Some marathon shots, looking for critiques/comments...

bloomphotog

These sold very well last year, but I would like to improve for this years event. Any ideas/input?

They were taken with a D300, and the kit 55-200. 1250-2000 ISO.

Photosbychuck

Great Shots

I like the ones with the time in the background so they can see there finish time.

Did you handout cards or print on location?
You might want to take a tight shot & then another shot with them and the time if you can get two shots off.
I would say your location means alot to get these shots.

mercphoto

bloomphotog wrote:

These sold very well last year, but I would like to improve for this years event. Any ideas/input?

They were taken with a D300, and the kit 55-200. 1250-2000 ISO.

Why so high an ISO in the middle of a sunny day? Also shoot runners in portrait orientation and try to get more than just a waste-up picture of them.

bloomphotog

mercphoto wrote:

Why so high an ISO in the middle of a sunny day? Also shoot runners in portrait orientation and try to get more than just a waste-up picture of them.

The ISO resulted from a combination of about 1/1250-1500 & f/6-8. I like the idea of getting full length shots, but it is REALLY hard to consistently do that and get the clock. In your opinion, would you prefer a full length or 3/4 with the time in frame.

Coconut

Oh get a shot of the first group of runners as they are approaching the finish line. Focus in on the person in first place.
I'm sure he/she will be pushing hard; their expression should make for a great shot. :photo


I agree with Photosbychuck...I like the time in the back ground also

GoyaAdobo

My wife races, and I photograph races (just for some background).

It *is* really hard to get the clock in, but that turns out to be a good thing, because the clock DOESN'T MATTER. Even if a racer wanted a photo, they'd probably crop out the clock, because unless that racer was in the first dozen people at the start line, the clock doesn't reflect that racer's actual time (it falsely reflects a "slower" time).

What I like to do, assuming I'm not getting swarmed by a lot of racers all at once, is to take 2-3 shots of each racer, all in portrait (vertical), starting at a full zoom some distance (say 50m?) from the finish line, getting a full body shot. As the racer closes in, I get a 3/4 shot, and then when the racer touches down, I get another full body shot as the racer crosses the line.

Of course, this is from the perspective of someone who is trying to sell these photos to as many racers as possible, and it might be overkill for someone just trying to get the top racers and the "feel" of the race, for, say, a newspaper or magazine entry.

I switch to horizontal mode for a few things:
-families or groups running or standing together
-starts (and the streams of runners that follow starts)
-top-down views of pre-start racers lining up, or doing warmups
-shots where there is something important in the scene that can only be captured by horizontal

Note that although I avoid getting the clock in for each racer, I do try to capture it in a few generic shots for perspective. I've never had a potential customer reject a finish line photo specifically because it lacked the race clock (that, again, doesn't reflect that runner's time).

Note 2: If you bump up your image size/quality for the top 6 finishers (3 male/3 female), go horizontal, and include the clock, that's fine, it'll be accurate because they're usually placed at the front of the start queue, and sometimes you might get a record time. Having the size/quality bumped up for those images helps if you want to crop later.

Note 3: Don't take my word for it. Everyone has their own style and preferences and levels of expertise.

Your photos: They're crisp, focused, colorful, and capture a great deal of emotion. That's awesome. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them. Now you just have to refocus all that on the fact that you're shooting "runners." There are no "runners" in your photos. (mostly)

(and enjoy yourself!)


EDIT: I went to your gallery and saw that you've been doing a lot more than what you're representing in the OP, and they all look great. Still, I'd say try to add some more verticals, but you've really captured some unique emotion (where do they get the energy to be jumping and cheering after running a marathon? ).

bloomphotog

Thanks for the thorough reply!

I find it interesting that most of you recommend that I shoot primarily full-length stuff. The close up shots definitely outsold most of the full-length shots in my experience. I must admit I am a little leery of totally changing my style, when t worked so well last year.

Thanks for the input and I will try and update this thread with some full-length runner shots soon.

GoyaAdobo wrote:

My wife races, and I photograph races (just for some background).

It *is* really hard to get the clock in, but that turns out to be a good thing, because the clock DOESN'T MATTER. Even if a racer wanted a photo, they'd probably crop out the clock, because unless that racer was in the first dozen people at the start line, the clock doesn't reflect that racer's actual time (it falsely reflects a "slower" time).

What I like to do, assuming I'm not getting swarmed by a lot of racers all at once, is to take 2-3 shots of each racer, all in portrait (vertical), starting at a full zoom some distance (say 50m?) from the finish line, getting a full body shot. As the racer closes in, I get a 3/4 shot, and then when the racer touches down, I get another full body shot as the racer crosses the line.

Of course, this is from the perspective of someone who is trying to sell these photos to as many racers as possible, and it might be overkill for someone just trying to get the top racers and the "feel" of the race, for, say, a newspaper or magazine entry.

I switch to horizontal mode for a few things:
-families or groups running or standing together
-starts (and the streams of runners that follow starts)
-top-down views of pre-start racers lining up, or doing warmups
-shots where there is something important in the scene that can only be captured by horizontal

Note that although I avoid getting the clock in for each racer, I do try to capture it in a few generic shots for perspective. I've never had a potential customer reject a finish line photo specifically because it lacked the race clock (that, again, doesn't reflect that runner's time).

Note 2: If you bump up your image size/quality for the top 6 finishers (3 male/3 female), go horizontal, and include the clock, that's fine, it'll be accurate because they're usually placed at the front of the start queue, and sometimes you might get a record time. Having the size/quality bumped up for those images helps if you want to crop later.

Note 3: Don't take my word for it. Everyone has their own style and preferences and levels of expertise.

Your photos: They're crisp, focused, colorful, and capture a great deal of emotion. That's awesome. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them. Now you just have to refocus all that on the fact that you're shooting "runners." There are no "runners" in your photos. (mostly)

(and enjoy yourself!)


EDIT: I went to your gallery and saw that you've been doing a lot more than what you're representing in the OP, and they all look great. Still, I'd say try to add some more verticals, but you've really captured some unique emotion (where do they get the energy to be jumping and cheering after running a marathon? ).

kini62

Just "guessing" here, but I'm thinking the times reflect "half" marathon and not a full marathon. If not the runner in photo #1 is the fastest distance runner in the world by quite some margin.

Gene