Frame HER. Episode 2: Fitness Coach Becomes a Model

Meet Brunna

Brunna’s a 42-year-old mother of three who’s also a fitness trainer and nutritional coach and feels like she needs to look strong because of her profession.

However, she doesn’t feel any pressure to look that way since that’s how she wants to live her own life. It’s important to her to be healthy, not just her body but also her mind, and she’d be doing that even if she had a different profession.

But it had been a long time since she’d done a photo shoot that had nothing to do with fitness, about four and a half years. That surprised me since she’s stunning, and after hearing that, I was even more excited to do this photo shoot with her.

Brunna was a little nervous, though, before we started, but I reassured her that she’ll do well, comparing doing these types of photo shoots to learning and remembering how to ride a bike.

Hair and Makeup and Wardrobe

One of the things that most excites me about these Frame HER experiences is how much I love seeing the reactions of our guests when they see themselves in the outfits after the photos have been taken, not before. On this day, we did that for Brunna’s second and third outfits, and her reactions then were so much fun to see.

Doing hair and makeup on this day was the talented Ilona while Ana, an amazing stylist, did the wardrobe.

What I did with Brunna was first take photos of her shortly after she arrived wearing what she wore to the studio before doing the same for each of the three outfits that she had on during the shoot. Seeing the transformation from those initial shots to the final ones was amazing, and she later said that she felt so different after the shoot was over than she did upon arrival and was so grateful to have had this experience.

As for those outfits, Ana said that she really wanted to do something that took Brunna out of her comfort zone. So, there would be no sportswear, no leggings or tank tops. Instead, she would be wearing elegant outfits that gave off soft power on the outside while everything remained very strong on the inside. Ana wanted to highlight Brunna’s feminine side with these outfits.

First Outfit

The first outfit that Brunna wore was a minimal and stylish trench coat, a very high-fashion look. She was stunning, looking both powerful and elegant, and her first reaction upon seeing those photos was “amazing.” Some of them were easily high-fashion editorial, and all of them made it look like she was a professional who did photo shoots like this every day. She just looked so calm and confident but also soft and powerful.

As for the lighting for this first setup, I used a Broncolor Para 222, the biggest modifier on the market, because it allowed that lighting to be both soft and high contrast. That really fit the tone of these first photos: sitting on the edge of feminine and power. I also used a rim light to make the shots more moody and cinematic.

Second Outfit

Then, as we started to get more wild, more edgy, with the shoot, we had Brunna wear a beige suit with a sensual burgundy lace bodysuit under it, which perfectly matched her natural color palette. We then had her sitting in a director’s chair, standing and lying on the floor. Those images were so powerful and even more elegant than before. There was one of her in the director’s chair that really stood out to me. It was especially powerful and edgy.

And the shots of her on the floor were the most elegant ones. They were soft but also so powerful, that soft power that Ana had mentioned earlier.

I also liked the lighting that was used here, how very soft it was. It helped these images not be too moody and created the very different vibe that I was going for compared to the first outfit as I’d wanted a contrast between this powerful look and the softness of the light.

Third Outfit

Lastly, we had Brunna wear a mermaid-inspired dress with wet hair and skin as we cultivated a raw, emotional and unexpected transformation. In fact, the dress even looked wet even though it wasn’t. It was a perfect look.

We went with just one light source here, a Broncolor softbox with a grid, which acted as a spotlight. We also used a V-flat to cut out part of the light so that the background would be a little darker while we used a white reflector to fill the shadows on Brunna’s face.

When we finished with this look, I showed our guest the transition that she’d made that day, from how she looked after she walked in through her three outfits. Stunned, she replied, “Amazing.”

But I was curious; which look was her favorite? She quickly said the last one, and I can see why. It was such a high-fashion editorial look. Actually, she looked very J.Lo to me there for some reason, just stunning. And there was one of those photos in particular that she said was especially beautiful. I agreed. It really gave off this Harper’s Bazaar vibe and could have easily been on the cover of a magazine.

Wrapping Up

After we finished, I looked again at photos of Brunna wearing what she had on when she entered and her three outfits and was amazed at how it looked like four different people in them. I loved how she transitioned to a very soft feminine look that was also a powerful look but in a different way, not like she was at the gym.

I spoke with Brunna afterwards to get her thoughts now that she’d been through this entire process. The first thing that she said was that she felt “very different, more powerful, confident, sexy.” She also said that she felt so natural, comfortable and relaxed during the shoot, which helped a lot since, she added, it can show on the person’s face if they’re not feeling confident or don’t have a sense of trust with everyone there.

She also said that anyone who’s hesitating doing something like this should because “they will look amazing and feel amazing.”

If you’d like to become a part of my Frame HER project, fill out this form while remembering that photo shoots aren’t just about photos.

I’m looking for someone who’s not a professional model, and you don’t need to have posing, styling or any experience whatsoever with photo shoots. I only ask that you’re in or able to come to South Florida.

I’d love to create with you.