The resurgence of film photography in women's football

Driven partly by nostalgia and partly by resistance to digital immediacy, young photographers have turned to a traditional medium to capture the sport’s recent rise.

At the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022 final, 25-year-old pho­tog­ra­ph­er Har­ri­et Duffy took her favourite image to date. Eng­land hadn’t seen a major tro­phy since 1966, but The Lioness­es were favourites and Wem­b­ley Sta­di­um was eager to erupt. In extra time, Chloe Kelly’s win­ning goal sent the coun­try into a fren­zy. Using an Olym­pus MJU with Fuji­film Supe­ria 200, Duffy was quick to cap­ture the moment one of her best friends turned around with her hands in the air and noth­ing but eupho­ria on her face. That was one of the best months of my life,” Duffy remembers.

Duffy had just grad­u­at­ed from uni­ver­si­ty before cov­er­ing the month-long tour­na­ment, and the love she received from the pho­tos still touch­es her to this day. Hav­ing peo­ple mes­sag­ing me say­ing they’re now going to the World Cup to immerse them­selves with dif­fer­ent nation­al­i­ties because of those images has been a high­light,” she says. After all, it’s a glob­al game and the fans are what make it.”

Foot­ball has always been a game for the peo­ple. Whether it’s down the road at a grass­roots pitch bare­ly hold­ing itself togeth­er, or across the coun­try in a mul­ti-mil­lion dol­lar sta­di­um, it’s a sport with deep ties to region­al and nation­al iden­ti­ty and a way of life for mil­lions across the globe. Despite the huge amount of mon­ey being made on the busi­ness end, the essence of the game still lies in the hearts of its fans. When it comes to cap­tur­ing the moment, then, it’s unsur­pris­ing that film pho­tog­ra­phy is start­ing to see a come­back – par­tic­u­lar­ly in women’s foot­ball in the UK.

Top to bottom: All four images by Raiyan Rafiq.

Since sta­di­ums have a lim­it on the kinds of cam­eras fans can bring in, com­pact film cam­eras pro­vide the per­fect alter­na­tive for hob­by­ists want­i­ng to cap­ture their own mem­o­ries from the stands. Mean­while, in pro­fes­sion­al set­tings, most film pho­tog­ra­phy con­tent can be seen in inde­pen­dent foot­ball out­lets and Instagram.

As a grow­ing game, women’s foot­ball isn’t as main­stream as the men’s, and this per­haps allows more room for explo­ration. Clubs such as Arse­nal Women have picked up on the appeal of film pho­tog­ra­phy and used it as social media con­tent, giv­ing the play­ers dis­pos­able cam­eras to toy with. These pic­tures have been some of the most pop­u­lar amongst fans, as they show a more inti­mate side of the game. The light leaks, the blur­ri­ness, the grains are all part of the feel of film pho­tog­ra­phy, which cap­tures the moment with all its imper­fec­tions – and humanity.

Top to bottom: All four images by Harriet Duffy.

Duffy’s own gate­way into pho­tog­ra­phy arrived when she stum­bled across her par­ents’ old Olym­pus Trip in the attic in 2014. The Tot­ten­ham sup­port­er has since gone on to become an ana­logue pho­tog­ra­ph­er for inde­pen­dent out­lets Copa90 and Indi­visa, which pro­vide pho­tog­ra­phers with a chance to be pitch-side with a film cam­era while more main­stream media tend to stick with high def­i­n­i­tion dig­i­tal photography.

I think peo­ple are start­ing to push against that take a pic­ture or it didn’t hap­pen’ effect that social media has,” says Duffy, who believes that the resur­gence of film pho­tog­ra­phy is down to peo­ple try­ing to live in the moment. There’s a need to not just post an image as you’re liv­ing that moment but reflect on some­thing that happened.”

Nos­tal­gia is anoth­er focal point; the pop­u­lar­i­ty of phys­i­cal media like vinyl records and fash­ion from the 90s and 00s has also sky­rock­et­ed in recent years for the same rea­son. Raiyan Rafiq, 25, who first picked up a film cam­era in 2016 and now shoots for Indi­visa, thinks roman­ti­cis­ing the past is part­ly what has pushed an entire­ly new gen­er­a­tion to pick the hob­by back up.

"I think people are starting to push against that ‘take a picture or it didn’t happen’ effect that social media has. There’s a need to not just post an image as you’re living that moment, but reflect on something that happened." Harriet Duffy, Football Photographer

I think dur­ing the pan­dem­ic we all went back to things that gave us com­fort, and there was a col­lec­tive real­i­sa­tion of want­i­ng to hold on to things,” she shares. There’s no medi­um that cap­tures a moment quite like pho­tographs. Film has a nat­u­ral­ly nos­tal­gic feel and you also put a lit­tle more effort into cap­tur­ing what’s in front of you.”

