When you decide you want to do a fitness photography session, you are wanting to showcase all the hard work you have put into your body. But there are a lot of things to keep in mind when you are prepping for a session. Here is a check list to help you prepare.
Wax, shave whatever, but make sure you are smooth and ready. If you are male and you are wanting the hair then obviously this does not apply to you.
- Moisturize, and I mean the whole week up until the session! One thing I have seen commonly with fitness sessions is dry skin. Some of it is fixed if we are using lotion or baby oil in the studio, but you can still tell if the skin has been dry for too long.
Get your pump on but do not workout too much, you will be holding poses and it is more of a workout than you think.
Do not eat bloating foods before the session. I know this seems like it would be obvious, but it is better said and not needed than needed and not said.
Some people choose to deplete water before the session. This is fine but don’t go so far that your energy sapped. That makes the session no fun for you or the photographer.
Bring any extra props you are wanting to use.
Bring your toothbrush! Just in case you need to give them a good shine.
Bring some jewelry if you normally wear some. But bring a variety of shapes, sizes and colors so the photographer can see what works best.
If you want to wear glasses in your image, then bring a pair with the lens popped out! When they have the lenses in them they can be a pain to deal with the glare.
Bring your hair brush or curling iron in case hair needs to be touched up.
Do a scrub on your lips if you have any dry skin there. You can even do this with a toothbrush.
Pluck anything you don’t want in the image. Now depending on the photographer we can edit a lot out, but it is better to just be prepared. Pluck eyebrows, lip or chin hair etc.
For men, shave the day of and as close to the session as possible. If you want a clean shaven look take the time to make sure you get everything.
Keep it matte! Do not put shinny eye shadow or blush on. It may look good in person but it may add shine where we do not want it. Keep your make up neutral as well. Now this also depends on the predetermined style of the session, but this is a good general rule.
Bring your make up with you for touch ups, and if possible bring multiple colors of lip stick. Sometimes the really bright or too toned down colors do not look great in the image so you will want to be able to change it.
Do not cake on your foundation. Normal foundation and powder is great, but don’t cake it because you are broken out, Most photographers will edit out the blemishes anyway. We want the foundation just to do a general evening and overall smoothing of the skin, the rest is done in editing.
There ya go, some basics to make sure you get the best out of your session!