As a photographer who got my start at a small town newspaper, I’ve had my fair share of photographing sports teams.
You probably know the sort, the ones with two or three rows of players all looking at the camera. The quick and dirty sports photo that happens when you have to take two dozen team photos in the span of an hour.
But after coming across a viral photo of Norway’s World Cup-bound team, I will never look at a team photo the same way again. In the photograph by David Yarrow, Norway’s World Cup soccer team doesn’t look bound for a major sports match; it looks like Viking warriors.
Yarrow’s photograph of the team quickly went viral on social media, with some even calling the image “the best team photo ever.”
Yarrow’s photograph of Norway’s national FIFA team doesn’t look at all like many of the FIFA team photos floating around social media ahead of the World Cup. As Yarrow himself commented, “We’ve seen a lot of pictures of airliner steps this week.”
Norway’s journey to take what could easily be the best team photo ahead of this year's World Cup started around six months ago, when the Norwegian Football Federation decided it wanted to do something different for the team photo.
Yarrow’s name came up, a recommendation by striker Erling Haaland, who Yarrow had previously photographed as a Viking, and golfer Victor Hovland, who was part of Yarrow’s iconic photograph of the European Ryder Cup team under the Manhattan bridge.
Yarrow’s decision to photograph the Norway team as Vikings was in part a nod to the country’s past, but the photographer said he also wanted to create a sense of a journey.
The team’s World Cup appearance is both a physical journey to where the tournament will unfold in the US, Canada and Mexico, but also an expedition to qualify for the competition – the first time Norway has done so in 28 years.
Perhaps Yarrow himself describes his style best: “I like to take people outside of how they are normally photographed.”
I’ve always been taught that a good team photo has all the players clear and sharp in the image. Despite the costumes, all the players are clearly visible in the photo – including one who couldn’t make the photoshoot date, but later made the trip to the same beach to be composited into the image.
Anyone with a few camera skills and some patience can take a clear team photo, however. Yarrow’s image elevates the team photo to one that speaks of a journey and a shared history.
The athletes may all be wearing different garb, but the photograph leaves Team Norway looking far more like a cohesive team than shots with matching jerseys.
The team is lit with harsh lighting from above. This creates shadows that are often considered undesirable for more classic portraits, but I think the lighting works here. The soft lighting of glamour portraits would feel as out of place on Vikings as smiles.
Yarrow took the photograph at a secluded beach in Oslo, where he not only arranged for period-accurate customs but also had the wooden jetty running down the middle of the shot built. He later traveled to a fjord in Viking Valley to photograph the boats and pieces of the background.
Yarrow created the unique team photo in a time when many viewers question unusual images as AI, so Yarrow’s team recorded the process behind the scenes.
“If you do it in a half-hearted way or in a studio, it can fall flat, but we really went for it. We got the boats in, got everyone dressed in proper Viking gear and not pantomime stuff,” Yarrow said of the process.
If you ask this former sports photographer, I think Yarrow’s team photo could be one of the best team photos yet. Fans will undoubtedly be treated to more legendary sports photographs as the World Cup matches kick off today.
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