bit about your typical game day. 

Charlotte: In anticipation of a game, I prepare my equipment and research the team that I am shooting images for so that I am fully equipped for the task.  

Upon arrival at the sports venue, I kick off my coverage by capturing images of the players during warmups, which allows me to get a sense of their movement and how they play as a team. When the game starts, I maneuver myself into positions that optimize my equipment and will allow me to capture the plays in an effective way.  

Post game, I start the extensive editing process of thousands of images and then share them to the teams, in addition to posting them on my social media.

AFI: What are some of your most memorable experiences? 

Charlotte: 

– Being a part of the 2023 Student GB All Stars game  

– My first ever match with the Gloucestershire Gladiators 

– Bristol Aztecs win over London Warriors 

– Working with a supportive community of teams, photographers and coaches. 

AFI: What have been some of your favorite teams to work with? 

Charlotte: 

– Bristol Aztecs  

– Bournemouth Bobcats  

– Gloucestershire Gladiators

In our continuing series about the photographers who diligently cover our game throughout Europe, we have arrived in Great Britain. We have also posted interviews with Sweden’s, Stefan Akander and Jonas Domfors as well as Germany’s Sarah Philipp, Finland’s Jari Turunen, Italy’s Gioli Busi, Lola Morales from Spain, Denmark’s Mikkel Bo Rasmussen and Michael Freitag also from Germany,  Austria’s Peter Kramberger and Hannes Jirgal as well as Sergio Brunetti from Switzerland.