As the photographer for BodyBuilding.com, one of the things I get asked all the time is... What is it like to sit up front and center at a big show like the Arnold? Well it is like this....
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Behind The Scenes - Fighting Over A Bikini!
This seems to be a really popular ad for BodyBuilding.com running in many magazines over a couple of months now. And it is one that I have been receiving requests about the behind the scenes as to how it came to be.
Like so many ads this began as part of a discussion as a need to put together something different specifically for the women’s magazines such as Oxygen and Muscle & Fitness Hers. We have been looking to make ads more fun because we know that we are all hit with so many ads on a daily basis that it would be nice to be more entertained by them. During our discussions the concept for this ad emerged. And one of the first things is to plan it with rough sketches from the art department at BodyBuilding.com.
Then it is up to me to plan the actual shoot, find a location, cast for my models, arrange for props and wardrobe, the right lighting equipment, and even arrange the permits and insurance for the location. The date is set and in between a lot of discussion and thought. And it all must fit within a production budget. The day comes, everyone from the models to assistants arrive and we start.
Now you just can’t put a bunch of people in a location and take pretty pictures, it won’t happen. Here one of the models and my good friend, Cara, stands in the area we will shoot so we can see what we have for lighting. The first thing to see is that it is too dark, very uneven and will be prone to a lot of shadowing. We wanted some bright colors for this so light would be a very important factor. So what is a fairly small area required a rather substantial amount of lighting gear in lots of locations and different angles, above, below, behind and to the sides. Once we got set up, it was off to shooting.
Here it gets tough because I needed four girls to fight over a bikini for hours. They got warmed up and it wasn’t before long when they started to have just too much fun. And they get paid for this.
And I had to personally get down and dirty to show them one of the scenes I was looking for. My good friend Shaela was more than happy to push me around in the interest of getting the job done.
I had the girls alternate on the floor, in pushing and fighting positions. Yes they continued to have a ball. Oh well, my shoots are pretty well know for being a lot of fun for the models.
We did draw a pretty good crowd outside watching the goings on inside the store. We were right on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California on a warm sunny day. And the store owner and the employees got to watch a great show. In the end it all worked out just great.
My models pushed and shoved, pulled hair and grabbed at arms and legs. But they had nothing but fun and left good friends. Two of the models I had worked with before and known for a few years. One model I had known but had not worked with and one was brand new with me but she fit right in. From left to right we have Cara Basso, Hannah Gordon, Lauren Elaine and Shaela Luter. Cara is an accomplished actress, dancer and a very well known yoga and health instructor. Hannah you might remember as the very popular hostess from the FitShow. Lauren Elaine is a very successful model and actress having appeared in many ads and music videos. And Shaela has been in many magazine layouts in the bodybuilding and fitness business as well as many exercise videos. They were all great, we had a lot of fun, they will always remain my friends. And we put together a fun shoot and a fun ad.
Thanks for visiting and keep coming back for more!
Like so many ads this began as part of a discussion as a need to put together something different specifically for the women’s magazines such as Oxygen and Muscle & Fitness Hers. We have been looking to make ads more fun because we know that we are all hit with so many ads on a daily basis that it would be nice to be more entertained by them. During our discussions the concept for this ad emerged. And one of the first things is to plan it with rough sketches from the art department at BodyBuilding.com.
Then it is up to me to plan the actual shoot, find a location, cast for my models, arrange for props and wardrobe, the right lighting equipment, and even arrange the permits and insurance for the location. The date is set and in between a lot of discussion and thought. And it all must fit within a production budget. The day comes, everyone from the models to assistants arrive and we start.
Now you just can’t put a bunch of people in a location and take pretty pictures, it won’t happen. Here one of the models and my good friend, Cara, stands in the area we will shoot so we can see what we have for lighting. The first thing to see is that it is too dark, very uneven and will be prone to a lot of shadowing. We wanted some bright colors for this so light would be a very important factor. So what is a fairly small area required a rather substantial amount of lighting gear in lots of locations and different angles, above, below, behind and to the sides. Once we got set up, it was off to shooting.
Here it gets tough because I needed four girls to fight over a bikini for hours. They got warmed up and it wasn’t before long when they started to have just too much fun. And they get paid for this.
And I had to personally get down and dirty to show them one of the scenes I was looking for. My good friend Shaela was more than happy to push me around in the interest of getting the job done.
I had the girls alternate on the floor, in pushing and fighting positions. Yes they continued to have a ball. Oh well, my shoots are pretty well know for being a lot of fun for the models.
We did draw a pretty good crowd outside watching the goings on inside the store. We were right on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, California on a warm sunny day. And the store owner and the employees got to watch a great show. In the end it all worked out just great.
My models pushed and shoved, pulled hair and grabbed at arms and legs. But they had nothing but fun and left good friends. Two of the models I had worked with before and known for a few years. One model I had known but had not worked with and one was brand new with me but she fit right in. From left to right we have Cara Basso, Hannah Gordon, Lauren Elaine and Shaela Luter. Cara is an accomplished actress, dancer and a very well known yoga and health instructor. Hannah you might remember as the very popular hostess from the FitShow. Lauren Elaine is a very successful model and actress having appeared in many ads and music videos. And Shaela has been in many magazine layouts in the bodybuilding and fitness business as well as many exercise videos. They were all great, we had a lot of fun, they will always remain my friends. And we put together a fun shoot and a fun ad.
Thanks for visiting and keep coming back for more!
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Boise Fitness Expo 2007
I just returned from Boise Idaho and among the many thing I did was to shoot the Boise Fitness Expo for BodyBuilding.com, the largest bodybuilding and fitness resource in the world. Held in downtown Boise, the Expo is entirely put on for free by BodyBuilding.com to say thank you for all of the support from the people of Boise where BodyBuilding.com is headquartered.
Over 1200 people filled the Expo to capacity and as many as 2000 or more came through during the evening. They were treated to free gifts from the supplement companies, guest posing by the top bodybuilders in the country including Mr. Olympia 2006, Jay Cutler, famous personalities like cover model Jamie Eason and a never ending exciting level of entertainment. It was great fun!
Over 1200 people filled the Expo to capacity and as many as 2000 or more came through during the evening. They were treated to free gifts from the supplement companies, guest posing by the top bodybuilders in the country including Mr. Olympia 2006, Jay Cutler, famous personalities like cover model Jamie Eason and a never ending exciting level of entertainment. It was great fun!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
BodyBuilding.com Wallpaper
BodyBuilding.com is not only the largest bodybuilding and fitness resource in the world but also the leader in cutting edge free content on the internet. Over one year ago, BodyBuilding.com started providing free weekly wallpaper downloads of the top people in the sport. These wallpapers are designed from photographs shot by SecondFocus at major bodybuilding competitions, on location and in the studio. This is a compilation to date of some of those wallpapers.
BodyBuilding.com continues to develop new concepts of free and entertaining online content for the fans of bodybuilding, fitness and a fit lifestyle. And SecondFocus is more than proud to be a part of that creative team now expanding into multimedia and video.
And a special thanks to the creative team at BodyBuilding.com. And thank you to RoyaltyFreeMusic.com for the soundtrack. Stay tuned for more!
BodyBuilding.com continues to develop new concepts of free and entertaining online content for the fans of bodybuilding, fitness and a fit lifestyle. And SecondFocus is more than proud to be a part of that creative team now expanding into multimedia and video.
And a special thanks to the creative team at BodyBuilding.com. And thank you to RoyaltyFreeMusic.com for the soundtrack. Stay tuned for more!
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