KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ashley Landis is an AP photographer based in Houston, Texas. She has been with The Associated Press the last six years of her 21-year career. Landis specializes in sports, news, and features.
Why this photo
After Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez scored in overtime against Switzerland, he jumped over the LED boards to celebrate with fans. That doesn’t happen every match, so I stayed on him. He ended up high-fiving a few people in the front row before going back to celebrate with his team. That was the deciding goal in Argentina’s win.
How I made this photo
I photographed Martinez scoring from across the field, and followed him with a 400mm f2.8 lens as he reacted. I had to keep my focus point fixed on Martinez because he was surrounded by so many people.
Why this photo works
Martinez’s reaction was so big that I could see it clearly from across the pitch. Even though there are dozens of fans and players, all wearing the same colors in the photo, Martinez stands out because of his facial expression and peak emotion. The fans with their arms up celebrating with him frame him in a way that points the eye directly to the bottom center of the frame.
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