I did this shoot with Shaylyn, a fitness blogger here in Spokane. You can check out her instagram @fitmess_mommy. She wanted to get some shots for the new year, and I am always up for doing a photo shoot, so when she reached out about it I was totally down.
It’s freezing in Spokane right now! I don’t have studio space and I’m fairly new to the area still, so I asked Shaylyn if she knew of an indoor location we might be able to use. She suggested a local yoga studio, so I called ahead to get permission to use the space but couldn’t get through. I didn’t want to show up with camera and gear in tow only to find out it wasn’t available, so I went down there and spoke to them directly. They said it would be fine—it’s really cool how nice most people are about letting photographers shoot on their property.
Unfortunately, all my professional pre-planning didn’t quite work. When I went to the yoga studio to meet Shaylyn, she wasn’t there. Turns out I had gone to the wrong part of the building when I asked for permission to use the space. I ended up going upstairs to find Shaylyn, and by a huge stroke of luck, the studio owner had randomly stopped by at that exact moment. Even though it was last-minute, I explained the situation and she graciously agreed to let us in so we could do our fitness shoot. Total miracle!
Once we were actually in the studio, the shoot went great. Shaylyn and I clicked and had a great time working together. She was all prepped with lots of different exercise clothes, and had even brought baby oil to rub on herself so she would look sweaty. It was awesome to work with somebody who was so prepared and knew exactly what she was looking for—especially since I had never done a fitness photo shoot before
After we got all the photos we wanted we went back downstairs to the area I had originally asked to shoot in. There was a huge coffee roaster in the corner and the air smelled so good! Coffee is one of my favorite smells in the world. The yoga studio had worked out perfectly…but I wouldn’t have minded shooting in a spot where the rich aroma of coffee wafted through the air either!
We headed outside to get a few outdoor shots and spotted an old van parked on the side of the street. Since we were in downtown Spokane there was a good chance somebody was living in it, but if it was unoccupied it would make a great prop, so we strolled over nonchalantly and took a peek inside, trying to look casual. It was resident-free, so we snapped a few shots with it.
I’m really happy with the way our pictures turned out. Kind of hoping a Nike rep will stumble across them. I wouldn’t mind a sponsor like that!
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