Hospitality at Goodison Park

There’s always something special about shooting at Goodison Park.

I was recently back there photographing at the final game of the season for Everton Women, with the brief focused around the wider matchday experience — the hospitality suites, crowd shots, supporters in the stands and the general atmosphere around the ground.

This wasn’t about pitch-side action or chasing match moments. It was about capturing what surrounds the game, people enjoying the hospitality, fans taking their seats, reactions from the crowd and the feeling of being inside one of football’s most iconic stadiums.

For me, these types of jobs are about making the images feel polished without making them feel staged. Hospitality photography can’t feel too stiff. It needs to show the space, the people and the experience in a way that feels natural, professional and useful for the client.

The crowd shots are just as important. They give context, energy and atmosphere. They help show the scale of the day and give the club a wider set of images that can be used across social media, marketing, hospitality promotion and future matchday content.

Goodison is obviously a brilliant place to shoot. It has so much character, and even when the focus isn’t on the football itself, the stadium still plays a huge part in the story. The stands, the suites, the walkways, the supporters — it all adds to the feel of the final images.