Bodybuilding Poses/Editing

[beccaf91]

So there's this guy that goes to my gym who really wants me to shoot some photos of him in like classic bodybuilding photos for his portfolio. Has anyone done anything like this before and how do I make it through a session without laughing my a** off? *Edit: He's a good friend of mine, was just trying to drop some humor in my post.

 

[tirediron]

First and foremost, if you think you're going to laugh, don't do it. Everyone has things that they take seriously, and just because you or I don't "get it" doesn't make it any less important; it's part of being professional (and I mean that in the attitude sense, not in the 'you're being paid' sense). I've done this a few times, and I like to go for a sort of dark, edgy, but not too intense look. Depends on the location and the person.

The first thing is to actually become familiar with the various standard poses (YouTube, Google Image) and then discuss with the person what they want. As the neutral third party, you can look at the person and recommend poses that may work better than others. Once you've done that, scout the venue and plan the shoot. If it's a private gym, ensure that you have permission.

This image uses a single 22, gridded beauty dish high and left, with a large fill, low and just off-axis camera right.

This is a three light set, key light is a large SB slightly left, fill on-axis, and of course the background light:

 

[beccaf91]

First and foremost, if you think you're going to laugh, don't do it. Everyone has things that they take seriously, and just because you or I don't "get it" doesn't make it any less important; it's part of being professional (and I mean that in the attitude sense, not in the 'you're being paid' sense). I've done this a few times, and I like to go for a sort of dark, edgy, but not too intense look. Depends on the location and the person.

The first thing is to actually become familiar with the various standard poses (YouTube, Google Image) and then discuss with the person what they want. As the neutral third party, you can look at the person and recommend poses that may work better than others. Once you've done that, scout the venue and plan the shoot. If it's a private gym, ensure that you have permission.

This image uses a single 22, gridded beauty dish high and left, with a large fill, low and just off-axis camera right.

This is a three light set, key light is a large SB slightly left, fill on-axis, and of course the background light:

First off, these are super cool and exactly what I was looking for! I dig it. Secondly, what lighting setting up could I use to get super contrasty on his abs? Something from below?

 

[tirediron]

You could do it from below, but the side effect of that would be what's known as "horror lighting"; I would probably go with a gridded and snooted light from off to one side.

 

[beccaf91]

You could do it from below, but the side effect of that would be what's known as "horror lighting"; I would probably go with a gridded and snooted light from off to one side.

Oh ok, gridded and snooted sort of narrows the lighting just to hit like certain parts of his body, right?
What do you think the set up on something like this would be?
stock image abs bodybuilding - Google Search:

 

[tirediron]

Most of those were probably shot with fairly simple lighting. If I had to guess, I would say that a gridded soft box was used in many cases. If you look at this one and "reverse engineer" the lighting, notice that the specular highlights are all on the left shoulder, pectoral, etc, indicating that the light was high and camera right. The deep shadows camera left indicate that there was probably no fill used, meaning the light was close and the photographer depended on the "wrap" from the main light.

 

[beccaf91]

Ok, okay. Now I have some ideas. Just found a local studio space I can rent for $20/hour with all the lighting gear I need. Thanks again, Light Master!

 

[tirediron]

Good luck!

 

[Designer]

Oh ok, gridded and snooted sort of narrows the lighting just to hit like certain parts of his body, right?

You could hit only certain parts of the body, yes, particularly if your frame will be very tight on that part.

You might see that most of the sample shots are of nearly the entire torso or even more (upper body) so your light should be wherever you need it. This type of lighting is directional, which is why you use a grid. It cuts down on any extra light coming from other parts of the light or the room. Some photographers call this "hard" light, as opposed to "soft" light that is highly diffuse, and multi-directional.

So eliminate any stray light, aim your gridded light across the body, sort of "grazing" the body, and that will maximize the modeling effect.

Do some experimenting with light so you fully understand it. drop a paperclip on the floor, and shine a flashlight parallel to the floor by holding it down close to the floor. The paperclip (or some other tiny object) will show up best when the light is grazing the floor.

When your bodybuilder says he wants one particular muscle group to be the main subject, you have to adjust the lights to properly model the muscles. Some moving of the light or the model will be required to get the best modeling light.

 

[beccaf91]

Got it, got it, got it! You guys are the best! I use soft, diffused natural light (shade, overcast skies) for my normal portraiture and this will be my first time using artificial lighting to create this "hard" effect. Sups excited! Will post results soon!

 

[table1349]

You might want to clarify what he is looking for. There are the kinds of shots that tirediron posted. Nice shots I might add, There are also the standard competition poses that are designed to show off the various body definitions. For these you would want to make sure that the photo places emphasis the body part the pose is designed to bring out. If he is looking for these types of photos then sit down with him, get a list of the poses he wants, have him demonstrate them and plan your shots accordingly. This will give you an idea of the types of poses I am talking about. Posing Guides - Profile Page

 

[beccaf91]

Yeah, Gryph.
Already got an album of stock photos/poses I'm compiling for us to look at tonight at the gym. Lol I'm sure he's looking for the sort of thing that highlights physique from head to toe rather than like a gym portrait. Thanks for the link!

 

[table1349]

Yeah, Gryph.
Already got an album of stock photos/poses I'm compiling for us to look at tonight at the gym. Lol I'm sure he's looking for the sort of thing that highlights physique from head to toe rather than like a gym portrait. Thanks for the link!

Yep, the link I posted has the standard competition poses in their various forms. I don't remember how many required poses there are but I would think that he would want all of the required poses in his portfolio.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You seem to see your friend as a friend, not as an athlete or prospective client, etc. (so the feeling like you might laugh...). Just because you're friends and you have a camera...

Expectations could be for pro quality work the friend has seen and it seems like that's out of your level of expertise (for now). Maybe have your friend show you websites where he's seen photos that he wants his portraits to look like. You might be doing your friend a disservice if he wants pro quality portraits - maybe you should instead help your friend find a good pro photographer. People don't seem to realize what it takes to do a pro level photo and make assumptions that if someone has a DSLR that they can do the same.

Try taking a look at Sportsshooter, or look up Dave Black; I took a sports photography workshop with him some years ago and I know he does Olympics and some of the more nontraditional sports. I've done sports (mostly hockey) and I don't think I'd take on something I don't know how to do. I'd leave that to a pro photographer who has more expertise than I do in some areas and stick to what I know how to do (except when experimenting on my own, not for others, when I'm doing my own thing AKA art photography).

 

[beccaf91]

Yeah, Gryph.
Already got an album of stock photos/poses I'm compiling for us to look at tonight at the gym. Lol I'm sure he's looking for the sort of thing that highlights physique from head to toe rather than like a gym portrait. Thanks for the link!

Yep, the link I posted has the standard competition poses in their various forms. I don't remember how many required poses there are but I would think that he would want all of the required poses in his portfolio.

I did not know there were REQUIRED poses. Omg, this is going to be a lot of work. Lol.