This past weekend I had the opportunity to organize a TFP (Trade-For-Photo) photo-shoot in Kissimmee FL. I organized the event to allow my wife Leslie, who is a special effects makeup artist, the chance to get some new portfolio pieces under a controlled environment. Controlled being the key word in that sentence, because when you are applying makeup on the set of a movie or TV show there is often not enough time to stop and get a photo.

The event produced some amazing portfolio pieces, and 9 models, 3 SFX artists, and 2 photographers (including myself) participated. Despite the event being a success, and us achieving the goal of the event, everyone involved in the event was exhausted by the end of the weekend. Contrary to popular belief photography and modeling work is hard WORK! Both photographer and model are required to endure some very physical challenges including, but not limited to, being on your feet for hours at a time, working under hot lights, holding a variety of poses for long periods of time, and so much more.

So I guess it should not have come as any surprise that one of my models looked me up and saw that I used to own and operate Geek and Gamer Fitness, and Olympia WA based gym that catered to the geeky side of fitness. When she saw this she reached out to me and asked if I had any suggestions on good stretches models could do to help with their flexibility and endurance. It was and still is a great question, and I asked her if I could have a few days to ponder her question so I could answer it properly.

So without further delay here are my Best Fitness and Flexibility Tips for Models and Photographers.

Drink Water
Honestly this may seem like a simple tip, but believe me when I tell you how few of us drink enough water. Photography shoots are often early in the morning, and I have been on more then enough shoots where both models and photographers are running on coffee and canned caffeine. Your body needs water to function and drinking plenty of water will have tremendous benefits to any shoot you are doing, both in front of and behind the lens.

Have a regular fitness routine
There is no right or wrong way to exercise and workout. As long as you are moving your body in a safe way you will reap the benefits. Some people like walking/running, others, like myself, enjoy weight lifting, some people like yoga. How you exercise is not as important as actually exercising. I often suggest to models Yoga with Adriene. She literally has hundreds of free guided yoga videos that have all sorts of challenge and skill levels. Leslie and I often find ourselves doing one of her videos when we can’t make it to the gym.

Stretch before and after the shoot
Stretching does not have to be complicated, or long. Further there is no end of free guided videos on YouTube. In fact doing a quick search on YouTube just now gave me this.
Now these three tips may seem overly simplistic, and you may even be inclined to ignore this because of how simple these tips are. In our society we have been led to believe simple things have little value, and complicated things have more value. This isn’t true. In fact, it is often the simple things in life that bear the most fruit and yield the greatest results.

So try these things and I promise that they will help you during your next photo shoot.

In the meantime if you would like to follow me on my other socials I encourage you to do so. Check the links here.