Behind the Scenes: NLXF's Hyrox Sim Event Recap
Some projects are a quick in and out. Others take real planning before you ever pick up a camera. Covering NLXF's Hyrox Sim event in Des Moines was the second kind, and it's a good example of what actually goes into event coverage for a local business.
The Planning Phase
Before the event, I sat down with Ryan from NLXF to walk through a shot list. Hyrox events move fast and cover a lot of ground, so having a plan going in made a real difference on the day. A few things we made sure to capture:
The finish arch, complete with NLXF's branding & sponsors
Vendor booths outside the event
The warmup and stretching zone before things kicked off
All 8 HYROX stations, each with its own kind of intensity
A fundraising zone supporting Barry
A wall quote that summed up the whole event: "No one trains harder"
Having this list going in meant I wasn't scrambling to figure out what mattered most in the moment. I could focus on execution instead of decision making, which matters a lot when the action doesn't pause for you to catch up.
An athlete pushing up from a burpee broad jump, with NLXF's "No One Trains Harder" wall quote setting the tone for the day.
Shoot Day
HYROX events are physical, loud, and constantly moving. Between the 8 stations, the crowd energy, and the fundraising element woven throughout, there was a lot happening at once. My job was to move through all of it, camera ready, capturing both the big moments and the small ones, a competitor's face mid effort, a coach cheering someone on, the quiet focus at the stretching zone before the chaos began.
The sled push doesn't care how experienced you are. Effort like this is what Hyrox is all about.
By the end of the day, I walked away with over 150+ edited images, including a set edited in black and white to give some of the grittier, more intense moments a different kind of weight.
A brief pause mid lunge, edited in black and white to match the intensity of the moment.
The Editing Process
Photos from an event like this move relatively quickly through editing, especially once a consistent color and style are dialed in. Video is a different story. A recap video isn't just trimming clips together, it's building a sequence that actually tells the story of the day: the buildup, the effort, the finish line moments that make people want to come back next time. That kind of pacing and sequencing takes real time to get right, and it's one of the reasons event recap videos are priced differently than a quick single location clip.
What NLXF Can Do With It Now
The real value of a project like this isn't just having nice photos and video, it's having content NLXF can actually put to work. A strong recap video gives them something to promote their next event with, and a library of 150+ photos gives them plenty to pull from for social media, email marketing, or their website for months to come.
The Barry Strong Zone brought the community together to support Officer Barry and his family.
Thinking About Event Coverage for Your Business?
Whether it's a fitness event, a community fundraiser, or a grand opening, this kind of coverage gives local businesses real content to work with long after the event wraps up. If you're planning something and want it captured well, I'd love to talk through what that could look like.
View Services & Pricing or get in touch to start planning your coverage.
