Portrait of a Vancouver Personal Trainer

A behind the scenes glimpse into Double Vision Photography’s project of brand development assignment, ‘U Rise Personal Training.’ On this shoot we were working with Gary Dhillon who is the face and sole proprietor of U Rise, he has over 10 years of experience in health and fitness. Gary’s dream was to start out on his own and Double Vision was brought on board to conceptualize the photography for U Rise Personal Training including it’s print and digital media touchpoints.

An important tool to help build a company’s identity is with the aid of photography. When Image is on’the’line literally and virtually, it mean’s everything to get it right from the start especially for the first impression.”

Location of this shoot was at Razors Gym, arranged by Gary who trains the majority of his clients here. Originally planned with sufficient time we arrived to be informed that would no longer be the case and had less than 2 hours. Razor was not exactly being a co-operative partner to launching Gary.

A decision had to be made on the spot to cancel and reschedule or we could roll with it? If canceling we would take-on cost over runs including our ability to meet the deadline to launch this new company. With a time sensitive situation and no breathing room to move the launch date, together we decide to proceed and adapted to the current circumstances.

Hover over the image above and click the arrows to view the gallery

Accepting the fact we were not going have the advantage of utilizing our fully stocked gear and props, not to mention Gary’s friend who was kind enough to agree and participate as a fitness model we hunkered down and got to work. After having to adjust from the originally planned conceptual scenes we still remained in line with the guidelines of the brand development strategy.

The goal of the photos were to characterize Gary as an engaging and proactive trainer where scenes were designed for client training. We presented Gary as a personable approachable individual and professional instructor. The strategy of these images was to target potential customers to make the call to action, to contact and book a workout experience with a U Rise customized personal training program.

One composition strategy we designed dependent on exercise; stage the perspective of the trainee for the viewer of the photo to envision an exciting client experience as a participant being trained by Gary. The message – ‘Exercise is fun and U Rise will help make this your lifestyle.’

The clothing selection – all Gary’s choices, he is the face of the company so he knows what works for him. Professional athletic style in consideration for the market U Rise is targeting. Plain form fitting T’s of solid colors and long shorts that are loose fit. Gary prefers the form fitting head cap, we kept it simple one primary color. One of Gary’s concern was not to have the exercise equipment take away from the focus of Gary or U Rise unless it is part of a sponsorship agreement. Gary wanted to be prevalent, U Rise training was the main subject and focus.

The portraits of Gary brought him into his comfort zone in-front of the lens. Shot off the cuff these photos were for fun and shows Gary athletic side and style with the right amount of edge he wanted to portray. They will be used with his discretion for promotions, sponsorship and Blog post content.

One strict mandate – do not use extreme angles that distort appearance. Only use it to engage the viewer, they can result in disproportionate figures and since Gary is a fitness instructor we do not want him looking out of shape.

U Rise is a personal training business that focuses on personal achievements and better living.

Canon 5D Mark II
Interfit 5 Relector 22
EF – 50 mm f/1.4 – Canon
EF -24 – 70mm f/2.8L – Canon
Fill Light – 430EX II Speed Lite – Canon
Key Light – Cameron 12” 85W Diffused Cool Light (equivalent 550W incandescent Bulb)

---

Previous Post

Creative on a Dark Knight

Next Post

Vancouver, BC MMA Promo Video