Olympic Shot: Q & A With Olympic Photographer Jeff Cable

As an experienced photographer for the Olympics, did you have any expectations prior to your arrival in Paris? If so, what were they? If not, why not?

I always have expectations before every Olympics. There is a lot of stress leading up to the Games because I know that I will have to figure out the transportation and logistics for a brand new region and this happens every two years. I had high expectations for the Opening Ceremony and those feel far short of what I had hoped for. But I also had high expectations for the venues in Paris and they met those expectations very well.

Walk us through your process of taking a photo at the Olympics. Do you approach every sport with the same photographic goals? If not, what are the differences? (starts, finishes, venues, etc.).

My goal at every Olympics is to take photos that go beyond the standard image. I want to create photos that are creative and different from what the other photographers are capturing. Every sport is different, and I do my best to find the uniqueness of each sport and find a way to capture that in a different way, whether it be a motion capture, a wide angle shot or something else.

What are your go-to’s in terms of cameras, lenses, settings, tools, accessories, etc.?

I spent most of the time using the Canon R1 camera and the new RF 100-300mm lens. This combination proved invaluable at these Games. I don’t have a go-to for settings since each sport is so different.

How much influence do the photographers at the Olympics have with the Photo Manager in terms of where you can shoot, lighting issues, etc.?

We have almost no influence over the photo positions or just about anything else at the Olympics. It is very locked down, both from a security perspective and the fact that everything is geared for TV and they don’t want us getting in the way.

What do you look for during the actual competition?

I look for that peak of action when athlete is doing something really spectacular AND I also look for when they are in the best position for a photo. I like to have the Olympic Rings or logos in the background to tell the story of where I am.

What makes a great shot in your opinion?

There are so many things to come into play to create a great photo. As I mentioned before, it could be the athlete doing something amazing, it could be where I am to capture that moment, the choice of lens I happened to be using, the camera settings I am using. I try to plan out my shots as best as possible, but sometimes there is also a bit of luck involved to have it all work out.

What were your top 3 highlights and lowlights of your experience this time at the Olympics?

Let me start with the lowlights. I thought that both the Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony were terrible. They were definitely made for television, but as a photographer on site to capture those ceremonies, they were horrible. As for the highlights, I loved capturing Simone Biles in action, being right against the fence to photograph the horses in Versailles, and when the men of USA Water Polo won an unexpected Bronze Medal (and I got to experience that with them – and wear a medal too).

Were you surprised by anything at this year’s games?

I was surprised at how physical the games were this year. Not for the athletes (which is expected) but for us photographers. We had to walk way more than normal and climb endless stairs with all of

Did you have a favorite sport to shoot?

I love capturing all sports at the Olympics, but I definitely had a favorite venue. I loved the beach volleyball venue which was right up against the Eiffel Tower. Amazing!

Has much changed over time as you’ve photographed several Olympics? What takeaways do you have from this Olympics vs. years’ past?

The deadlines have changed so much over the years. Now with social media and faster internet connections, the client wants the images almost immediately.

If you could give a new photographer only one piece of advice for shooting at the Olympics, what would that be?

Be prepared for anything. Photographing the Olympics is a crazy experience where we work very long hours and on very little sleep. Along the journey, we run into countless restrictions, road closures, venue changes, new rules, and you have to be ready for that.

In your blog, you noted you had 15 minutes from the time you took a shot to when you got the images back to the team. Walk us through that process (photo selection, editing, etc.).

It goes something like this:

• Run back from the pool deck to the media room
• Download images from memory card to my MacBook Pro
• Cull through the images in Photo Mechanic (marking my favorites)
• Retouch (adjusting exposure, crop) my favorites
• Resize the images to 2000 pixels (which the team prefers)
• Copy those images to the content manager of the team
• Delete all duplicates and out of focus images

Were there any new cameras/lenses/tools that you used at the games that you now want to have in your own collection?

The Canon R1 and Canon R5 Mark II (and these are already on order). The new Canon RF 100-300mm which I now own. The only other product I used that I do not have is the Canon RF 10-20mm lens. That was cool. I need one of those!

You logged a lot of walking miles during your time in Paris. Were you prepared to do that much walking? If you knew then what you know now, would you do anything differently? (lightweight equipment, clothing, etc.)

I knew I would be walking a lot but did not expect all the stairs. I walk between 7-10 miles every day at home, so I am prepared for this.

Is there a shot you feel captured the spirit of the games this year? Or a favorite shot(s)?

Definitely the sunset shot from the beach volleyball venue. It shows Paris at its finest.

Was there a shot you feel you might have missed?

Too many to mention! I never once made it to the USA men’s basketball (due to conflicts with other commitments) and that still bugs me.

Final comments about your time shooting the Olympics in Paris?

Like every Olympics, it was exhausting but fun. The pace is crazy but having the chance to experience my 8th Olympics is still unbelievable to me. I came away with some really nice photos and I got to share my experience with the world. With more than 700,000 readers on my blog, it was fun to give them the behind-the-scenes of this worldwide event.

About the author – Jeff Cable