The summer Olympic Games in Rio are just weeks away. Many of you are already submitting Olympic photography content and I’m sure many more of you are planning shoots in the lead up over the next two weeks and at The Games.
There are many copyright rules and regulations that surround the Olympics, some of you will already be aware of these as we heard from the International Olympics Committee (IOC) in 2014 and had to remove some images from being on sale (where official accreditation wasn’t granted). Because of this, I wanted to offer you some tips on shooting and submitting your Olympic content to Alamy.
No accreditation?
If you’ve got tickets to watch an Olympic event where official accreditation is required (but you don’t have it) then by all means, take all the photographs you can but please don’t submit them to us. This would be breaching the terms of entry on your ticket and you could open yourself up to potential legal issues. You can take photographs for personal, private, non-commercial and non-promotional purposes only.
If you don’t have an accreditation, don’t feel left out. There are plenty of opportunities to take great pictures and make sales without being on Olympic property.
Go and watch an outside, non-ticketed event like the marathon, you don’t need official press accreditation so we’d love to see this content uploaded to the Live News Feed (within 24 hours -the sooner the better!). Make sure you arrive to your event early and plan where you want to be – the free spaces will fill up quickly. Venues open 2 hours before competition starts, think about getting to your pre-planned public spot at least that early. Check out more tips below in my top tips section.
Many of the Olympic shots you’ll find used in print (particularly newspapers) show surrounding situations and not the actual Games, which you also won’t need accreditation to shoot for so think about looking for:
- Shots of people queuing to get into the Olympic Park
- Hoards of people waiting for trains on their way to the games
- Travel chaos in and around Rio
- Weather shots showing the key areas are always popular
- Atmospheric shots of what’s going on, people waving flags, cheering etc
- Any kind of quirky fancy dress (yes, it does happen!)
- After the competition look for medalists out in the city enjoying a dance and party while wearing their medals
- Keep an eye out for celebrities, politicians and royals. The games brings the A-listers out
- Overhead shots sell. You don’t have to have a helicopter. Look for higher vantage points, balconies, bridges or rooftops to show the crowds below. Remember always get permission from the owners or building managers
- News events: with every games there come a number of protests and demonstrations. Media outlets are looking for this “anti-game” coverage as well
Got accreditation?Â
You’re one of the few who got the elusive accreditation, congratulations! You’ve got a busy few weeks ahead of you. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Don’t stop when the action is over
Some of the best pictures are the reactions from the athletes, their families, audience members and yes, even the press… who can forget Usain Bolt borrowing the photographer’s camera and taking pictures of his team mates and stadium at the finish line?
Get a unique shot
Get a different angle. While the finish line is that ‘perfect’ spot, sometimes getting the photograph that no one else has is the one that gets picked up by the international media.
Photograph lesser sports
Everyone thinks about athletics, gymnastics and swimming when they think of the Olympic Games. But you can get some amazing images from Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Tennis and Sailing… all of which Team GB does really well at and the UK Nationals in particular will be looking for GB medal winners in all of these sports.
Top Tips for your Olympic shoots – these tips will be useful if you’re shooting off Olympic property at a free event or if you have official IOC accreditation:
Planning is key
Think about what your main aim for The Games is and then make your plan of action; which events are you attending and at what times and where do you need to be? Print out competitors names and race numbers ahead of time to help you caption when you’re filing your pictures.
Think about the background and light
A monumental background or simple clean spot could make your picture. Visit the area the day before at the same time as when the competition is taking place to ensure the lighting doesn’t let you down. Alternatively a dramatic silhouette could be just what makes the picture.
Pre-write your captions
Take the time while you’re waiting to write your captions, leaving details like competitor names to be added once you have your photos. A program like  is perfect for this kind of speedy captioning.
File straight away
Forget about celebrating after the race. There’s a lot of competition so you have to be quick. Edit, caption and send your pictures in to us straight after you have taken them and limit what you send to your best shots only, you can send the rest later. Try to do it from on site, but if network service is poor, find a hotel or restaurant where you can use the WiFi. You might have to buy a couple of hours, but it’s worth it to be the first to get your images in. Then you can relax and celebrate.
Remember to add ‘editorial only’ restrictions if your image is of a any Olympic event (whether it’s a free event or you’re an officially accredited photographer). Any image that contains anything Olympic related needs to be restricted for this. You can do this in Manage Images.
I hope you find this helpful. If you’ve got any tips yourself that I’ve not mentioned, feel free to share them in the comments below.