--- description: Photographer Robbie Lawrence traveled to Paris for TIME to capture the beauty and movement of Olympic sports. title: Inside Photographing the 2024 Paris Olympics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdd6b000c0690569/698a59a6d07533a061e71149/paris-olympics-photos-2024-013.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Inside Photographing the 2024 Paris Olympics Aug 6, 2024 9:24 PM CUT  Men's triathlon swimming, Pont Alexandre III, July 31, 2024. Men's triathlon swimming, Pont Alexandre III, July 31, 2024.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  by [Kim Bubello](/author/kim-bubello/)  ## Kim Bubello Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 6, 2024 9:24 PM CUT Every few years as we settle in at home to immerse ourselves in the spectacle of the Olympics, we often forget the luxury we have to be able to witness it all at once. For journalists on the ground there is almost too much to conquer. Teams of reporters and [photographers](https://time.com/7006123/paris-olympics-best-photographs/ "undefined") flock to the city to attempt to bring you every sport in a multitude of mediums. This year, photographer Robbie Lawrence traveled to Paris for TIME to capture the beauty and movement of athletics, and while his photographic approach could make almost any sport come alive, it is too much for one person to capture. “When I initially made the list of events I wanted to cover each day I imagined dodging between the likes of swimming, to dressage, to volleyball seamlessly, but realized very quickly that my ambitions were rather naïve,” says Lawrence, following his first week at the Olympics. “The events spread from the city’s regal center to Saint-Denis in the north to the great estate of Versailles in the west. Photographers spend just over two weeks charging from venue to venue, attempting to squeeze every visual opportunity from this vast array of performances.”  USA's Simone Biles and Hezly Rivera, artistic gymnastics qualification round, July 28.Robbie Lawrence for TIME Many would think as an artist having your pick of events and locations would make the job easy—choose your favorites or the most popular. But, oftentimes they can find themselves fearing that if they go with one thing, they are missing out on the other. “After a fairly tortuous few days in which I experienced a perpetual state of fear of missing out, I eventually settled into a bit of a rhythm which allowed me to remember why I initially wanted to cover the Olympics,” says Lawrence. When speaking about his influence and initial desire to capture an event like the Olympics, Lawrence says “I have always loved the likes of William Klein’s [‘The French’ and Ichikawas](https://olympics.com/en/news/relive-kon-ichikawa-s-iconic-film-about-the-1964-games "undefined")’ ‘[Tokyo Olympiad](https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210722-tokyo-olympiad-the-greatest-film-about-sport-ever-made "undefined")’ because they looked beyond the sport and tapped into the human experience of these tournaments. Both directors focus on the attitude of the crowd as well as the athletes, providing a holistic sense of the emotional atmosphere." In the days following his arrival, Lawrence spent time immersed in the emotion of the Games—capturing images inches away from Simone Biles and Team USA preparing for their routines, or catching the moment that French President Emmuael Macron embraced French rugby star Antoine Dupont. “I have found myself drawn to that proximity – the closeness to the tension between joy and despair,” says Lawrence, “fundamentally that is what the Olympics is – years of training and emotional labor – hinged on a few seconds.”  Men's 1500m, Stade de France track, Aug. 3.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA rugby’s Perry Baker, Men's 7th-8th place match between Argentina and USA, July 27.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Dressage, Château de Versailles, July 30.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA's artistic swimming team during warm-ups, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA’s Lebron James, men's quarterfinal basketball between USA and Brazil, Aug. 6.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Brazil's Rebeca Andrade, artistic gymnastics finals, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Men's 50m Freestyle Final, Paris La Defense Arena, Aug. 2.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Czechia's Petra Kurikova, women's individual triathlon, July 31.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA's Simone Biles, artistic gymnastics finals, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Great Britain's Tom Daley, men's diving, July 29; Kevin Berlin Reyes and Randal Willars Valdez of Mexico, men's synchronised diving 10m final, July 29.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA's Kenneth Bednarek, men's 200m round one heat four, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Men's synchronised diving, in Saint-Denis, July 29; Women's water polo, July 31Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Men's individual triathlon, July 31.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA's Sha'Carri Richardson before the women's 100m final, Aug. 3.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  China's Pang Qianyu wrestles Sweden's Emma Jonna Malmgren, women's freestyle 53kg wrestling quarter-final match, Aug. 7.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Serbia's Novak Djokovic against Spain's Rafael Nadal in the men's tennis singles second round match, July 29.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Women’s 100m semi-final, Aug. 3Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Artistic gymnastics finals warm-ups, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  French President Emmanuel Macron and French rugby player Antoine Dupont celebrate winning gold in the rugby final, July 27.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Artistic swimming warm-ups, Aug. 5.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Anzhela Bladtceva of Team Individual Neutral Athletes, women's trampoline gymnastics final, Aug. 2.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  USA's Sha'Carri Richardson, women's 100m semi-final, and Noah Lyles, men's 100m round one, Aug. 3.Simone Biles  Men's swimming, Aug. 2.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Members of Team USA in the men’s four final rowing competition, Aug 1.Robbie Lawrence for TIME  Men's individual triathalon, swimming in the Seine river, July 31.Robbie Lawrence for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7008376/2024-paris-olympics-photography/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7008376/2024-paris-olympics-photography/"},"headline":"Inside Photographing the 2024 Paris Olympics","datePublished":"2024-08-06T21:24:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:40.602Z","description":"Photographer Robbie Lawrence traveled to Paris for TIME to capture the beauty and movement of Olympic sports.","url":"https://time.com/7008376/2024-paris-olympics-photography/","keywords":["LightBox","photography","News desk edits","2024 Paris Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kim Bubello","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kim-bubello/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7008376/2024-paris-olympics-photography/","name":"Inside Photographing the 2024 Paris Olympics"}}]}] ```