(Cover image credit: pexels)
The Prepd Adelaide Marathon Festival, the flagship event of the South Australian Road Runners Club (SARRC), is taking place on the 21st of August, 2022. Kicking off at Bonython Park with distances of marathon, half marathon, 10km & 5km available to competitors, there are plenty of options for photographers to capture the various emotions of the runners taking part. Using the correct gear & camera settings will ensure you freeze the runners in motion & snap the desired sharp emotive image.
Helpful hints
Location. One of the best spots to capture images of runners is at the top of any hills or rises in the course as their faces will be full of emotion having worked extra hard to get over the hill. Another consideration is light. Will the sun be in the runners eyes resulting in a lot of squinty eye face pics? As always, use light to your advantage.
(Image credit: adn)
Lens choice. Using a lens such as a 70-200mm will offer great versatility throughout its focal range. The Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 iii USM lens is a perfect example.
Shutter speed. To freeze motion of runners & achieve sharp images, it is necessary to use a shutter speed of 1/250sec or above.
(Image credit: momofilmfest)
Focus mode. Continuous focus mode will keep the moving object in focus.
Fast SD card. Use a fast SD card eg. SanDisk. Also consider shooting in JPEG rather than RAW. JPEGs take up less space on the memory card & as the file sizes are smaller than RAW images, if you are shooting in burst mode you will be able to shoot more images in a single burst.
Monopod. For extra stability & less strain on your body, a monopod is a really effective tool. Compact & lightweight, the Slik Pro Pod 600 is a great example.
Sports photography, or more specifically taking images of runners can be quite challenging. Adopt the above helpful hints & practice & you’ll be on your way to sharper images faster than Eliud Kipchoge’s marathon running pace!