Fitness Photoshoot: Brandan and Amber

First of all, Happy New Year! :)  Again, as I did with Thanksgiving, I'm taking advantage of the fact that many people are bored at home today since most places aren't open.  :D  The goal of this ploy is to of course get more hits than usual today.  But I digress...

A few months ago I shot with famed fit couple Brandan Fokken and his lovely fiancee Amber Dawn Orton.  Actually, I shot with them at the same time I shot with my other client, Adam Bisek.  

This was not the first time I shot with Brandan; I first shot with him in the Fall of 2012.  Repeat clients are a great sign that I must be doing something right!  So Brandan wanted an update to his portfolio since it's important for his public image to have a steady stream of pictures for his followers.  This time he wanted to include the beautiful Amber, who has done well in competition, is also a sponsored athlete, and has a large following of her own.

I hope you enjoy my photos and process/settings below:

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 75mm/1.8 lens at f/2.0.
1/200 second, ISO 200.

The lighting diagram for the above shot.

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 75mm/1.8 lens at f/2.0.
1/200 second, ISO 200.

Strobist info: MAIN is softbox boomed high and slightly to the right. Slight FILL is a silver reflector, camera left.  RIM are gridded speedlights each side at the rear.  Background wall light is a gridded speedlight placed on the ground behind model and aimed up.

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 75mm/1.8 lens at f/2.0.
1/200 second, ISO 200.

Strobist info: (Same lighting setup as above).

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 75mm/1.8 lens at f/2.0.
1/160 second, ISO 200.

Strobist info: (same lighting setup as above)

Here is a behind the scenes shot of the photoshoot in progress.  Quite different looking when you add all the fancy lights, eh? That is my assistant's hand Alexis holding the Avenger C-stand.  :)  Oh, and check out the speedlight resting on the ground behind him...later Photoshopped out, of course. ;)

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 75mm/1.8 lens at f/2.0.
1/200 second, ISO 200.

Strobist info: (same setup as the lighting diagram shown above).

Olympus OMD-EM5 + 45mm/1.8 lens at f/2.5.
1/200 second, ISO 320.

2-light setup for the above shot.

Olympus OMD-EM5 + Panasonic 12-35mm/2.8 lens at 12mm, aperture f/2.8.  1/200 second, ISO 400.  

Strobist info: Same as lighting diagram above, except added a second rim light at rear camera right. Dodged in pools of light behind model in post-processing.  

With the above shot, I wanted a dramatic low angle.  What's great about the Olympus E-M5 is that I can rest it on the ground (can't get any lower than that!) and flip the handy rear tilt screen upward.  As I look down and compose my shot, I simply tap the area of focus, and it will immediately fire the shot.  Technology is cool! :)

This photo of our couple has gone incredibly viral in the internet fitness circles.  Hooray for more exposure (::drum roll::)!

The gallery below shows the rest of the photos from the shoot:

Thank you two for being great models/clients!  Brandan, Amber, and the previously-mentioned Adam Bisek are all current Beast Sports Nutrition athletes.  You will definitely see more of them as they continue to blow up.

Do yourselves a favor and stalk these two (and Adam as well) for your New Year's resolution motivation:

Brandan Fokken's Facebook.
Brandan Fokken's Instagram.
Amber Dawn Orton's Facebook.
Amber Dawn Orton's Instagram.
Adam Bisek's Instagram.

Plug: my Instagram link/button is at the top of the navigation menu on this page/site.  ;P

Special thanks to my lighting assistant Alexis Miller.  

Later, dudes.