Have you seen those photographs of marathon runners and athletes on the tracks in sports magazines?
Did you wonder how the photographer took pictures of a running person without blurring the image or how the photographer focused on the runner despite having so many people around?
Well, running photography is challenging and it needs a lot of practice. If you want to do running photography, then here are some tips for you.
Be prepared
If you want to take running photographs, then you need to go outdoors. It may take a lot of time and you might have to be out for the whole day, especially if you want to photograph marathons.
So, you should carry a bag with your necessary things like food, water, mobile, keys and other things along with your photography gear.
You should be dressed properly so that you can take photographs comfortably. You should wear the right shoes so that you can run along with the runners to capture the action perfectly.
Don’t pack your bag too heavy; otherwise, you won’t be able to take photographs properly.
Choose location properly
You should make sure that the sun is behind the runner for the photograph to come out well. If you want to capture the emotion of the runner then it’s best to take a picture when the runner is at the top of the hill exhausted or at the corner of a road where you can take a close-up picture of the runner if you are lucky.
Use long lens
You cannot be close to the runner if you are photographing a race. So, you should take a long lens to take clear photographs. A 70 to 200 mm range will do a good job in this case. You should turn on image stabilization so that there is no movement because slight movement can make the photo blur.
Fast shutter speed
As a rule of thumb, set the shutter speed to a fraction of focal length. That way you will be able to capture a clear image. For example, if you are taking a photo at 100mm, then the shutter speed should be 1/100 of one second.
Sharp aperture
You should set the aperture from 8/f to 11/f to take a clear and detailed photograph of a runner who is sweating. You should have the sharpest aperture to take such a photograph.
Low ISO
If you use a low ISO, you can take a perfect photograph in daylight. So, if you are photographing on a sunny day, you should set your camera to a low ISO.
These tips will help you to take photographs of runners perfectly. Still, you need a lot of practice to become good at the job. Make sure you have the right camera and other accessories to take such difficult photographs.