We live in a world where images and videos take center stage. While smartphones now allow us to capture high-quality shots, they can’t replace a photographer’s expertise. The eye, experience, and the right equipment make all the difference, especially in sports photography, where every moment counts.
Meet Jérôme Piat, a passionate photographer who covers both top-tier teams from La Rochelle: the rugby club and the baseball club. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at his profession and the demands of sports photography.
BTVF: Can you introduce yourself?
I’m Jérôme Piat. I’m passionate about photography, and especially sports photography. What I love about images is the ability to tell a story, capture an emotion, or convey an atmosphere without needing words. Through my photos, I try to highlight the athletes, the clubs, the volunteers, and everything that brings an event to life.
BTVF: You specialize in sports photography. Why this choice?
Sports naturally drew me in because they bring together everything I love to photograph: intensity, movement, concentration, effort, joy, and sometimes disappointment too. A sports photo can freeze a split second that will never happen exactly the same way again. That unpredictability is what fascinates me. You have to be attentive, reactive, anticipate the action, and feel the game.
BTVF: You have an agreement with Stade Rochelais for rugby match photos. What’s your mission?
My mission is to cover certain moments around the matches, within the framework agreed with the club. The goal is to capture the atmosphere, the emotions, the fans, the key moments, and everything that defines a match. Rugby isn’t just about what happens on the field: it’s also about the atmosphere, the passion, the crowd, the looks, the gestures. My role is to document all of that through images.
BTVF: You’ve gotten into baseball through the La Rochelle club. What’s your role?
With the Boucaniers, my role is primarily to showcase the club, the players, and the sport through photography. Baseball is still too little covered in the French media, so images can really help bring it to light. I try to highlight the beauty of the movements, the intensity of the actions, the technical precision, but also the team spirit and the club’s life.
BTVF: After shooting baseball, how would you describe this sport through photography?
Baseball is a fascinating sport to photograph because it blends patience, precision, and explosiveness. There can be very calm, almost silent moments, then suddenly a rapid action: a pitch, a hit, a run, a slide, a defensive stop. In photography, it’s a very graphic sport, with strong poses, focused looks, technical gestures, and a lot of tension in the moment.
BTVF: What photo would you dream of capturing during a baseball game?
The photo I’d dream of capturing would be one that sums up the intensity of baseball: for example, a perfect hit, with the ball in contact with the bat, the player in full rotation, a focused look, and all the energy of the movement visible in the image. Or a decisive slide at home plate, with the dust, the catcher, the runner, and the stakes of the run all in the same photo. An image that immediately tells a story.
BTVF: What can we wish you?
You can wish me continued progress, enjoyment behind the lens, and above all the ability to help showcase baseball through my photos. I’d like my images to make people want to attend a game, get interested in local clubs, and better understand the richness of this sport. And of course, to keep experiencing great sports and human moments on the field.
Interview by D. Cannioux
