Preview Photos: First-Ever Zumba Shoot!

One of the things I love about photography is how I'm always learning or experiencing something new while doing my work.

A few months ago, I received a surprise email from a wonderful D.C.-based Zumba teacher, Melanie, who asked if I could pencil her in for a spring photo shoot.

I of course, said yes, but had one little problem -- I had ZERO experience shooting anything Zumba related. Melanie, the total doll that she is, still wanted to take the leap with me and we settled on a date.

Now, several months after our initial conversations, I'm so glad she trusted me to capture her amazing energy -- the photos were STUNNING. Here's a preview:

That Time I Wrote About the Fit Bottomed Girls For Spright

You know those websites that you stumble upon and just fall in love with? That was Fit Bottomed Girls for me.

The first time I ended up on their site -- probably because of some fitness hashtag I was scrolling through on Twitter -- I was enamored. Here was this website that was completely devoted to everything I was about: staying active, eating in moderation and still enjoying life.

I couldn't believe something like this excited. I told my friends about it. I kept reading. It was like I struck internet gold.

Flash forward a few years from now, and I'm still a FBG follower -- despite the fact that my online-fitness fan girl love has spread to other healthy-in-moderation-type websites. Some things never change...

Why, do you ask, is any of this important?

Well, a few weeks ago I reached out to the FBG team to see if I could e-interview them for a series that I've been working on for Spright, about how fitfluential people are just normal people looking to find balance in life.

And, to my delight, the FBG said yes to my interview request.

I don't want give away too much of my interview with the ladies, but I will say this: it was very grounding for me to hear that all these wonderful, inspired and influential ladies are really just like you and me. Sometimes, its these kind of stories that help me to remember that everyone is really just trying to do and achieve the exact same thing and, at the end of the day, we're all just trying to be the best versions of ourselves.

Anyway, here's a snippet of my story about them, which you should totally check out on Spright!

If you’ve been around the fitness internet, you may have encountered a site called Fit Bottomed Girls. Yep, the name is inspired Queen song “Fat Bottomed Girls.” The site, which also features the catchy tagline “Keeping a Lid on the Junk in the Trunk,” was launched by friends Jenn Walters and Erin Whitehead in 2008 in order to provide practical fitness and nutrition advice to real women trying to live a balanced, healthy lifestyle.

Now seven years since its start, the FBG empire has grown to include two sister sites (Fit Bottomed Mamas and Fit Bottomed Eats), a newly published book (The Fit Bottomed Girls Anti-Diet), a third member of the FBG core team (contributing editor and writer Kristen Green Seymour), and a tens of thousands of loyal followers and fans. Talk about a busy few years in business!

Despite the FBG brand’s growing popularity, the dedicated trio of Jenn, Erin, and Kristen has managed to find that sweet balance between running a highly successful health and fitness site and achieving their own fitness, eating, and personal goals.

I reached out to Jenn, Erin, and Kristen to hear more about their lives as the Fit Bottomed Girls core team and how they, as everyday women, find the balance between fitness, food, and fun in their lives. Here’s a look at what they had to say:

(Read more!)

My first cover story and photo for Fiterazzi Magazine

It might be the end of February, but I'm still celebrating this one big-time.

Earlier this month, I wrote about a cover photo shoot I did for a feature story I was writing for Fiterazzi Magazine, which ran earlier this month.

Not only was the first time a photo of mine was featured on the cover of the magazine, but it was also the first time my story was the lead cover story!

Guys, I worked really really are on this story. From vetting the sources, to attending events, to interviewing the Grip the Mat girls, to actually sitting down and editing the photos and writing the story, this piece was multiple weeks in the making.

Here's a snippet from the actual story...

In the summer of 2014, Christy Skarulis and Ashley Braun noticed that their friends were all asking them same sort of questions.

“Ashley, should I hang out at a happy hour with my friends after work or should I hit the gym?”

“Christy, should I go to that yoga class Sunday morning or should I meet the girls for brunch?”

For the two twenty-something yoginis, who met in yoga teacher training in Washington, DC, it seemed ridiculous that their friends were having to decide between socializing or taking care of their bodies.

Why wasn’t there something people could do with their friends that combined the social aspect of a happy hour and the mind-body benefits of a yoga class?

