another fitness shoot, which led to another brand
which led to another supplement company until
I got contacted by the magazines to start doing
some work. That was when I started shooting for
top fitness magazines and that spread my name
a lot in the industry to the point where now I’m
inundated with work, pretty much booked all year
round and absolutely loving it.
FMM: Where do you find inspiration as a fitness
photographer?
CB: I guess the same place as a lot of people
do. I train a lot myself, so obviously take a lot
of inspiration from things that I see in the gym,
and different things I see people doing. If I see
somebody working out who is in good shape, I pick
up certain moves that I see them doing and thinks
that looks really good and that it brings out glutes
really well, or something and you sort of take a little
note in your head. Other inspiration can come
from anywhere, like movies: when you’re watching
certain movies you may see a certain scene and
like the lights in it and think you can try it yourself
and see if it works. Any sort of media really, like go
through magazines and nowadays it’s more about
what you see on the internet. People often bring
me their own inspiration if it is a personal shoot,
and show up with an iPad full of Pinterest pictures
or motivational pictures and say I want this shot or
to try and do this shot, and you take that and do
your own style and see what comes out. Usually
it’s pretty good, and sometimes it’s better than the
one they brought.
FMM: How do you describe your style?
CB: My style has developed quite a lot recently.
I obviously have learned from my favorite
photographers, which like in my era and like any
other artist you pick different things from people
who inspire you, and then you put them all together
in a pot and mix them up and eventually you
develop your own style based on things you’ve
looked up to in the past. There are numerous
photographers in many different areas that have
inspired me, and I think it’s just doing a little bit
of each until you discover your own style. I don’t
really know how to describe my style, but I guess
it’s kind of edgy, very sharp, and I try my best with
colors. But I just experiment really.
FMM: What are your go-to cameras, lenses, or
gear?
CB: I’m a canon man- I used to shoot with EOS
1Ds Mark III which is a really nice camera. But the
camera I’ve used mainly the past few years is the
5D Mark III, and I’ve absolutely loved it so now I’ve
got the new 5D S, which I’ve heard is very similar
to the 5D3 which would be perfect for me but much
higher resolution and sharper images. I use mainly
prime lenses, for shooting; I’ve got a case full of
lenses which I keep telling myself I should narrow
down.
FMM: Do you prefer studio or location, and
why?
CB: Location-I used to have a studio for nearly
4 years, which was in my hometown. It was a
nice little studio, but it just wasn’t getting used. It
served its purpose at the time and probably paid
for itself. Location wise, I’m pretty much in gyms
most of the time. Probably the best location shoot
was last year when I was shooting for the Olympia,
and I took a bunch of British athletes out into the
desert for a certain alternative location shoot for a
fitness magazine. That was pretty cool, and I hope
to do that again this year. >>>
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