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The Brief

Emma runs Ems Fit & Fab (www.getmzfit.co.uk), a personal training studio in Essex. She specialises in training older women, particularly those going through perimenopause and menopause — a growing market that's often underserved by the fitness industry. She needed professional photography for her new website and social media presence that would reflect her actual client base, not the typical gym imagery of twenty-somethings in lycra.

The brief was clear: create images that her target clients would see themselves in. Professional models were chosen to match that demographic — women who look fit and healthy without being intimidating, demonstrating that strength training is accessible and effective at any age. The photography needed to be commercial quality while feeling authentic and relatable.

The Session

We scheduled a two-hour session at her studio — enough time to work through multiple setups without rushing. Having a private space made all the difference. No interruptions, no gym members wandering into shot, no need to work around class schedules. Just focused, efficient shooting.

The session featured Emma and two models, rotating through different equipment and exercises. We moved around the studio systematically — free weights area, resistance machines, functional training space — capturing a mix of action shots and posed portraits at each location.

The variety matters for a business like this. A personal trainer's website needs images of actual training, not just posed shots with dumbbells. But social media also needs those cleaner, more polished portraits that stop the scroll. We delivered both.

Technical Approach

Lighting

The studio had decent natural light, which formed our base. I supplemented this with a softbox as the key light — large enough to wrap around the subjects and create flattering illumination on skin, soft enough to avoid harsh shadows during movement.

A large reflector handled fill duties, bouncing light back into shadow areas without adding another powered source to manage. For separation from the background and to add dimension, I positioned a hair light behind and above — essential in a gym environment where backgrounds can get visually busy with equipment.

This four-source approach (natural ambient, softbox key, reflector fill, hair light) gave us flexibility to shoot both the controlled portrait-style images and the more dynamic action shots without constantly re-rigging.

Lenses

Two lenses covered everything we needed. The 50mm prime handled portraits and tighter compositions — fast enough for the available light mix, sharp enough for commercial use, and producing that natural perspective that makes fitness photography feel accessible rather than distorted.

For environmental shots and anything showing the studio space itself, I switched to a wide angle. This captured the facility context that Emma needed for her website — showing potential clients what they'd be walking into, the equipment available, the training environment.

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Deliverables

From the session, we delivered 25 final images within one week. The selection covered the full range of website and social media requirements: hero images for the homepage, action shots for service pages, portraits for the 'About' section, and a library of social-ready content Emma could deploy over the following months.

All images were fully edited — colour graded for consistency across the set, retouched to professional commercial standards, and delivered in formats suitable for both web use and any future print applications.

Why It Worked

The private studio environment was the foundation. With no time pressure from external schedules and no distractions, we could focus entirely on getting the shots right. Emma knew her space and her models, which meant smooth transitions between setups and authentic movement during the action shots.

Clear communication beforehand meant everyone arrived knowing what we were trying to achieve. The models understood they were representing Emma's business, not just themselves. Emma had thought through which areas of her studio she wanted featured and what services she wanted to highlight.

Two hours was exactly right for this scope. Long enough to do the job properly without rushing, short enough to maintain energy and enthusiasm throughout. The result was a complete visual identity for Ems Fit & Fab — professional, authentic, and commercially effective.

This commercial fitness photography session was photographed in Essex by Ian Davidson Photography. Similar sessions for personal trainers, gyms, and fitness businesses are available throughout Essex and London.

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