Realizing that there were no existing options to solve this dilemma, the entrepreneurial duo took matters into their own hands and started a never-been-done kind of fitness social event company called Grip the Mat.

Read more here.

Behind the Shoot: Grip the Mat Cover Shoot for Fiterazzi

In the creative world schedules are never predictable. Shoots happen at 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. People are late. Cameras break. Things go wrong.

But sometimes, just sometimes, everything goes right.

That was exactly the case for my recent (well, sort of, late-January kind of recent) photo shoot with the lovely ladies of Grip The Mat for their recent February cover on Fiterazzi.

Now that the cover is finally published, I can share my awesome photos with you and tell you a little bit about the shoot.

I've blogged about Grip the Mat before and how I've photographed their yoga social events, but this shoot was extra special. See, although I've written and photographed for Fiterazzi for over a year, I've never had a cover photo or cover story before.

Add that excitement to the fact that I totally love the concept behind Grip the Mat and you've got the formula for awesomeness.

 

We toyed around with the idea of doing the shoot outside in the winter cold (stupid, I know), going to an art gallery or doing it in someone's apartment, but none of those seemed fitting. As the deadline of the cover story loomed closer, I realized the perfect place for the shoot: Tryst Coffeehouse and Bar in Adam's Morgan.

Bingo.

The ladies of Grip the Mat and I arrived bright and early at Tryst at 7 a.m. morning before work and basically struck gold.

I mean. The lighting. The colors. Everything was spot on, for the most part. In retrospective, some of angles are a bit off, but hey, I can't win everytime.

... or can I?

My Fiterazzi latest: Tights Review, HIITs & Tips for Staying Healthy this Holiday Season

Happy Friday! For some reason, weeks after holidays always feel the longest. It's not like anything bad has happened -- I love my job -- but something has had me looking forward to a low key weekend all week long.

I blame the grey winter weather that's rolled in. Anyway.

Over the past few weeks, I've been doing a lot of photography, writing and organizing for Fiterazzi Magazine, who I moonlight for when I'm not working for the USO.

Just before Thanksgiving, my article all about the latest and greatest in workout leggings hit the web and has been doing fabulous!

I've gotten a lot of great feedback from readers about this article, so that's super encouraging. I think next time I'll try to keep the prices of the products I sample in mind. Some of my readers pointed out that the options were a little out of thier price ranges. Woops.

Anywho. Here's a sneak peak for you to read :)

You can read the full piece here.

Oh, and if you're feeling like you want to get a workout in, I also whipped up a fun Pre-Turkey Day HIIT.

I also wrote a fun little piece about a few easy tips and tricks to staying healthy during the holidays.

I think people can get caught up in the business of holiday festivities and forget to take care of themselves, so I thought it would be helpful to write up a little guide of how to keep yourself on track no matter how festive you might get.

Here's a peak at that story.

You can read the full piece here.

Enjoy!

Behind the Shoot: Fiterazzi Leggings Test Photo Shoot

One of the best parts about writing for a new magazine like Fiterazzi is the chance to involve my friends and acquaintances in my work, and my latest project was no exception.

Last month, I released a HUGE review of 13 different fitness leggings brands to try, and, before doing so, hosted a wonderful afternoon photoshoot for the story at Union Station with two fab fit models and fellow Alpha Delta Pi - Pi Chapter sisters Pamela Fitzgibbons and Pavla Ovtchinnikova.

I hadn't caught up with either of these ladies in the longest time, so I was thrilled to have them be my models for an afternoon -- plus, who doesn't love taking pictures of their friends?

Not only did we shoot some fabulous pictures, but I got to hear all about their busy awesome lives and, let me tell you, they're both going to set the world on talent and look fit and fab doing it!

Besides the awesome company and fresh faces for this shoot, this was also one of the first indoor shoots I've done for Fiterazzi.

I don't normally host shoots inside for my fitness pieces because the lighting is so much better outdoors, but because the weather has gotten so cold (it was 30 degrees outside the day of the shoot), I've been scoping out more interesting indoor spots, and thought Union Station's bright but corporate look would be a nice change of pace for the shoot.

I think the shots turned out alright. Thoughts?