Still Running: From My First Assignment for France Football to a New Chapter

October 2024. I still remember the feeling.

My first assignments for France Football and L'Équipe. My first time standing on the sidelines of a football pitch as a photographer. It was a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and responsibility. I knew what I was doing and I knew how I would approach the job. Otherwise, I would never have accepted the assignment in the first place. But there was still an element of stepping into the unknown.

Sometimes growth requires exactly that.

Looking back two years later, I can say that decision was one of the most important professional steps I've taken in recent years. The work I produced created a domino effect that eventually led to new opportunities and a stronger relationship with the client.

In 2026 alone, I have already completed three assignments for L'Équipe. That is not something I take for granted.

The results have exceeded my expectations. One assignment led to a cover story and the main feature in the May issue of France Football. Another project, soon to be published, will span fourteen pages across two separate features in L'Équipe magazine.

For any photographer, seeing your work trusted and showcased at that level is deeply rewarding. More than the pages themselves, it represents something even more valuable: trust. Trust earned through consistency, reliability, and a personal vision that remains recognizable regardless of the subject.

My most recent assignment was particularly meaningful. It focused on a different sport and allowed me to express my photographic voice more clearly than ever before. It is the kind of work that reminds me why I chose this path and why I continue to push forward.

If I have reached this point, I owe it first and foremost to discipline.

Photography has never been a casual interest for me. It is an obsession in the best sense of the word. It demands time, energy, sacrifice, and relentless commitment. It has occupied countless mornings, late nights, weekends, and moments that could have been spent elsewhere.

I also owe a great deal to the people who have stood beside me throughout the journey. The people who believed in me when the future was uncertain. The people who understood the sacrifices required to pursue a creative career seriously.

One of the lessons I have learned is simple: keep moving forward.

The path of a professional photographer is rarely linear. It is filled with challenges, setbacks, uncertainty, and frustration. Anyone who has built a career in photography understands this reality. So do the people closest to them.

The successes are visible. The struggles usually are not.

In many ways, what I am experiencing now feels like a personal victory. Not because everything is perfect, but because there were moments when others doubted the possibility of reaching this point. There were people who believed photography could never be a serious profession. People who suggested I should find a "real job."

To them, I have only one answer.

I chose a profession that I genuinely love.

A profession that often doesn't feel like work because I am passionate about it. Even when it means working fifteen hours straight. Even when it means traveling constantly. Even when it means finding myself in situations that are demanding, unpredictable, or occasionally risky.

I have achieved milestones that once seemed distant dreams.

But I am not interested in stopping here.

This is not the finish line. It is not even a destination.

It is another step.

Another chapter.

Another challenge overcome.

My professional career officially began in 2010, and despite everything that has happened since then, I still feel like I am building something. I still feel hungry for the next story, the next assignment, the next opportunity to create meaningful work.

Because photography is not a race you finish.

It is a race you keep running.

And I am still running.

Alex Coghe. Mexico City, 2026