A few years ago Cinzia traveled to Austin, Texas to attend one of top IFBB Figure Pro and former Miss Fitness Olympia, Monica Brant's FEM Camps. Monica's FEM Camps at the time were four day long workshops where women could get coaching and feedback from Monica herself and other players in the world of figure competition and fitness modelling. One of the highlights of the camp was a photo shoot at the end with top fitness industry photographer David Ford, while being coached by Monica. Like many of the women at the camp, this would be Cinzia's first fitness photo shoot (definitely not her last!).

The first thing Cinzia told me about the shoot was how professional David was and how skilled he
was at making the ladies comfortable with the process. The resulting photos were stunning.

A few years and several photo shoots later, we bumped into David at the IFBB Olympia Weekend in Las Vegas. Cinzia and I had decided to hold a fitness modelling workshop at our studio in Alaska and the only photographer we wanted was David. David liked the idea and so the plan was hatched! We needed a fitness model for the clinic so we asked David who he would recommend. We needed someone with, not only a lot of experience, but also a lady who would know how to guide inexperienced models through the process - all the while making them feel comfortable. David immediately recommended Annette Milbers. I knew of Annette through her work and really admired her physique. I could tell after one phone conversation with Annette that we had made the right choice! A date was set and the preparation began for the first CMC Personal Training Studio Fitness Modelling Clinic and Photo Shoot!

All that was left to do was to get people to sign up. As we began speaking to people about the
clinic, it became apparent that the majority of those who would attend would be participating in their first photo shoot. For the most part, they were women, not models or fitness competitors, but every day women who wanted to set a goal and get a little taste of the fitness modelling world. This excited us as well as Annette and David! We, like all fitness athletes, knew how setting a goal such as a photo shoot or a competition could inspire people to take their fitness to the next level. We also knew that once these ladies saw themselves in the photos, they would be changed forever!

We got in touch with the Alaska Makeup Team who agreed to set up in our studio in order to get the ladies ready for their shoot. We also had the help of April Cage to put the finishing touches on the ladies' hair styles. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Most of the ladies who signed up for the shoot were clients of CMC Personal Training Studio who had decided to use the photo shoot as motivation to get into the best shape of their lives. This turned out to be a wonderful thing because both Cinzia and I, as well as other clients, got to observe the transformation first hand as they used the goal they had set as a reason to stay tight with their diets, consistent with their cardio, and intense in their training. Everyone got to experience the bodybuilding lifestyle first hand - even if for a few weeks. None of the women saw themselves as fitness model material. In fact, most took quite a bit of convincing in order to get them to sign up.

That all changed when they looked into Dave's viewfinder for the first time! I saw several women get
teary-eyed as they were overcome with emotion upon seeing the beautiful results of all of their hard work combined with the expert guidance of Annette and David! I even saw Dave get emotional more than once! He commented to me later that he enjoyed these shoots - the ones where ladies were
experiencing it all for the first time - more than the professional shoots with veteran models.

As the day ran on, it became apparent to me that we had put a lot of work on Dave and Annette's plate! Both worked tirelessly for over 15 hours straight! One shoot after another as each model went through 3 plus outfit changes! They never let their attention wane and both maintained their professionalism and sincere interest in the outcome of each and every shoot.

All of the ladies were great - several taking to the lens like experienced pros. When it was all said and done, I knew that we were going to have some wonderful pictures and some very happy women! The resulting photos were indeed magnificent and we immediately began discussions with Annette and Dave for future clinics!