We interviewed our team member to open up about how we approach planning for massive events such as TCS London Marathon.
Pablo Rodriguez
Team Leader for TCS London Marathon
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the event organisation?
The London Marathon is one of the biggest marathons in the world, with the best Elite runners and nearly 50.0000 finishers and as such, we also had the biggest photography team Sportograf has ever had.
As you can imagine managing and coordinating a team of 70-80 photographers has its challenges such as immense planning and precise communication are key for the success of the event.
How did you work with the event organisers to ensure that the photography captured the essence of the event?
Working with London Marathon Events is a pleasure. They are very supportive and offer helpful advice. We have already had a clear idea on how we wanted to capture the event because I’ve worked with them in all their 2022 events.
London is such a beautiful city with so many different people, a very friendly atmosphere and all smiles. When the local community gets involved, the event turns into a party. Our aim is to capture the city’s beauty and amazing energy in our photography.
What was your approach on spot selection in London?
London’s world renowned landmarks provide a beautiful backdrop for the Marathon course. Choosing photo locations was easy as we wanted to capture these iconic sites. I personally scouted the course weeks before the event to find the best angles for our photographers. It’s not always easy to capture the perfect shot, what we can see with our eyes might not translate well onto a photo, but I want to think that we succeeded in capturing the participants together with the essence and atmosphere of London on the day.
How did you ensure that the photographs taken by different team members were consistent in terms of style and quality?
Sportograf has a very clear vision and way of working, it’s thanks to this that despite having many different photographers with so varied equipment, we can still come up with a photo package that is consistent in both quality and style. On event day, clear communication with each photographer is vital to ensure they know what’s expected at each photo location.
Can you share with us some tips or best practices that you use when managing a team of photographers for an event?
For me communication and teamwork are the key, everyone has to know what they are doing and what is expected.
At the same time, we know it’s going to be a very long working day, so having a nice team atmosphere and positive attitude goes a long way and makes the job a lot easier and enjoyable.
Being a photographer myself and working on many events every year, I know what I have needed in the past to fulfill my role successfully so it’s all this information, advice and nice atmosphere that is what I try to pass onto our team.
Can you share with us some of your favorite shots from the event and why they stand out to you?
This is not a easy task, we took around 1.5 million photos but these are some of my favorites, to me they are a clear representation of what the London Marathon is all about: the Elite runners battling for the win, the thousands of people completing the marathon, the community spirit, the great atmosphere and people having fun….
This was an unforgettable experience that I’m very lucky to be part of again this year!
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