Triathlon Photography Tips
As anyone who follows me on Instagram will know, shooting photos for my local triathlon club, the Warringah Triathlon Club (WTC), is one of my great passions. Triathlon photography was where I really cut my teeth as a sports photographer, and it remains one of my favourite genres of sports photography today. It brings together three different individual disciplines, and with it all the challenges associated with shooting a swimming race, a cycling race, and a running race rolled into one chaotic event.
Below is a quick overview of how I shoot my triathlons. Hopefully it will help you on your photography journey, even if you’re just a keen supporter looking to shoot some cool photos of your competitor out on the course!
Gear
This is what sits in my gear bag for every triathlon. You need to be highly mobile to get around the different areas of the course, so you need to make smart gear choices.
Making smart gear choices is the key to remaining mobile around a triathlon course!
Main body
Canon 5Dmk3 w/ grip. My workhorse body. Great low-light performance,
Spare body
Canon 7D w/grip. My original body, which now serves as a spare body. If something happens to my main body, the 7D is more than adequate to produce the photos I need to capture.
Lenses
Tamron 24-70mm, f/2.8 G2. My go-to for wider shots, and pre-race “mingling” in transition.
Canon 70-200mm, f/2.8 IS II. The gold-standard of sports photography lenses. Long enough focal length for anything you’ll want to shoot at a triathlon, lightning fast autofocus. Weighs a ton (see monopod below).
Teleconverter
Sigma 1.4x teleconverter. Occasionally used with the 70-200mmf/2.8 to get some longer focal length creative shots. This compact bit of kit saves me having to bring a longer telephoto lens.
Monopod
Sirus monopod. This is an essential bit of my kit. Shooting with the 70-200 f/2.8 for hours on end without a monopod is torturous.
Stool
Anaconda folding stool. The best $11 I’ve spent. I can only kneel for so long. This stool sits nice and low to the ground, but is comfortable enough to sit in for a few hours. Perfect for sitting out on the side of the run course.
Wet weather gear
Aquatech camera + lens cover. Triathlons don’t stop for bad weather, so neither can the photos.
Other incidental gear
Godox AD200 Pro + XPro trigger. Out on course I always shoot with natural light. Off-camera lighting only comes into play in the finish chute if I need to be able to lift the shadows under the visors/caps that many competitors wear.
Remote triggering for finish line camera. I don’t set this up for every race, but it can be a very valuable backup if race timing is tight. It uses a combination of Pocketwizard Plus III triggers, a Cactus Laser trigger, and my Godox AD200 Pro. I’ll put together a separate blog post to describe my finish line remote camera because it is a pretty niche setup and won’t be required for photographers just starting out.
Photographing Triathlon Legs
Pre-race
The calm before the race is a great time to capture some candid photos.
There are plenty of options for some pre-race shots. Athletes getting ready in transition, volunteers setting up the course, supporters waiting anxiously. Just bear in mind that for many races, it will still be quite dark so you’re going to be pushing the low-light capability of your gear to the limit.
My must-get pre-race shots:
Athletes lining up for registration
Bike racking
Volunteers
Swim
You’re pretty limited on the swim leg, and you have essentially zero chance of producing in-water photos in which the competitors can identify themselves. I tend to shoot the start with my 24-70mm, capturing the athletes as the run into the water and then a wide shot as the pack heads out. I’ll then switch to my 70-200mm and shoot in tight as the competitors finish the swim leg and emerge from the water. Sit a bit further up the beach, not right at the waters edge. If you’re right at the edge all you’ll find you end up with a lot of photos with competitors blocking their faces with their arms as they try to take off their goggles. By the time they’re further up the beach they’re usually back into full stride heading towards transition.
My must-get swim shots:
Wide pack shot lining up for start.
Peak action shot as the gun goes.
Tight shot of each competitor exiting the water.
Cycle
Don’t fall into the trap of always thinking you need to shoot tight action on the cycle leg. For a multi-lap race, I try to shoot a mix of wide and tight. My favourite wide shot with the 24-70mm f/2.8 is getting low and close to the road edge on the inside of a fast corner, and capturing the competitor as they head towards the exit of the frame. This goes against the standard rule of giving the subject “room to move” in the frame, but I find it lends itself to some great shots when you’ve got one competitor pursuing another competitor. Once I’m confident I’ve captured all of the competitors, I’ll then switch to the 70-200mm f/2.8 and find a position that is well-suited to shooting some tight action with the competitor filling the frame. The crest of a hill can be well-suited to this type of shot, as you get the competitor up out of the saddle powering up the hill. It also always brings out a smile when they realise the evilness of you sitting at the top of a hill with a camera.
My must-get cycle shots:
Wide scenic shot
Tight telephoto shot
Run
Very similar to the cycle, I try to shoot a mix of wide and tight. The most important thing to remember on the run course is that the finish line photo is the money-shot, so don’t get distracted trying to find other fancy places to shoot. If you can get some shots out on the run course and make it back to the finish before the first competitors comes in, then go for it. For finish-line photos, I tend to shoot with the 70-200mm and position myself so that I can capture the competitor with either the finish chute or race clock behind them. Timing is everything here…..unfortunately most competitors will look down to stop their Garmin watch just as they cross the line, so you’re better off capturing them a few metres before the finish line.
My must-get run shots:
Finish chute. Non-negotiable, this is the money shot.
Scenic wide shot if timing works.
Post Race
If I can, I spend a bit of time roaming around the recovery are after the race has concluded. That’s when you’ll capture competitors telling each other their race stories, supportive family members, and the general joy that come with completing a personal physical challenge. Use a 70-200 for some candid shots if you’re not comfortable approaching closely, but if you’re a bit more forward you can get some great group shots with a 24-70.
Final tips
Try to capture every competitor, particularly if you’re being paid to do it.
Don’t overshoot. I try to capture each competitor in one shot every time they come past me. I don’t spray-and-pray like you might with a high-action sport. You’ll be thankful when it comes time to post-process a full day worth of shooting!