Rafiq, who is good friends with Duffy but a rival fan by sup­port­ing Arse­nal, attrib­ut­es the val­ued gen­uine con­nec­tion between fans and the play­ers as a rea­son why women’s foot­ball fans enjoy film pho­tog­ra­phy. Per­son­al­ly, I think the authen­tic­i­ty of film is a huge fac­tor,” she says. It con­veys a sense of real­ism and hon­esty that can some­times be lack­ing in dig­i­tal photography.”

Top to bottom: All four images by Raiyan Rafiq.

Women’s foot­ball has been on a sig­nif­i­cant rise in recent years. With a sport so fresh paired with a medi­um once stowed away in time for the new mil­len­ni­um, Rafiq finds the com­ing togeth­er of the old and the new inspir­ing: On one hand you have film, which is a time­less and tra­di­tion­al medi­um. And on the oth­er hand, you have a mod­ern and dynam­ic age of women’s foot­ball. You can see that tra­di­tion­al meth­ods can con­tin­ue to evolve and inspire us in new and unex­pect­ed ways.”

Duffy echoes the sen­ti­ment. It’s amaz­ing. I always get peo­ple say­ing how film can cap­ture a moment in time unlike any oth­er medi­um. I think it goes back to the nos­tal­gia thing. Film roman­ti­cis­es major moments well, allow­ing peo­ple to reflect more emotionally.”

Both Duffy and Rafiq may have set out to cap­ture those in the stands, but their pho­tos have even inspired more peo­ple to fill sta­di­ums. Some­one said to me that they got into women’s foot­ball because of my images, and that they now active­ly go to games,” says Duffy. I think that touched me the most, as expos­ing the game is one of the main rea­sons why I do it.”

"On one hand you have film, which is a timeless and traditional medium. And on the other hand, you have a modern and dynamic age of women’s football. You can see that traditional methods can continue to evolve and inspire us in new and unexpected ways." Raiyan Rafiq, Football Photographer

At the heart of their pho­tos, ulti­mate­ly, is the fans. The emo­tions that are pro­voked, the cel­e­bra­tions that come with it, the cre­ativ­i­ty of the signs, scarves, fash­ion – it’s a beau­ti­ful con­nec­tion,” Rafiq says, cred­it­ing the fans for mak­ing the sport as spe­cial as it is. It’s also the sub­ject mat­ter that makes me emo­tion­al, because you can feel the sen­ti­ments peo­ple are going through while watch­ing their team. After all, I’m a fan first, pho­tog­ra­ph­er second.”

Rafiq’s favourite pic­ture is one of Lioness­es’ cap­tain, Leah Williamson, tak­en as she went up to her moth­er in the stands and blew kiss­es to her fam­i­ly after the tro­phy lift. In front of Williamson, play­ers Ella Toone and Beth Mead can be seen. There is pure joy on the faces of their fam­i­lies as the boards above the fam­i­ly box read WIN­NERS’.

It was just per­fect,” says Rafiq. I don’t remem­ber the last time I took a pho­to and just knew at that very moment that I had tak­en a pho­to I will cher­ish forever.”

Top to bottom: Harriet's favourite photo. Raiyan's favourite photo.

Fol­low more of Har­ri­et and Raiyans work.

Fol­low Hana on Twit­ter.

Enjoyed this arti­cle? Fol­low Huck on Twit­ter and Insta­gram.

You might like

Colourful collage of album covers and record sleeves on display in a gallery or museum setting, with glass panels on either side reflecting the vibrant arrangement.
Culture

Largest-Ever Display of UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Opens at Tate Modern

Grief Made Visible — Comprising hundreds of panels made by lovers, friends and chosen family, the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt returns in full for the first time since 1994 – a testament to grief, friendship and the ongoing fight against HIV stigma.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Diverse group of people with various expressions and styles, surrounded by bold text and graphics in dark colours.
Culture

Remembering New York’s ’90s gay scene via its vibrant nightclub flyers

Getting In — After coming out in his 20s, David Kennerley became a fixture on the city’s queer scene, while pocketing invites that he picked up along the way. His latest book dives into his rich archive.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Black and white image of several people in suits, some with long hair and unconventional appearances, alongside a large ship or boat model. Text overlaid: "FREAKS AND FINANCES".
Culture

On Alexander Skarsgård’s trousers, The Rehearsal, and the importance of weirdos

Freaks and Finances — In the May edition of our monthly culture newsletter, columnist Emma Garland reflects on the Swedish actor’s Cannes look, Nathan Fielder’s wild ambition, and Jafaican.

Written by: Emma Garland

Crowded football stadium at night, red-and-black banners with slogans, floodlights illuminating the scene.
Sport

Bohemian FC is more than a football club

Carefree, wherever you may be — With rock star friends, a fierce commitment to Palestinian solidarity and their very own climate justice officer, north Dublin’s fan-owned team make their presence felt far beyond the pitch.

Written by: Tiernan Cannon

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Huck 79

We are all Mia Khalifa

How humour, therapy and community help Huck's latest cover star control her narrative.

Written by: Alya Mooro

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.