How To Take The Perfect Triathlon Action Photo
- By Paul Moore
- Published February 17, 2012
Often left perplexed by your inability to snap the perfect triathlon shot? Well, it’s often not as easy as you might think to capture the frenetic action in a race. However, as award-winning photographer Paul Phillips, who teaches a sports photography class at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, explains it is definitely possible.
The basics:
Scope out your shooting locations in advance (see below)
Shoot with the sun at your back or side
Make sure your athlete knows which side of the road you will be on
Only shoot when the athlete is coming toward you
Get the most from your equipment (advice for DSLR cameras with a telephoto lens):
As soon as you see your athlete, hold the shutter down halfway to focus, but wait until he or she is closer to shoot
Shoot in bursts of three to five so you can pick your best shot
Do not use the Program, Auto or Sport settings—use Shutter Priority mode to get a good, clean shot
If you want to stop the action (no blur), use a high shutter speed, such as 1/1000 or faster
If you want a panned shot with a blurred background, shoot at 1/160
Plot a good shot location:
Swim and transition exits
Riding up a hill standing
Profile in an aero position
Low angles of your triathlete riding or running toward you
Running through aid stations
Right before the finishing chute
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Paul Moore
Paul Moore is the Online Editor for Triathlete Europe. When not glued to a computer he can be found writing books - most recently Ultimate Triathlon: A complete training guide for long-distance triathletes which you can buy on Amazon
