Every year I'm lucky enough to be able to shoot the college football national championship game. This year's game in New Orleans was an amazing experience to watch one of college football's greatest offenses light up the Super Dome.
I decided to try something a little different with my footage from the game. Instead of posting a montage video, I wanted to share some insight on what it was like to shoot in such an amazing game. I've made each video into GIF format so if you don't see it playing, you can click on the photo to start the playback.
The Super Dome filled up fast with Clemson and LSU faithful. There's always an amazing buzz that surrounds the field even before the players come out to stretch.
Pre-game is not only a great time for players to warm up but also the photographers. I spent the time looking at the available light and dialing in the right settings. Our team was shooting 1080p 120fps so we could really slow down the action.
Security was extremely tight because the President was attending the game. This happened two years before in Georgia and I actually got stuck in the work room because they wouldn't let anyone out while he was walking the tunnel. This year I made sure to figure out a good position to be able to capture the moment.
I've been watching football my whole life but following the action with a telephoto lens is one of the hardest things. Choosing your position on the sidelines is the first important thing you have to consider. After that you need to choose a subject and hope the play works out in your favor.
Both fan bases were loud and proud but this was most definitely a LSU home game. Crowd reaction shots are always fun to get because they very seldom notice you pointing the camera at them. There were also plenty of characters in the stands that made things more interesting. My favorite shot of the night was of this LSU fan in a full purple Tiger suit and a championship belt he would raise every time LSU would score. Nothing can quite match the passion of college football fans!
I have a special place in my heart for marching bands since I was in drumline in high school. The presence of the bands is the main difference in the atmosphere of a college football game versus a NFL game. The energy from all the traditional cadences and songs adds so much to the experience. Absolutely love it!
After a slow first quarter, LSU's high powered offense started to kick into high gear. They ended the second quarter with 3 unanswered TD's that put them in a great position going into half time.
Half time was spent dumping footage and swapping out camera batteries. The Sony A7III has great battery life and I really made it through the first half with just one battery.
Through out the game, I spent some time trying to get some good reaction shots of both coaches. Coach O was, for the most part, stoic and unemotional. The only outburst I was able to capture was when the LSU defense gave up a big play and he let his coaches know his displeasure. His sideline persona was the antithesis of Dabo.
Dabo is a fiery and emotional coach. He's a photographer's dream because you can often get some amazing reactions from him on the sideline. Clemson was on the 1 yard line and I knew there was a good chance they'd punch it in. I had a great angle to shoot Dabo with nobody blocking and his reaction to the touchdown was exactly what I wanted.
The end of the game is the most chaotic time in any big football game for a photographer. Everyone is making a mad dash toward the center of the field while you have players celebrating, coaches hugging, confetti falling, and the losing team walking off.
My camera actually overheated twice during the end of the game which made things even more stressful but thankfully was able to get the shots I needed.
Seeing LSU fans celebrating along with the team was a great end to the night. Congrats to LSU and until the first game next year, Geaux Tigers!
One of the most rewarding parts of the weekend is watching the edit come together with all of our team's footage getting combined into one amazing video. I feel it did a great job capturing the energy and passion from that night. Thanks to Jason Huang for putting together a great team and an amazing edit!
© 2026 [ E ]
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