Fitness shoot for The Village Hotel, Leeds North

On Monday, I headed to Leeds, West Yorkshire, to The Village Hotel in Headingly. I was excited and nervous about the shoot as this was a new client, and I wanted to impress. I had been given a quick brief, so I had some idea of what the shoot would entail.

Have a plan but be prepared to change

The brief was to create pictures of the new fitness equipment they had invested in. As a people photographer, I always try to incorporate people. A machine is just a thing, but when you show someone using it, it takes on a new life and is much more interesting.

Be realistic

In an ideal world, I would walk into an empty, pristine gym and have the freedom of where to shoot, be able to set up loads of lighting and create some fantastic pictures.

In the real world, though, I walked into a busy gym with many members working out and very little space to work with, but I like a challenge.

Start somewhere

A new client which I want to impress, a packed gym and equipment to photograph but no worries. I chatted with the staff working there, and they were only too happy to help. One of the pieces of equipment was a barrow. You put weights on and push or pull it, similar to a prowler but on wheels. This was a great way to see if the staff members were up for the challenge, and within a few seconds, I knew we would be fine.

Revert to my past

In my past life, I was a gym instructor, so I turned into gym instructor mode and just asked them to do loads of different exercises which each piece of the new equipment. I love photoshoots like this, as everyone works as a team to create fab pictures. The hardest thing about the shoot was working around all the gym members. When doing a shoot like this, I will never ask a public member to move; they have priority, and it’s important to remember this.

Goal

My goal from this shoot was to create fabulous pictures to ensure that I looked after my client. I ensured that I delivered a good amount of photos and a good variety of images for them to use. My ultimate goal was to build a relationship with the new client, which resulted in a fantastic result.

If you would like me to capture some pictures with personality, then please get in touch with me at john@johnsteelphotography.com