How a robot is helping photographers take the perfect underwater shot at the Olympics

There’s a majestic quality about underwater photography that is incredible to look at, especially out of this year’s Olympics games in Rio. To capture the moment, Getty Images is employing the help of a robot to guide them to the perfect shot.

Sports photographer Al Bello has shot 11 Olympic games, but 2016 is the first year he’s using a robot to help photograph aquatic events, including swimming, diving, and synchronized diving. Traditionally, photographers would set up a static remote camera and push the trigger when they’re ready to take the shot. This required framing the image ahead of time and hoping the timing works out right.

Bello and Getty’s use of the robot will help them look across the pool to zoom, tilt, and rotate the camera – a Canon 1D X Mark II – to frame the shot as the event takes place or during media sessions. Controlled by a remote, Bello can snap the shot at the opportune moment. This method was previously used by Reuters back in the 2012 Olympics in London.

“The robots are just another tool for me to get better photos,” Bello told CNN Money. “A robot doesn’t think on its own or come up with ideas. But it can help us get photos more efficiently than ever before.”

You can see more of the Olympic shots from Getty at a new micro-site launched specifically for the Summer Games, or watch the short video below to see more on the robot Getty’s using.