How race organisers can offer photos to every participant

Photos are one of the things participants remember most about an event, and one of the things they ask about most. "When are the photos out?" arrives in your inbox before the last finisher crosses the line. Offering photos well makes the whole event feel better organised, and it can bring in money or help a sponsor. This page sets out the options for race and event organisers, and what to agree with your photographer, using Photohawk Studio as the example.

Three ways to offer photos

Most events choose one of these, or a mix:

Participants buy costs the organiser nothing and is common at races of every size. The photographer takes the risk and earns from sales.

Free for everyone is a lovely touch, and it's increasingly expected at premium events. It costs the organiser or a sponsor a fee agreed in advance. Our page on free race photos paid for by sponsors covers how it works.

A mix gives everyone something while keeping sales for those who want more. On Photohawk, a workspace can run selling galleries and free galleries side by side, so the photographer can set this up per event.

How participants find their photos

The worst photo experience is a link to thousands of unsorted thumbnails. Good event galleries offer several ways in:

• Bib number search. Participants type their number. On Photohawk, numbers are read from the photos after upload, with no tagging by hand.
• Selfie search. Participants take a selfie and get back the photos they're in. The selfie is used for that one search and then discarded.
• Browsing by place and time. Collections named after the start, points on the course and the finish, so people can scroll to the moment they passed.

Participants who've lost the link can also look for the event in Photohawk's Find your photos directory. Our article on where to find your race photos is a good one to link from your FAQ.

Speed is the biggest thing you can ask for

Participants look for photos in the hours after the event. A gallery that's live the same afternoon gets shared while the event is still in people's feeds, and sells more if photos are for sale. With previews first, on every plan, Photohawk's web uploader puts light previews up before the originals, so a gallery can be searchable soon after the photos come off the course. Ask your photographer when the gallery will be live, and plan your results email around it.

What to agree with your photographer

Put these in writing before the event:

1. The model. Selling, free for everyone, or a mix; and if free, the fee and what it includes.
2. Coverage. Which positions, how many photographers and how long the finish is covered.
3. When the gallery goes live, and how you'll get the link.
4. Search. Bib search, selfie search and browsing by place, and whether selfie search is switched off for any galleries (for example junior races).
5. Privacy. What you'll tell participants about photos and face search, and who handles deletion requests. Our GDPR checklist lists the points.
6. Branding. Your event's name and logo on the gallery, and where it will be linked from.
7. Your use of the photos. Whether you may use them for next year's marketing, with credit.

Our page on choosing an event photography partner has more questions to ask.

Put the link where people look

The gallery link should be in the results email, on the results page, on your social channels and in your app if you have one. Our pages on adding photos to race results and organiser marketing that gets photos seen go into detail.

An organiser's checklist

• Model agreed: selling, free or a mix.
• Photographer briefed on positions and timing.
• Privacy wording in the entry terms and pre-event email.
• Gallery link ready for the results email.
• Link on the results page and social channels.
• A named person to answer "where are my photos?"

If you take your own event photos, or want to run galleries for your events yourself, create a free Studio account and see the pricing.