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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Coordinating multiple shooters for 3000 runners
Michael Price, Photographer
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Pickerington | OH | USA | Posted: 12:02 AM on 09.14.07 |
->> I am shooting a running race this weekend with 3000 participants. It is a 10K and I will be set up near the finish area so everyone has the maximum time to spread out some.
I have several other shooters hired for the project. We are shooting spec and hope to get as many of the runners in at least one photo as possible.
My question is, if you have several photographers on each side of the road (one standing/sitting, another on a short step ladder), how do you best coordinate the shooting so you don't end up with multiple photos of some runners and none of others? Is it realistic to "call your shots" by bib number or do you shoot anything that moves?
Hoping some of you that have worked with MarathonFoto or Brightroom can shed a hint or two on how to maximize coverage without just holding the 8 fps motor drive button down for 45 minutes as they go by.
Thanks!
-Mike |
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Karl Anderson, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Lubbock | TX | USA | Posted: 4:13 AM on 09.14.07 |
| ->> 1 person shots the right side and the other shoots the left. Last time I shot a race like this I was on the finish scaffolding with another shooter and thats how we did it. |
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Mike Brice, Photographer
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 7:49 AM on 09.14.07 |
->> I shot a couple of times with Brightroom, and they just positioned us different places and said shoot as many as you can.
It would seem that if you have a several shooters, it is likely that you are going to get everyone at least once.
The challenging part is allowing that person to find the photo quickly when they go to the gallery.
Brightroom's site has a search by bib number. I think they have interns look through all the photos and key in the bib number into one of the IPTC fields and use that for a search. |
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David Johnson, Photographer
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Social Circle (Atlanta) | GA | USA | Posted: 8:16 AM on 09.14.07 |
->> 1) Try to have each shooter cover an specific area.
2) Coverage areas should overlap, like fields of fire in a combat situation.
3) Duplicates are not a big deal. Missing someone is.
4) Shooters must be aware that having bibs numbers visable in the shot is critical. Without it, you can't effectively market the photo.
5) Start your marketing onsite at the race. Have people - other than shooters - handing out flyers that let participants know photos were taken and how to view/order them.
6) If the race has a large banner over the starting line, shoot a race start photo and market it as well. |
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Alan Schwartz, Photographer
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Rochester | NY | U.S.A. | Posted: 9:18 AM on 09.14.07 |
| ->> Make sure you get the bib number so you know who the people are. Are you shooting the Rochester Marathon this weekend ? I shot the runners crossing the finish line for the past couple of years and it's a challenge. They come by pretty fast, but in spurts. Also try and use the larger cards, you may not have time to change out cards once the runners start coming by. |
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Ian Halperin, Photographer
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Plano(Dallas) | TX | USA | Posted: 10:41 AM on 09.14.07 |
| ->> And make sure to sync your camera's clocks. Then you can sort them by time. |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Port Townsend/Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 11:22 AM on 09.14.07 |
| ->> Did it once many eons ago and they had us in the bucket of a cherry picker. Helps to get up high to pick out individuals. |
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David Johnson, Photographer
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Social Circle (Atlanta) | GA | USA | Posted: 11:35 AM on 09.14.07 |
->> Hi Juliann,
Would that have been the Lilac Bloomsday Run held in Spokane... back in the 90s? |
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Michael Price, Photographer
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Pickerington | OH | USA | Posted: 11:37 AM on 09.14.07 |
->> Thanks to everyone who posted here as well as who sent me direct e-mails.
I have been shooting running races for over 5 years, but 3,000 people is the largest one I have done so far, hence my question to make sure I wasn't missing anything from strategy standpoint. I can shoot 1,000 runners in a 10k by myself, and we shot this event last year with 2,000 runners using just one other photographer besides myself. Three thousand is going to be real test, so I have the third shooter for the periodic "bubbles" of many runners at once. I like the idea of "fields of fire" and will add that to the alternating side of the road placement for the two primary shooters for the third photographer.
A few other things that others reading this thread in the future might benefit from:
- We have created signs about "numbers go on the front" that we can put up in the race chip pickup area. This also gets announced by the race promoter during pre-race chatter.
- We always work WITH the race promoters and event organizers so we have the permission angle nailed down and the ability to piggy-back on their advertising tools.
- For post processing, we already code every photo with bib number in IPTC and then convert number to participant's name so they can look themselves up by name once they forget their race number (which happens about Monday afternoon for a Sunday race ). Photo Mechanic is a fantastic tool for doing this quickly (about 1,400 images per hour) and then use the code replacement feature to swap number for name in IPTC.
Thanks again to everyone...
-Mike |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Port Townsend/Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 2:14 PM on 09.14.07 |
| ->> nope, it was some race in Tampa in the late 80's. :) |
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Osamu Chiba, Photographer
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Vista | CA | USA | Posted: 2:52 PM on 09.14.07 |
->> Michael P,
Wow, 3 shooters to cover 3000 runners in a 10K sounds really challenging. If I were you, I'd hire one more. But strangely, there are always a few people who slip thru (and complain "where is my photo?")...
Do you notify runners via e-mail once photos are available? I always see a huge spike in sales right after e-mailing. Even better if you can add a link to the photos of receipient. I am planning to do that in the near future.
O |
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