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Olympic Photos
Update: Joe has responded to his critics on the APF Correspondent page, written by Marlowe Hood. View the story here.
After looking at the work of US Olympic team photographer Joe Klamar’s portraits on a CBS news gallery, we were appalled. We know that studio space and time can be tight sometimes, but a pro can make the most of a bad situation. These Olympic photos have bad lighting, composition, angles and poses. We’d like to know why they were released. The background paper is ripped and limbs are cut off.
Klamar appears to be an AFP / Getty images contributor from Europe. Based on the work on his website, he appears to be a great photojournalist. However, there isn’t much lit portraiture on his website. Lighting athletes on a seamless backdrop with limited space and time is tough for any photographer. Experience matters.
Klamar’s photos were taken at a media summit. These sessions are also known as “photo day” or “media day” and can be best described as organized chaos. Remember photo day in high school? It’s like that, except there’s dozens of photographers in a small area. At a recent Yankees “photo day,” space was so limited that photographer Nick Laham had to set up in a bathroom… and you’d never know it.
Here are a few of Klamar’s images which have sparked outrage from photographers worldwide.
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Below is an example of what “photo day” looks like at the Yankees spring training camp in Tampa. There were many more photographers indoors in locker rooms, meeting rooms and other empty spaces. Hours before the athletes arrive, credentialed photographers from many media agencies set up flashes, stands and backgrounds inside and outside to make portraits of the team. The media agencies use the images throughout the year for news stories. Photographers have anywhere between 15 seconds and 2 minutes with each athlete.
This entry was posted in sports_photographer and tagged failure, horrible, Joe Klamar, Klamer, olympic, outrage, photographer, photography, photos, pictures, unacceptable. Bookmark the permalink. ← Bob Martin Photography ESPN Body Issue →
6 Responses to Olympic Photos
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mark hall says:
I would be ashamed to put my name on these photos
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This is what he could have done to make a bad situation better…IMHO.
http://harophotography.smugmug.com/Other/Before/i-Q685rNN/0/L/Joe-Klamar-Photo-L.jpg-
Really Michele, are there 61 stars in the U.S. flag?! I agree that he could have helped some of his portraits by opening up shadow detail in Photoshop but manipulating the content (adding stars) in post-production would have been unethical. Technically possible yes. Hard lighting set-ups are just not conducive to these super quick shoots because you really need time to fine tune your lighting for each subject and pose. As a newspaper photographer for 14 years, I’ve shot many of these media day events. With a safer lighting approach (light at 45 degree angle or fashion-oriented set-up with light just above subject’s face), he’d have time to concentrate on poses and not worry that half the subject’s face is in shadow.
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justin says:
I don’t care if he had only three minutes with each athlete, he HAD the gear in the room – as you can clearly see in the background of the photos” – he simply didn’t have the technique or talent to execute. Klamer’s portfolio consists mostly of paparazzi-style, red carpet photography in L.A….he was simply the wrong photographer for this assignment.
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CBS sports olympic portraits are a pathetic attempt at photography. Disgraceful. It’s been years since Joe McNally shot olympic athletes for Life and I’m still in awe. SHAME on CBS and SHAME on the photographer!
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