Pumps & Iron

I’m switching things up today and sharing a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into blogging. I find that even my closest friends don’t really have a clue what I do (haha), so I wanted to give everyone a peek into a typical workout tutorial photoshoot day. If you’re a fellow blogger–maybe just starting out or toying with the idea of starting a blog–hopefully this will be encouraging. I know I used to get so disheartened (and still do at times, let’s be honest), because it seemed that every blogger I followed was either dating a professional photographer or wealthy enough to pay one to follow them around at all hours of the day. How could I possibly make this blog a success with so few resources?? But you really can make do with what you have, as you’ll see in this post. I don’t have a professional photog or a beautiful sun-lit studio with white walls to shoot in, but I make it work!

I find the most efficient way to create content is to shoot roughly a month and half’s worth of workouts in one day (really only takes about half a day). My mom takes my pictures so we try to schedule these monthly(ish) shoots around a time we’re already going to see each other, preferably in Boston, but sometimes on the Vineyard or the Cape. She’s a trooper!

Here’s what goes into workout shoots …

Ongoing

I have a Google doc that I’m constantly updating and a notebook I’m constantly scribbling in so that when a photoshoot approaches, it’s just a matter of organizing all the ideas, workouts and assignments. Here are the ongoing lists I’m adding to daily:

• Campaigns and their due dates
• Blog post ideas
• Good workouts from classes I teach or at-home workouts I do myself

The Day(s) Before

Planning makes a world of difference. I can shoot eight workouts in two hours or I can shoot two workouts in eight hours. Totally depends on how prepared I am. Here’s my to-do list the day(s) before a shoot:

Plan outfits. Wearing a client’s activewear in a workout tutorial is one of the blog’s major revenue streams, so typically I’ll style outfits around campaigns, making sure they’re shot far enough in advance to be posted on the site by a set due date. If I’ve bought or been given any other new workout clothing, I’ll be sure to include those pieces in the shoot as well. 

Pair workouts with outfits; create additional workouts if necessary. I have a pretty endless backlog of workouts to share given I’m constantly planning group fitness classes, so typically it’s just a matter of pairing the outfits I’ve planned with a fitting routine. If I’m working with a running shoe company, for example, I’d want to pair that outfit with a routine containing sprint intervals or something along those lines. If I don’t have a fitting workout, I’ll put together and test some new ones out.

Pair workout equipment needed with shoot locations. I plan the location of shoots around how heavy the workout equipment I’ll need is. If there’s a kettlebell workout requiring three different bells, I’ll just shoot the pictures in my back alleyway–hell no am I lugging those things across Boston! 

Book a Breather. With the exception of workouts requiring a lot of heavy equipment, I now shoot the majority of my workout tutorials in a Breather room rental (you can get your first hour free with code PUMPIRON). Breather has several locations around Boston, two of which are a couple blocks from my apartment–so convenient! Having a well lit and nicely decorated space for pictures makes a world of difference, and unfortunately my apartment is neither of those. I’ll usually book two hours in the space. At this point, I’m really quick with the photoshoots, so I can usually get all I need for 6-8 workout tutorials in that time.

The Day Of

Workout, shower, pretend I know how to do makeup. I get my workout in early in the morning on shoot days because I am always totally exhausted by the time my mom leaves–no way I’m breaking a sweat late in the day. Sometimes I have no choice but to shoot on a Wednesday and then I have to teach four classes that evening and it’s BRUTAL. But worth it.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I don’t get my hair and makeup done for workout tutorials. If this surprises you and you sincerely thought I hired someone to make my hair look like this, then I’m deeply concerned about your current level of cognitive functioning …

L.O.L.

But I do put on a little bronzer, eyeliner and mascara for photoshoot days. I even brush my hair!

Lug equipment, outfits and notebook over to my Breather room. It would be a dream to own a dedicated office/studio space that could house all my workout equipment, but that’s not a reality within reach for me at the time. One day! For now, there’s a lot of achey backs and curse words involved in lugging the necessary dumbbells, kettlebells and med balls to where I’m shooting. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ll shoot the super heavy stuff at my apartment building, but for the rest, I just bite the bullet. It’s unglamorous and a total pain in the ass, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. There’s a Breather room only two blocks from my apartment, so I’ll usually roll the heavy equipment over in a rolly suitcase and then carry it up the three flights of stairs as needed. Pretty sure that’s how Sports Illustrated does it, too … 

Rearrange furniture and roll up the carpet. One thing I’ve learned about shooting these tutorials is that you want your background to be as plain as possible. It’s more aesthetically pleasing and practical, as the sole focus is on you and the exercise. To eliminate patterns that might clash with what I’m wearing and create too much visual noise, I now make sure to roll up the rug and get it out of the way. In addition to this, I’ll clear furniture out of what ever area of the room has the best lighting for shooting. Shhh don’t tell Breather. 

Find the best lighting. Most of the time, this is pretty straightforward. You want an area with natural lighting and you want the photographer to have their back (or times their side) to the light source. You typically don’t want to shoot into the sun. On this particular shoot day, it was pouring rain outside so things got a little tricky. To find the best light area, we took the same picture in different parts of the room and with different light sources (camera flash, the room’s light bulbs, no artificial light). Nothing was ideal, but we eventually settled on the best area to shoot. 

Now that I look back at those pictures, I almost think I should have gone with the second option instead of the third. Oh well.

Shoot. Outfit change. Fiddle with hair. Give up on hair. Repeat. I come dressed in my first outfit ready to rock. Referring to my notebook, which contains all the workouts, outfit pairings and additional shot notes, I’ll take the necessary pictures for one blog post in about 5-10 minutes, depending on how many exercises it involves. I’ll look back quickly through the camera to make sure I got what I need and that I don’t look horrendous in any pictures (my give-a-f*ck meter is pretty low by now–as long as I’m not mid-sneeze or exposing a nipple, I’m not too picky about how I look in the workouts haha). 

Double-check my shot list and pack up. Once I’ve gotten through all my outfits/workouts, I’ll give my master list a once over to make sure I got all the content I need. If I stay focused, it’s crazy how quickly I can everything photographed. If I get sidetracked with long conversations with my mom (which happens more often than not–as it should!), then I may have to extend the Breather rental beyond the two hours. 

And that’s that! I’ll upload all the pictures from my mom’s camera on to my computer and organize them by post so that I can easily edit them as their publish date comes up.Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the weird profession of blogging! I love that every day is different from the next and my creativity is always being put to use. I’ll lug dumbbells down Comm Ave over sitting in a cubicle any day of the week.