Triathlons, like most sports races are exciting, and stories of competitors abound. These athletes train and compete and the speed at which they do is remarkable.

There are some key areas that you need to plan ahead to get the sports photograph or action shot that you want.

1. Start of the race…be looking for individuals, teams, buddies capturing their emotions.

2. Get them coming out of the water, be sure to shoot vertical one person in the shot if possible, which is a challenge when they start coming quickly together. Pick one and crop with full body,  include their feet, not much space at the bottom. To stop the action, shoot 1/500th of a second at a minimum.

3. If back-lit be sure to increase exposure, check your histogram, you may have to use a flash to fill in, and may need to dial-up exposure to 1 stop over. It’s OK to expose to the right as long as you are not blowing out the highlights. You will need to experiment before they start coming out of the water to see what types of shots you are getting.

4. Position yourself somewhere along the course to get a good background for the bike photograph. You need to still shoot the action shot vertical about a 45 degree angle, but be prepared they come at you pretty fast. Be sure to get the full bike, tight crop. Use a 70-200 lens. Minimum shutter speed is 1/500th of a second, ideal F stop would be F8.

5. Finish – Considered by many to be the money photograph. You will need a 24-70 lens, position yourself 20-30 feet in back of the finish line. Be sure to stay out of the way of the runners, and volunteers!!! Minimum shutter 1/500th of a second, ideal F stop would be F8. Be sure to include the runner in the middle of the shot, and try to get the timing clock in the photograph. Although that is sometimes difficult because the runners will be coming across at different positions.

Action and sports photography is exciting, challenging, and rewarding. Remember to have fun, and enjoy the adventure.