How to Shoot a Great Triathlon Photo - Context, Composition and Competition – Tri This!!

As is pretty common this time of year, my weekends are filled with shooting. Last week it was three soccer games, one each night and this weekend, it is soccer, a sprint triathlon and fixed gear cycling on a 250 meter track. This week I have been shuttling between soccer games and bike races. Trust me soccer in the rain is a lot safer that bike racing in the rain.

I received my initial national attention shooting triathlons and I have many friends in the tri community, and as such shooting a tri is part work and part social. Either way, I always enjoy the spectacle of it. I enjoy the competition and there are some days that I think, if I just trained a bit more, I could do that again! But then, I regain my sanity.


In spite of the existence of a strong triathlon community and the social aspects of the races, competing is a singular effort. It is the athlete and the clock. Of course, being first across the line is important, but with wave starts, it is possible for your key competition to still be out on the course after you are sitting at the finish. The effort is intense, alone and often painful.

From a photographic standpoint, a major challenge is how do you get a photo, without having it just look like another guy out riding is bike? Albeit a very fit guy, but still just another guy out on his bike.

• How do you make it interesting?
• How do you create an emotional connection between the viewer and a two dimensional photo?
• How do you convey the intensity of the effort, the anguish of the athlete, as well as the competition?
• How do you evoke an emotional response from the athlete viewing the photo subsequent to the race?

For most events, there is a mass start of sorts or at least in waves. My favorite starts are where the athletes run into the water. This kicks up a reverse rooster tail of sorts and creates in image that can only truly be appreciated in a still photo. I typically shoot this with a 28mm to 70 lens and get as close as practical without getting soaked.




The high stepping start techniques, shown here by top ranked Triathletes Hunter Kemper, David Thompson and Craig Walton makes you wonder if they really are swimming or running.


For large races (Ironman, etc.) with water starts, if you can get some height for the shot, you can see patterns that can convey the feeling of the crowd.



The closer you get more you will convey the feeling of actually being part of the race.


The swim exit is another great spot to for dramatic shots. I admit, I am a long lens guy and shoot with a 400 mm f2.8. I always try (or tri) to get a head on shot if possible, which means that I am usually tucked away at the end of the exit on the way to the first transition (T1). From my prospective this is the most intense shot.


If possible my favorite is to shoot as the athletes are rising up out of the water. Here is my friend Dan Cohen (the Incredible Hulk shot), coming out of the water. A shutter speed of at least 1/500th is needed to catch the sheeting of the water.


Running into transition helps convey the intensity of the event.


Once on the bike, assuming that I am not shooting from a moto, I still prefer a straight on shot. Here you have the opportunity for both context and intensity. The first shot is Chris Lieto in the lead of the first Ironman Wisconsin. The moto on the right gives the context that whoever the rider is, is video worthy. The second shot is Minnesota based elite amateur Cathy Yndestad, coming up over a rise. (Think rule of thirds for composition.)



The Chris shot is from a moto, the Cathy shot is not.

Still using the 400mm I can get in the athletes face and show how hard they are really working.



If I am working from a moto, I can get up close and personal! As they say don't try this at home, etc. Seriously, shooting backwards from the back of a moto takes a great driver, the right bike, lots of practice AND I always wear full protective gear.



The transitions, in this case T2 also gives a chance to show how the athletes are prepare to move to the next stage - here is Tonya Miller trying to cool off before heading out on the run.


By know you know that I am shooting head on and that my preference is to try to establish eye contact between the athlete and the camera, but for the run, there is another trick to shot selection. I don’t care how lean and fit the athlete is, if you show them at the bottom of their stride, they will have a defeated look and their body will sag. Today’s amazing cameras shoot at such high frame rates, shoot in bursts! This will give you the opportunity to select the shot when the runner is at the top of their stride. Here is a photo from about the 16 mile mark of the Wisconsin Ironman in 2003. This is the critical pass where Dave Harju is overtaking Torbjorn Sindballe, notice that Sindballe looks almost defeated, mostly because he is at the bottom of his stride and Dave is at the top of his stride.


Here are two other shots from the recent Manitou Sprint Triathlon as winner Kevin O’Conner of Gear West, is coming into the finish. Again the difference in stride position is noticeable in the message that it conveys.




Similar to Kevin, Hunter Kemper looks great at the top of his stride (with a certain air of Toyota Hybrid efficiency).




I started this blog entry with a finish line shot and I will end it with one. Sometimes if you get lucky, one shot can be more that the proverbial thousand words. In this case, you can tell the weather (rain), the event (Ironman), the nationality of the winner (German), the time and the sponsor (Ford). Notice that I have shot from a very low angle in order to get the finishing banner in the top of the frame.


One final image - no matter what the level of competition, for the most part people are glad to be there and competing. Here Becca and Julie show that their game face is much different than the level of the effort once the gun goes off!



I hope you have enjoyed this post - just go out and tri it!