Can't find your Race Photo Part 2

The part 2. Been busy and my apologies for taking so long to post this. But hopefully this will come in useful for those doing the mother of all race, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

So how to make sure your photo is taken? I don’t know about other photographers but in my experience as a photographer wannabe, these are the things that make me press the shutter release.

Originality

During a race, majority of the runners will be in the sponsored event top. So if it is the SCMS, everybody will be in blue. Anybody else in different attire will get my attention and guarantee a snap. Like this young lady from the Punggol Runners. She will definitely get many many more pictures than everybody else. Wear a bright color. Wear a bikini. Or don’t wear anything also can. Anything to stand out. Like this lady Jenap who is always in one costume or another:

Get the photographer’s attention

Wave, dance, do something outrageous. Do something different - kiss the girl next to you. Hold hands when finishing. Do a cartwheel. Push a pram. Use a walking stick. Whatever. Anything to draw the eye of the photographer away from the sweet young thing in front of him to you. No promises but where possible we will try to oblige and take the picture.

Keep to the inner side

The photographers will be kept at bay by hoardings etc and will be positioned at one side. Keep to that side. If the path is wide and you run on the far side away from where the photographer is, his lens may not be long enough to zoom in and get a decent picture in which case he will rather take the photo of someone nearer. And also if his view of you is blocked by other runners, he can’t take your picture. Which brings me to the next point:

Keep away from other runners

Try to run alone especially at the finish line. If there are two or three person coming in together, the photographer may only have time to take 1 person not all 3. Worse if you are behind a runner. You be blocked like the guy in this photo. So try to space yourself out when you see a photographer. Slow down if you have to. Speeding up may be a bad idea because the photographer may not be ready for you or worse the guy next to you decides you are challenging him and ends up racing with you and blocking you off from the photographer.

Join a running club

Many of the photographers will try to take photos of runners from the various running clubs especially if they themselves belongs to that club. Wear their top during the race and as long as you are not blocked and can be seen by the photographer, you should be good for a picture or two. Popular clubs with strong focus on identity and have their own attires are Punggol Runners, Safra and Team Fatbird.

Be friend with the photographers

As long as you are known to the photographer and he can see you, chances are he will take your pictures. I try my level best to do this. After all, that’s our purposes at this event. To take photos of our friends.

But after all this, if you still can’t get a photo, maybe you need to do something really outrageous in front of the photographer like maybe strip naked, bash up somebody or you could do the easy thing and just go up to him and beg for a photo.

Happy Posing and Running!