World Athletics Tokyo Week 2: Medal Photography From the Mixed Zone 📸

Mid-tournament this week. Watching how broadcast and wire-service photographers handle medal photography in the Tokyo mixed zone teaches lessons applicable to any ceremony you produce.

Soft Side Light, Never Direct Flash

Direct on-camera flash bounces off any plated medal and washes out the relief. Instead, position one soft light source (window, softbox, or a white sheet diffusing window light) at 45 degrees from the side. The shadow it creates is what reveals the embossed detail.

Black or Deep-Color Backdrop

Newsrooms shoot Olympic and World Championship medals on black velvet for a reason — it absorbs spill light and makes the metal glow. A scrap of black fabric (~฿80 at any market) is the cheapest professional upgrade you can make to your own medal photography.