Marathon advice

[EMA747]

Before you ask no I'm not running a marathon. It's the Nottingham marathon this weekend and I thought I might nip down and try my hand at some shots of runners.

Any tips on how or what to shoot? I've never photographed runners before.

I'll be using my 1DmkIV and either 24-70 or 70-200.

 

[BalSanghera]

Quickly check out some tips on panning... They wont be running super fast but you want to get this technique right if planning to get some tight shots. Do some test shots and have a play with the shutter speed. You dont want to end up with blurey pictures... Looks like its going to be a cloudy day so dont forget to check the iso and white balance... I would go with the 70-200 as I doubt you will be able to get to close with and might have stewards etc in the way...

Would pop down myself but got family over this weekend.

 

[snapzz]

I cover quite a few marathons/half marathons & 10k races. Personally I prefer the 70-200 set at f5.6-f8 for a bit of depth (Remember I'm shooting to sell!) but for single shots I'd set at f4 or less.

Position yourself somewhere in the last 3-5k. Here the runners should be strung out (certainly the frone runners anyway). and should provide you with some good single shots also when the slower runners come past shots of the main pack.

Try and pick a spot with good background that gives you a front on shot. Let the runners come to you and fill the frame. You should get full length and torso shots and look out for any fancy dress or other comical shots. You may also find some runners will wave or give a thumbs up if they spot the camera.

I could have been covering this for Marathon-Photos but already booked for another event. Next week I'm at the Great North Run which is a killer to shoot as its just a big mass of runners going by!