10 Tips To Improve Your Fitness Photography.
DATE: 14TH SEPTEMBER
Fitness Photography
Okay, so you wish to be a fitness photographer?
Well have a think, how can I improve my own process?
Well keep reading this blog and attempt to use these set tips that I as a professional photographer keep to.
Talk and get to know your fitness client
The process to begin when shooting pictures for another person, is to chat and confirm their requirements. The only way that you will please your client is by building a relationship with them and starting to get to know their personality. Once learning about your client as a person, you will begin to plan and know how best to show them via your photographs.
Take test shots at the location of the shoot beforehand
At every opportunity, you should test lighting conditions at each new location. The reason that I advise this is so that you can learn and know which type of lighting to use within multiple lit locations. Most lighting conditions within a gym environment will be indicated as low light. So be aware that to the human eye the lighting will be appropriate, but for your camera to capture action and be exposed correctly, you will require a flashlight or strobe lighting.
Take a watch of this ‘YouTube video - Simple 2 lights setup – Behind-the-scenes CrossFit photoshoot This will give you an idea of lighting set-up, equipment, and professional ways to shoot a fitness photo.
Brainstorm shoot and pose ideas from the client’s requirements
Take a look at some examples of my own brainstorming process.
I like to look at what has already been taken and show these visual ideas to my client. I only complete these visual mood boards once I have spoken to the client about what they wish to get from the shoot.
These are three personal trainer mood boards that I formed to bounce off visual image ideas with a client.
You will be able to see that this client required three sets of images:
Equipment used by the trainer
Action/posed shots of the personal trainer
Action shots with personal trainers students.
Shoot at a simple location to capture fitness moves
When visiting the location for the photography shoot, you need to check what items are around the area and you may even wish to re-position yourself so that you see the environment from different viewpoints. One thing to remember, when taking a posed or action photograph, you need to compose the images and the best composition technique to use is the rules of thirds, so that you are positioning the main focus of the photograph to the left or right of the frame.
One issue is clutter in a gym room, so look around for positions and tidy up any equipment that doesn’t need to be in the photo.
REMEMBER - THE PERSON IS THE MAIN FOCUS.
Example of the rule of thirds grid upon a photograph I have taken
Use a large aperture to blur out the background
This option is the best process when photographing a person or if you want the main object to stand out from the background.
Try shooting through and framing your images
Have you heard of the composition technique called farming?
Well, this is a method where you deliberately use items to frame around the outside of each photograph taken. This is a useful and creative method to use when documenting or capturing action.
‘Framing refers to using elements of a scene to create a frame within your frame.’
Now please consider that framing can be used, by shooting through physical objects or framing can be used when you have a blurred object around the outside or corner of your composition.
Shoot near the window to capture more flattering lighting
When you are at home and the sun is shining, take a moment to look at the light that floods in through the window of your home. This will answer the question of why shooting near a window is such a lovely lighting source. The natural light from a window is used for a variety of different photography types. The flood of light from a window can be defused via netting and this gives gentle lighting, with soft tones.
Take a look at these examples
Okay, these next two tips to consider are to help promote and show clear details per client and show the set fitness practice that they are selling.
Focus on Details to Emphasise the Athlete’s Strength
Use set props to enhance your images
The last thing is to consider the editing process and some gym or fitness professionals like to use a technique called selective colouring, which is when you amend the colours in the photograph and enhance set colours or pick two or more colours to be used in the photograph.
Edit with selective colourings.
‘Selective Coloring is a tool used in Photoshop that allows you to cross blend your individual colour channels using sliders within Photoshop. ‘
Take a look at these two examples of how you can edit your images and use selective colourings.
In this photograph, the editing has enhanced the colour of the red fitness equipment and the skin tone.
This photograph shows a colour splash editing process where the images are black & white except the vest top.
Take a look at this YouTube video, that shows a simple selective colour process, that I have referred to as a colour splash, as you only keep parts of the photograph in colour.
I do hope that this blog has been helpful and that you have learned some new things to consider and use for your own photography. My next blog with being related to tips on taking property photographs. If you would like to have more information and learn more, then please give me some blog suggestions in the comments below
If you would like to know more about photography and what the terms mean then please follow this link to find out more
35 Common Photography Terms You Should Know
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