April 25th, 2015
Location: Crossfit Dilworth, Uptown Charlotte NC
Nikon D600 w/70-200mm 2.8VR and 50mm 1.4 with Alien Bees Strobe and Pro Studio Strobe
As you all have seen I have a good amount of fitness photography within my portfolio. However this shoot scheduled was with a returning client/friend here in the Charlotte area. I have done some work for Kathy previously for the launch of her company Kathy Maio's Phit Life. Im pretty sure we spent about 6 or 7 hours shooting that day. When I delivered her gallery she told me she would require my services again for when she competed in the Charlotte Cup in April at the Convention Center. THAT TIME HAS COME...
A couple weeks ago Kathy and I started talking about ideas for the shoot...outfit choices and YES an outdoor Location. We were set to go...I had multiple locations selected in Uptown and Kathy had her wardrobe set to go and she was bringing her "A" game to this show. A few days before the shoot we find out rain is coming...Yes 90% chance. I had no clue what we were going to do. So I literally started calling hotels, bars, and venues to see if something could be worked out. Multiple hotels werent in agreement with shooting a fitness model in their lobby and other places wanted more notice. Needless to say I was stuck... no location. When I went to bed on Friday night I still had no location for Kathy's shoot.
The next morning I was heading to Crossfit and then I remembered a box that I performed a shoot at that was located in Uptown Charlotte. The box was Crossfit Dilworth and last time I was there I remember them having a old warehouse..brick...rustic looking hallway. I reached out to one of the Owners of Crossfit Dilworth by the name of Gracie and she gave me the "GO" to use the outskirts of her facility. She has no idea how grateful I was to get that response. So Gracie... THANK YOU!!! If your looking for a box in Uptown be sure to check them out.
http://crossfit-dilworth.com/
Once I received the go ahead I went to the location and started setting up. I had enough room to set up both of my strobes with a 50" softbox. The brickwall worked so well and they even had an old US Flag on the wall which went perfect with one of Kathy's outfits. We had a great time as usual and her husband Duane was a huge help as well. He even provided some great poses. We shot for about 1hr and a half then Kathy had to get back for the night show.
After arriving at home I then came across the Facebook feed that Kathy took 1st place in the Masters Division.... Yup I did a shoot with a champion!!! So proud of Kathy and all of her accomplishments. She is extremely knowledgeable in fitness and nutrition and more importantly a great person to know. CONGRATS KATHY!!!! Your gallery will be ready soon....