The Australian Open 2026  has just come to an end. My favorite Grand Slam tournament — comfortable, well-organized, and incredibly rewarding for a professional photographer. Using it as an example, I wanted to describe what a typical working day looks like at an event like this. My favorite tournament is the Australian Open A usual day for a sports photographer at a major tennis tournament begins with a struggle. Not with a camera, and not with a ball — but with the alarm clo

Photographing children’s tennis tournaments is a distinct area of sports photography that lives by its own rules and has little in common with a simplified version of adult amateur or professional tennis. There is no technique polished to automatic precision, no cold calculation, no artificial, performative emotions. Instead, there is something that has become increasingly rare even in top-level sport: absolute sincerity. Young players compete the way they feel. Every point i

From November 10 to 16, I worked at the ATP Finals in Turin. This time everything started with a small personal surprise: I applied for accreditation as an independent freelancer for the first time and was almost sure I’d be rejected. Until now, I had always applied through major media outlets, and the approval came automatically. Now I was in a new status, with new uncertainty. That’s why receiving the approval email – without extra questions or checks – felt almost shocking

These days I’m working in Turin at the ATP Finals. And I know exactly what rights I have to this photograph of mine!  © Sergey Vishnevskiy Every photograph lives two parallel lives: the moral right and the economic right. The moral right is personal. You remain the author forever. This right allows you to demand attribution, to prevent your photo from being cropped, filtered, or used in a way that contradicts your intention. It's an invisible signature embedded in the idea of

I want to talk about photographers’ rights to their own images — both moral and economic. It’s a broad and fascinating topic. But first, here’s a story you couldn’t possibly make up. In 2011, British photographer David Slater was shooting crested macaques in the jungles of Sulawesi, Indonesia. He looked away for just a minute — and one particularly clever female macaque named Naruto grabbed his camera. The animal turned out to be not only quick but strikingly photogenic: whi

To work successfully at a sports arena, you need to know the most advantageous shooting positions. At Roland Garros, on Court Philippe-Chatrier, one of the best spots is the “shutters” at court level Angle in tennis photography is not about finding a “good spot next to the court.” It is a choice that changes the meaning of an image. The same rally can show power, space, drama, speed — or, on the contrary, look dull and unimpressive. Everything depends on where the photographe

If, like me, you spend hours on the courts, you know one thing: in tennis, everything happens fast. The ball flies at nearly 200 km/h, players move like lightning, and emotions — from triumph to frustration — flash in fractions of a second. You must catch it all. That takes not only instinct but also the right equipment. Over the years of shooting at tournaments, I’ve tried many cameras and lenses. In this post, I’ll share how to choose the gear that helps you never miss a mo

Every time I hang an accreditation around my neck that reads Roland Garros, Wimbledon, or US Open, something inside clicks. You step...

I attended my very first Grand Slam tournament in 2017 — the Australian Open. I traveled to Melbourne with my daughter, who was competing...

To capture the “unexpected” shot, you must always be prepared! From this angle, Rafa Nadal reveals a new side of himself. © Sergey...

If you, like me, love sports photography and dream of capturing shots from a Grand Slam court, this post is for you. Recently, at the...

Two weeks ago, I came back from Perpignan, where Visa pour l’Image — the world’s leading festival of photojournalism — took place. The...

In sports — and in tennis especially — everything comes down to the moment. You can be perfectly positioned, have your camera settings...

(I usually write my blog in Russian — this is the translated version). Turkish photographer Akar Selçuk stepped onto the court during...

(I usually write my blog in Russian — this is the translated version). As a professional photojournalist, I’m convinced: great shots are...

Hi there! (I usually write my blog in Russian — this is the translated version). It's Roland Garros 2024 My name is Sergey. I’m a...