Ligue 2 match – FCSM vs ASSE

Produced as a staff photographer for the Département du Doubs.

Context

On 8 August 2026, FC Sochaux-Montbéliard hosted AS Saint-Étienne at the Auguste-Bonal stadium in Montbéliard. It is a Ligue 2 match, in a professional league stadium, with its access rules and its rhythm. I covered the match for the Département du Doubs, for which I was the staff photographer.

Brief

Feed the social media and website of the Département du Doubs with images of the match. The photos had to be publishable without rework: framing readable on a phone screen, identifiable subjects, a tight selection.

Set-up

Press accreditation. A Nikon Z8 body and a telephoto lens. The Z8 keeps up on fast phases and retains detail when you crop. The telephoto lens lets me stay in the assigned zone and reach the action in the opposite half.

Constraints

The Ligue 2 framework sets the rules. Photographers work from defined zones and follow a pre-match protocol. You cannot move freely along the touchline. So you have to choose your position before kick-off, anticipate phases of play and accept letting a too-distant action go.

Method

At a match of this level, coverage starts before kick-off: warm-up, players’ entrance, stands. During the 90 minutes, I follow the ball and the duels. After the final whistle, the players’ reactions often give the strongest images. Sorting is then done on sharpness, expression and legibility.

Delivery

144 retouched photos. No video for this match. Files were delivered in the formats the Département uses for its publications.

Use

The images were published on social media and on the website of the Département du Doubs.

In numbers

• 1 Ligue 2 match, on 8 August 2026
• 144 retouched photos
• Nikon Z8 and telephoto lens
• Press accreditation, Ligue 2 photographers’ zones

For a club or an organiser

The same set-up applies to a club that wants to feed its social media all season. A home match yields several families of images: the play, the supporters, the partners visible around the pitch. Each serves a different use: post-match publication, ticketing communication, feedback to partners. Delivered together within 48 hours, they feed posts until the next match.

Are you preparing a season, a match or a sporting event? I cover matches, training sessions and competitions in photo and video. See my sports photography services.