Women’s Eights Head of the River Race 2026
Rowing on the Thames, by Putney Embankment. Photo: Louise Anderbjörk
On the 14th of March, the 86th rendition of the annual Women’s Eights Head of the River Race took place between Mortlake and Putney Embankment on the River Thames in London. Over 300 crews from across the UK had signed up to take part, and I was there to cover the sport and atmosphere of the day.
Fortunately, this also turned out to be one of the first proper spring weekends in London this season, bringing beautifully sunny and mild conditions for the two hours of rowing and photography to come. Still, from a photographer’s point of view, the sun is often one of the biggest challenges when shooting outdoors, as it can create very stark contrasts and constantly shifting light conditions with deep shadows.
Therefore, I can’t recommend enough giving yourself some time at the location before the event starts to test settings from different angles and focal points. This helps you find a solid middle ISO that works across conditions, allowing you to make quick final adjustments on the go by altering your shutter speed.
Rowing on the Thames, by Putney Embankment. Photo: Louise Anderbjörk
Another challenge when photographing rowing is how to best frame your photos—not only in terms of capturing the whole crew, which is particularly difficult in an eights race where the boat is so long, but also in trying to get as close to eye level as possible without physically ending up in the water, which happens more often than you might think. The best approach is to find a spot near the loading areas where you can get closer to the water while maintaining an unobstructed view of the race. It’s also worth experimenting with alternating between landscape and portrait orientation, as this can be an effective way to solve framing issues with longer boats.
Finally, my advice for outdoor sports events is to really make your surroundings part of the photo. This gives your coverage a sense of place and atmosphere, making it far more unique to that specific event. For example, I captured a shot of two crews battling head-to-head as they approached the finish line just beyond Putney Bridge. Instead of zooming in for a generic close-up, I zoomed out to include an iconic London double-decker bus crossing above them on the bridge, which gave the image a much stronger sense of story.
Rowing on the Thames, by Putney Embankment. Photo: Louise Anderbjörk
At the end of the day, Leander Club were crowned champions with a finishing time of 18 minutes and 18 seconds down the river, marking a fantastic end to a great day and a successful rowing event in central London.