This was a test shoot for one of my favorite brands – ASRV.
ASRV is a brand about simplicity so I wanted to tell a story about a simple workout and going back to the basics. No need for group rides, or an app, or an overly expensive bike with a big screen and a stranger yelling at you. True athletes gut it out on their own.
I started by collecting images for both inspiration and as a visual shot list. I then scouted the Virginia and Maryland suburbs for locations that would support the idea of a simple and gritty workout – a simple and gritty location. After a few days of scouting, I decided on a quiet racquetball court in Maryland with beautiful walls and good shadows.
I then went searching for local talent who’d be down for a spec shoot. I decided on Vic Williams, a pro-boxer and local fitness coach. He had the enthusiasm, the strong jawline, and of course, the physique needed.
This is when I started working on the pitch deck. Even if I wasn’t going to share it with ASRV, I wanted to use it as a tool to answer questions I normally wouldn’t think of. The color palette, for example, is something that I thought to include after starting the deck. It proved immensely valuable to keeping us on track and keeping the vision secure.
The next step was purchasing the clothes and sneakers. Vic had black workout gear that I asked him to bring so we were good on that front.
The only thing left to do was to shoot. It took about 2 hours to do. I brought lights but decided the shadows were more dramatic with the harsh 2pm summer sun.
The last step to this project was one of the most crucial – post production. I used an artist in Los Angeles, Lena Abujbara, to add the color grade and retouch the images and “make them sing” as she likes to say. Those finishing touches gave the images the extra punch they needed.
To this date, this is by far my easier and most successful shoot. A lot of that is due to the deck and how much pre-production was done. Another part of that is the collaborators I worked with.
Feel free to check out the deck and let me know what you think about the shoot and my process in general.
And if you want to see the full set, click the image below:
