Esports-event photography

An esports final is a stage show, a sports match and a fan gathering in one building. The competition happens inside a game, yet the people involved are very much in the room. Photographs work best when they capture them.

This page belongs to our guide to specialist competition photography. For the sensitive end of the production, see esports player screens and confidential team preparation.

What is the photograph of?

A photograph cannot show a game being played in the way a viewer sees it. It shows the setting around the game. The most useful images usually fall into five groups.

• Players at their stations, concentrating and reacting.
• Teams, coaches and staff.
• The stage, casters and production.
• The audience and fan areas.
• Moments of celebration, trophy presentations and sponsor activity.

Tell us which matter most. A community event with a small crowd and a large league final need different plans.

Access, venue and areas

Esports venues often include a stage, a player area, a media area and a public floor. Players' booths or stations may be sound-proofed or screened. Backstage rooms, practice rooms and production positions are usually closed.

Ask the organiser for a floor plan and for the access rules for photographers. Our venue photography checklist records restrictions on equipment, lighting and movement. We work only where access is approved and follow instructions from officials and production staff.

Rules about images come from several places

Several parties can have a say in how photographs are used: the venue, the tournament organiser, the game publisher, the teams and the players. Their rules may be written in venue terms, player agreements, tournament terms or the publisher's brand guidelines.

These are separate layers and we cannot tell you which apply. Our guide to venue permission, participant permission and photographer terms explains how they fit together. Ask your organiser, and ask a qualified adviser if you need a legal interpretation. Then give us a clear instruction, such as "players may be photographed on stage but not in the practice area".

We also cannot make technical claims about the live systems at your event, such as how a stream or production feed is set up. If your plan depends on a technical output, check it with the production team and confirm that it is feasible before the day.

Lighting, screens and effects

The stage may be lit with bright LED walls, moving lights and effects. These change quickly and can be difficult for any camera. Strobe or smoke may be restricted at some venues.

Ask the production team for the lighting plan and the running order. Our guide to stage lighting, LED screens and mixed light explains what affects the final image. If the production runs a live broadcast, see photography alongside live streaming and stage production to plan positions without blocking cameras.

Players and consent

Players are performers and competitors. Some are young. Entry terms and player agreements usually address images, but the wording varies.

Ask the organiser what players have agreed to and whether any have opted out. Treat anything on a player's screen, in a team chat or in a preparation area as private unless the team says otherwise. For players below the age of majority, follow the process the organiser requires, which may involve a parent or guardian.

A hypothetical example

For example, imagine a one-day regional final with eight teams, a stage and an audience of a few hundred. The organiser approves positions in the audience area and at the side of the stage, and allows images of players on stage and at their stations. Practice rooms are closed.

The brief ranks the grand final, the trophy presentation and fan reactions first. The photographer works from the approved positions, avoids backstage and checks with the production lead before moving near screens. Captions use the official team list. This is an illustration.

Sponsors and branding

Esports events rely on sponsors. Their logos appear on screens, jerseys and signage. Agree which sponsor images are needed and who approves them. Our page on sponsor photographs around specialist competition equipment covers the principles.

What we confirm

We confirm date, venue, crew, deliverables and quotation in writing. That includes the areas we may use, the terms we have been given for images and the players or areas excluded. If a rule changes on the day, we follow the updated instruction from your named contact.