Searching for photos using the participant's identification number is very common in sporting events, such as street races, bicycle competitions, triathlons, among others.

Today, photographers can identify photos in two ways, manually by looking photo by photo (learn more about manual identification by clicking here ) or automatically via our Automatic Identifier tool.

So we created this article to help you use this tool.

Important points:

• The use of this tool is only enabled for events in the road running, mountain running, cycling and triathlon / duathon categories;
• For every new event we provide 50 credits free of charge for TEST .
• Before uploading all your photos you must first send 50 TEST photos, then review the quality of the result . If you are not satisfied, make sure you are using the tips (more below) and send us your criticisms to partners@fotop.com.br so that you can help with the tool's evolution. If you are still not satisfied, you can opt for manual identification after uploading all the photos and test again at another future event! :)
• Credits are consumed per photo sent, that is, BY PROCESSING, regardless of whether the photo is identified or not!
• The tool does not guarantee the identification of all photos.
• If the number has letters, periods, hyphens or other characters that are not numbers, the system will not work correctly, and therefore we do not recommend using it.

Mandatory requirements:

• No letters or symbols
  • The automatic identification tool only understands numbers like 1234, 5467, 001, 134.
  • Do not use the tool when the bib numbers contain non-numeric characters, such as 1234-5, 456.6, A3345, etc.
  • If you use a manual identification program, never send the CSV file with all the photos after using the automatic identifier , as the platform will overwrite the identification if they have the same names.
• Maximum number of digits
  • The system understands a maximum of 5 digits for running events and 4 digits for cycling events. Do not use the automatic identification system for events with a greater number of digits.

Tips for good automatic identification

1. Show the number visible and legible
   
   The identification system will be able to read what you can also read. If the number has a small part hidden there is no problem, but if it is almost completely hidden the system will not be able to identify it. This typically occurs when the athlete's arm or other target obscures the number. One tip is to take a frontal photo to reduce the number of obstructions.
   
   
2. Breast number too small
   
   If you like to take a photo of the athlete with the landscape, keep in mind that the bib number may be very small in the image, hindering automatic identification. In this case, the ideal is for the athlete to be in the foreground, close to you, to read the number.
   
   
3. Moderate slope
   
   If you are one of those who like to take photos with the camera tilted, that's fine! But be careful as tilting too much does not help the identifier read the bib number.
   
   
4. Breast number at the bottom of the image
   
   Avoid taking photos with something resembling a bib number in the background, such as a photo with a billboard in the background that may have a runner depicted on it, this normally occurs upon arrival with publicity images printed on the porch.
   
   
5. Friendly bib number
   
   If, by chance, you have some influence on the production of the event's bib number, choose to make it with colors that create a good contrast between the digits and the background. Furthermore, avoid including texts with fonts in the same size as the digits as this may confuse the identifier.
   
   

Examples of easy-to-identify photos:

Examples of bad photos for identification by the system:

Watch the video below to better understand the automatic identification process on the platform:

Now see below the step by step of how it works.

Step by step to use the automatic identifier:

1. On the photo upload screen, you must indicate that you want automatic identification: In the option “Do you want to identify photos automatically? ”, select “ Yes ”. A new column will appear below in the interface. Currently, use is available for Street and Bike Race events;

2. This table will show the current credit balance;

3. If necessary, here you have the option to add more credits;

3.1 When you click on the button, a modal will be displayed where you must enter the number of photos you want to identify. The amount is charged per photo, so we suggest you clean blurry and shaky files from your photos;

3.2 We will then ask for your card details and once completed, a transaction message will be displayed. You must refresh the upload page for your credits to be displayed .

4 Upload the photos normally and after finishing the upload, click **_”next step”_** to be directed to the photo manager:

5. In the bar above you can view the identification status (you can update the numbers by clicking on the " waiting to process " icon, and the photos that the system is still automatically identifying will appear);

6. For photos that have not been identified, you must identify them manually (online identifier). Click on the “ identify ” option and you will be directed to the normal identification flow;

7. This option allows you to review the identified photos, if you wish.

8. If you find an error, you must correct it and save it;

9. If you have any questions about how to use identification, click “?” to review shortcuts;

10. Okay, now just publicize your event and wait for sales! :)

ABOUT THE COST OF THE NUMERATOR

Why is the numerator charged? For the automatic numbering process to happen, we use a computer vision system that generates an additional cost for each photo sent for recognition. The costs of file transfer, processing and hosting continue to be covered by Fotop and are not included in the amounts charged for automatic numbering. The R$5.75 only covers the cost of additional processing of the various processes necessary to “read the numbers”, tax costs for the invoice that will be issued by this service and credit card processing costs.