As runners I we are all excited when we see that a race we are running will have a photographer. It is great to be able to have our photographs taken while we do something we love. We don’t have to try to take selfies for this one. We will have memories created for us of this achievement. It’s a nice feeling.

We wait patiently or perhaps impatiently for the photos to go live. We scroll through the photos looking for images of ourselves. We want to see how we look. We want to see that nice race day photo. And for many of us we don’t see that “good” race photo. We see the photographs of us running the race and for one reason or another it never looks like we imagined it would look or it doesn’t look as nice as we want it to.

I have complained just like everyone else that I don’t like the way I look in that race photo, or in photos in general. I am pretty sure that I even posted a photo on Instagram that I captioned “This is the one race photo I actually like”, or something to that effect. We look at our photos and we judge and we evaluate. It is just how we are wired. But I would like to take this opportunity to dispell the myth of the “good” race photo.

As both a runner and a photographer I think I might have a different perspective. One that I am trying to embrace more wholeheartedly. I believe it in my mind and soul, but it is harder to apply it to myself as are most things in life.

As a runner I run because I love it, but I had to learn to love it. It takes effort and practice and time. A race day photo should reflect those things. A race day photo is not a posed glamour shot. It is a photo of us doing that thing we love. That thing that we do that not everyone else can or is willing to do. Running requires commitment, perseverance, and determination and the photographs of us should show those things. It’s not easy and its not going to look easy in the photos. When we look at our photographs and we critique ourselves because we aren’t smiling, or we have this ugly facial expression, or we are in an awkward position, and on and on forever goes the list of reasons to be disappointed in the photos, we are relinquishing the strength that makes us runners. This photograph is you getting up and out there. Doing what others don’t do. Let the photograph stand for what it really is. Let the photograph stand for all the hard work you have put into the race. You ran that race and you put in the work and here is the proof in that photograph.

Things that are hard, things that are difficult, things that are challenging often don’t look “good” until the finished product is put on display. You will have time to laugh and smile and high five for pictures when you have completed your race. When you are running you are putting in the work. You are taking on the challenge. Wear that grimace with pride at what you are achieving. You certainly have earned it.

As a photographer photographing a race I have a different perspective on what makes a “good” photograph than others might. When I photograph a race I am not necessarily looking for a posed photo, its not what I am looking for in most of my photography. It’s just not my style photographically. If you see me on the course and you want to wave or pose or anything you want to do I am more than happy to oblige, it is your photograph I am creating and I want you, the runner, to be happy with it. But there is a deeper meaning in the photographs I take.

I grew up loving sports and that love of sports manifested itself in collecting baseball cards. One aspect I loved in collecting the baseball cards was the photography itself. The ability to capture an athlete performing. I loved the artistry of it. I loved more than just the photos of my favorite players I loved the cool photographs that occur during a sporting event that you will not find anywhere else. I loved the black and white posed portraits and I loved the mid action shots of the baseball hitting the bat. But if there is one thing you notice when you collect baseball cards and study the photos it is that in the action shots none of those athletes are smiling. The athletes look intense. They are focused. They are locked in. They often have a grimace on their faces.

Look at a photograph of a pitcher as they are in the middle of throwing a pitch as their arm is coming towards home plate. You can usually see their face. Thy often have some of the most awkward looking expressions on their faces and that is because they are doing what they have worked hard to do and they are not worrying about anything else. It is an expression of pure intensity and effort. As a photographer at a race this is what I am looking to capture.

Don’t get me wrong I am not saying that you have to be a professional level athlete to have this expression or that I am only trying to capture professional level photos. If you are out there and you are competing at any level from race winner to DFL and you are bringing it. If you are putting forth your best effort then you are the athlete I am looking for. You are what makes a good race photo. I want to see the blood, sweat, and tears that make our sport. Those are the things we should be celebrate.

Celebrate the effort. Celebrate the hard work. Celebrate the dedication and commitment. Most importantly celebrate what those things look like when they are photographed and be proud of your race day photograph.