Gym life, results through hard work

The Gym

As a person into their fitness there is nothing quite like the atmosphere of the gym, the characters, raging testosterone, the natural flirtation, the equipment, motivation and enthusiasm from all involved. The gym is home to serious trainers and also people just trying to improve their overall health, I love to see people training people of all shapes and sizes and people getting off their coach and developing themselves. Over weight people should not fear the gym, don’t feel like you are being judged because majority of individuals are only concentrating on themselves, I personally love to see a + size person come and stick to the gym and see how they develop.

Photography opportunity

I was provided with an opportunity to capture some very willing models in this case Physical Trainers (PT’s), at The Gym, Hall Road, Norwich, Norfolk, UK this allowed me a platform to experiment, socialise and practice my art. The PT’s discussed with me how they have always wanted some decent photos of themselves for their own personal benefit and also their business. I really enjoyed the evening and working with the individuals, they all have great physiques and clearly passionate for fitness and improving others. Below are some of the photos captured with more to come.

Model: Reuben Le Roy

Model: Liam Smith

Photography Tips:

First bit of advice I can offer is to get yourself in the gym and offer a free shooting opportunity, or if you know someone who trains at the gym see if you can organize an event through them. You will be very surprised to find a lot of eager and willing participants, after all who doesn’t love a freebie? You need to be very careful about people training in the gym who do not want to be captured or have a flash gun shooting in their faces, respect the environment and people involved. You need patience when shooting in a gym, you have to wait for the equipment to be free and work around your model. I recommend using a decent prime lens like the Sigma Art series, as you will get the sharpest image and you will be moving around a lot anyway, use a lens that is fast such as an f1.4 \ 2.8 and shoot at high frame rates like 1/1000. Take a flash gun even in indoor lit environments as there will be sections of the building that are not that great for light. Remember to take a spare battery especially if you are using ‘burst’ mode as this will eat through your battery life.

Have fun with your model and don’t try to rush the shot, take your time get in early and scope out the place look for hot areas to shoot. Depending on your model, gym photography is best near the end of a rep workout when the individual is pumped and ripped, however, it depends on what you are looking for.

Creative Edit: Terminator effect