Kairen helping to showcase growing popularity of women’s football
The high profile of women’s football has inspired Huddersfield photography graduate Kairen Clark in her burgeoning career, as well as helping to cover the game as it continues to grow in popularity.
Kairen, currently studying for a Master’s in Photography having graduated in 2023, has begun to cover the women’s game at the highest level including working with Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Having first picked up a camera at the age of nine and developed her skills by taking shots of the local landscape or her family, Kairen had never married her love of football near her home in Pontefract to her interest in photography, until a lightbulb moment in her third year.
Discover more about studying photography at University of Huddersfield
“I had not much idea about what I really wanted to do in my first and second years,” Kairen admits, “but in my third year I went to a Man United women’s game at Leigh Sports Village, and I knew then that this was exactly what I wanted to do.
Kairen Clark
Photography graduate now studying for a Master's
“I had only seen local teams as a kid, I had not gone to football like this before and the atmosphere was unbelievable. I didn’t have the opportunities to even play football at school, so it was a ‘wow’ moment for me.”
Starting out by shooting local non-league teams, Kairen then covered Barnsley in Division One North before trying her luck with Women’s Super League big hitters United and Villa. Apprehensive about whether they would welcome or allow her to cover games, Kairen has been very pleasantly surprised over how well all clubs have treated her when she has joined the growing numbers of media attending games.
“You have to put yourself out there, but the clubs are very happy about it because it is helping to grow the women’s game. They were all very happy to have me after I contacted them.”
Aston Villa and Switzerland striker Alisha Lehmann
Barnsley's Autumn Housley
Ruby Jexoldfield, Brooke Marsden and Charlotte Stuart training for Barnsley
Martha Thomas, Lucy Staniforth, and Millie Turner celebrate for Man United
Man United and Norway star Vilde Boe Risa
Kairen Clarke
Covering sport was not an area that many photography students had tried before Kairen, but with her Master’s looking at the growth in women’s sport, Kairen is hoping to build upon on the experience she already has under her belt in the next stage of her career.
“I knew cameras really well after so many years of using them, so it was just changing what I did with them when it came to shooting football. Being a sports photographer, you have to know what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. At the local games to begin with I didn’t know what I was doing, but now, regardless of which team it is I know what I am going to do and where I need to be.”