Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
The newest version of the camera Franck relies on. "My top piece of Canon kit!" Franck says. "An efficient and reliable camera, you can use it everywhere to shoot everything, from portraits to underwater action."
Profile
An experienced French sports photographer, who is also Editor-in-Chief in charge of the Photo Production department at L'Équipe group, Franck has shot a huge variety of different sports, specialising in freediving.
Born in Dunkirk, north of France, Franck's thirst for adventure led him to first join the Navy at the age of 17. Then his father-in-law, an amateur photographer, helped him discover photography. And quickly it became more than a hobby, into an all-consuming quest. A self-taught shooter, Franck began as a skiing photographer for a ski resort in the French Alps, before moving to Paris to work for a publishing house and make a series of books on various sports.
Franck spent the next 17 years working for three press agencies, starting by covering sport before broadening his focus to take on news, politics, and social issues. As Editor-in-Chief of the Photo Production department department at L'Équipe, the highly-respected daily French sports newspaper, he now manages a team of 10 staff photographers and a raft of freelancers.
Location: Paris
Specialist areas: Sports, reportage
Favourite Kit:
Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x
Canon EOS R5
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Franck has covered all the major sporting events in his long career, and has specialised in in-depth sports features with a particular focus on freediving. He remains in demand for the quality of his work. Impeccable timing and the ability to keep a cool head in intense situations, along with his ability to build mood through the considered use of shadows and colour, elevate Franck's sports photography to an artistic level.
As well as being exhibited at many French photography festivals, Franck has twice won the Les Photographies De L'année photography prize. In 2007, he won first prize in the World Press Awards Sports Features category. And in 2016-2017, he was among the 170 photographers (current and historical) whose photographs were selected to be displayed at New York's Brooklyn Museum in its exhibition, Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History from 1843 to the Present.
Franck's passion for freediving photography continues to shine through, despite the risks that the sport poses to its participants and the photographers who document it. He has built close relationships with the champions of the sport, including former world record holder Loïc Leferme, also from Dunkirk, who tragically died in 2007. Franck was the only photographer allowed under the water for the entirety of Loïc's record attempts, and together the two men pushed the creative boundaries of freediving photography, with Franck sketching out his ideas above water and Loïc helping to realise them in the deep. The two were also among the first to shoot digitally underwater without the use of flash.
The breathtaking images he's brought back from the depths of the world's oceans have earned him significant acclaim. His photo of 24-year-old Guillaume Néry training for his attempt to break a world freediving record off the coast of Nice won him first prize in the Sports Feature category of the 2007 World Press Photo contest.
In what ways has managing a team of photographers influenced your own work?
"As an Editor-in-Chief at L'Équipe, I put the team first and give my ideas, advice and opinion to the photographers I assign to jobs. As a photographer, I get my independence back! This is quite schizophrenic but very enriching."
To what extent do you pre-visualise pictures?
"I often have an idea of the picture I would like to take. In fact, I usually have several specific images in my mind, just like a storyboard, and I try to realise them. The trick is to avoid standing next to lots of other photographers. But if it is absolutely not possible, I trust in luck."
How do you prefer to customise your camera?
"I always have my camera set up the same way. One example of this is that I have the Al Servo AF 'case' settings as the go-to menu setting on the rear of the camera, and if I change that, I totally lose my bearings!"
How do you think the sports photography industry will develop in the next 5-10 years?
"The equipment will become lighter and more compact, it will stay connected to the cloud and offer voice control, enabling images to be transmitted even more easily than today."
What is the most useful piece of advice that you'd offer to sports photographers who want to raise their game?
"I think you have to draw your inspiration from others without imitating them. You need to express your personality and you have to be yourself. You have to have a point of difference. For instance, I might restrict myself to using just a 600mm lens to cover a football game in order to get different images."
Facebook: Franck Seguin"When you're working underwater, everything becomes more complicated. You have to concentrate on several things at the same time – the way you breathe, the way you swim, the way you handle a camera and lens inside underwater housing – and it makes everything that much more difficult. Your time is limited, so you absolutely need to prepare well for a dive and to have a clear vision of what you are going to do in terms of images. You can't afford to rely on luck being on your side."
The key kit that the pros use to take their photographs
The newest version of the camera Franck relies on. "My top piece of Canon kit!" Franck says. "An efficient and reliable camera, you can use it everywhere to shoot everything, from portraits to underwater action."
No matter what you’re shooting, be assured of uncompromising image quality and a thoroughly professional performance.
Favoured by many, this new version of the classic wide zoom offers stunning sharpness throughout the zoom range.
A fast maximum aperture and rapid focusing system make this a versatile lens, but the pros tend to use it for portraits.
The professional's wide-angle lens with L-series optics, with a fast f/1.4 aperture, ideal for low light. Franck says it's "a versatile lens which I find unbeatable for shooting reportage."
A professional grade f/4 lens with a built-in 1.4x extender for huge flexibility and focal range for sports and wildlife.
Discover portrait perfection with an exceptional telephoto lens.
A precision-designed ultra wide-angle, L-series lens with a rectilinear design to correct distortion.
A favourite telephoto zoom lens with photographers of every kind.
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