Introduction
This article will show you how to enable and configure photos in your CT Live event. Whether you intend to provide photos as a free service or charge for the photos, getting everything ready is very simple.
Enable Photo Service
In our CT Live event, open the Event Properties from the Event > Dashboard tab and select Other from the dropdown. Make sure Photography is selected under the "ChronoTrack Live's Services" section.
Now click the dropdown again and select Photos. On this page, check the Enable Photo Service box and select a Photo Service Type. Options include:
- Free - athletes can download full resolution photos without paying. This is the most popular Service Type. Many Organizers/Timers are paying for photo services via Sponsors whose brand is applied to each photo as a watermark or frame.
- Paywall - uses the Athlinks Services paywall to charge the amount specified in the Photo Package Price field before athletes can download full resolution images. We recommend a price between $5 and $40 USD, depending on the event and the number of photos being captured of each athlete.
- Redirect - allows you to supply a URL to a 3rd-party site where athletes will pay for and download photos. You must supply a Photo Service Name, and Photo Service URL when using this option. If you select this Service Type, photos will be managed solely on the 3rd-party site. Redirect URLs MUST contain the "https://" prefix.
Once you've made your selection and filled in the relevant fields, click Save & Next and then close the Event Properties window.
If You Selected Paywall...
Paywall is no longer an option in CT Live.
If You Selected Redirect...
To save your athletes time, we recommend you use one or both of the _BIB_ or _LASTNAME_ placeholders in the 3rd-party URL. This will ensure that athletes are taken directly to their photos on the 3rd-party site instead of making them search.
Here are some examples of the URL structure for the most common 3rd-party photo vendors with placeholders included:
FinisherPix: http://www.finisherpix.com/e/3546/_BIB_
MarathonFoto: http://www.marathonfoto.com/site/login?RaceOID=26932016M1&BibNumber=_BIB_&LastName=_LASTNAME_
SportPhoto: http://www.sportphoto.com/SetEventID.aspx?cEventID=1698033&BIBNumber=_BIB_
Marathon-Photos: https://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/event.py?template=MPX2&new_search=1&event=Sports%2FCPUK%2F2015%2FStatesman%20Capitol%20
10K&match=_BIB_
You may need to work with your preferred vendor to figure out the best place in the URL to insert the placeholders.
You're now ready to Configure Your Course for Photos.