How to Photograph Crossfit Athletes

Northwest Crossfit is an institution in the Pacific Northwest. There are hundreds of crossfit athletes of all ages who choose from a variety of classes at three different locations. I was brought on to help Northwest Crossfit in Seattle, WA photograph crossfit athletes for new marketing material and general membership outreach. Below are four tips as well as images from a photo shoot I did at the Northwest Crossfit gym in Interbay that may serve as a basis for setting up your own photo shoot in a crossfit box.

Photograph Crossfit Athletes | Mornick Photography

Crossfit Northwest Interbay

The northwest crossfit interbay gym is an excellent facility to photograph crossfit athletes. The gym is a long rectangular 80 yards long by 30 yards wide. Racked weight is on one long side with pull up bars on the other. Ceilings are 25 feet high. All HVAC systems are exposed, with corrugated metal at the top making it reflective. Floors are black rubber, and the walls are painted dark colors. This is important because how the space is used and the color of the surfaces influences the lighting setup.

Photograph Crossfit Athletes Shooting Plan

Before every photo shoot I sketch out how I plan to setup lights based on where athletes will be exercising, where I need to shoot from, and how to ensure the crossfit athletes, lighting equipment, and myself are safe during the shoot.

Figure 1 – How to Photograph Crossfit Athletes.

The sketch is the first step to inform my plan to photograph crossfit athletes. I determine what images to capture, the necessary lighting setup, and ways to safely move about the crossfit athletes during the workout. Photographing the crossfit athletes from four sides is ideal, but the additional lighting equipment was excessive and unsafe given the available gym space. with this setup, I am free to move about the athletes on three sides during their workout.

Crossfit workouts are usually over within 20 minutes and involve a variety of movements. Know beforehand the different exercises and where you need to be to photograph the crossfit athletes. When the workout begins, plan on firing hundreds of images. Always check to ensure you are getting your focus on the right area of the photograph. Even though the movement is fast and a lot is happening, stay calm and work on getting each shot.

Lighting Setup

Photographing crossfit athletes during high intensity exercise is difficult. Athletes are focused and working extremely hard. The last thing on their minds is how to accommodate a photographer trying to get the best photo. To capture the fast movement in a fun, dramatic light consider using strobe lights. Medium to high powered strobes provide adequate light to shoot at a high shutter speed – crucial for capturing fast movements. Strobes will overpower any ambient or natural light within a gym, so keep this in mind when deciding on your lighting setup when you photograph crossfit athletes.

Given the Interbay gym’s layout I setup two heads on c-stands about 25 yards apart. I was shooting with profoto’s Acute2 2400r pack, each pack putting out about 700watts synced with a pocket wizard transmitter and receiver. Each head had a reflector and was raised about 20 feet in the air. I positioned the heads to face the ceiling because the metal corrugated surface did a great job of diffusing the light and bouncing it over a wider area than directing the strobe heads directly onto the athletes. This setup provided three sides to shoot the athletes. Each side created a different light on the athletes, but each arrangement was unique, evenly illuminated, and allowed me to move safely around the athletes during their workout. Note: I could not shoot from the fourth side. Doing so would have backlit the subjects. It would also mean my c-stands would be in the shots and I would be shooting from within the workout space.

Photograph Crossfit Athletes | Mornick Photography

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Photograph Crossfit Athletes | Mornick Photography

Camera Settings

The camera for the shoot was a Canon 5D Mark III, with a 24-105mm L series lens. In manual mode ISO was set to 400, with the shutter speed no lower than 1/160th of a second, and aperture at f/11. I was confident 1/160th would cleanly capture the athletes swift movements. Depending on the level of zoom, f/11 provided an adequate depth of field to focus on fine details or at a wide angle. Setup the camera to shooting continuous images. Blurry images don’t pay the bills, so always check to ensure key areas of each shot are in focus.

Finally, be safe

Photographing crossfit athletes is extremely fun. The athletes are doing incredible feats, and there is nothing more satisfying than capturing that greatness on film. Yet as a photographer it is crucial you focus on capturing images safely. Get to know the athletes beforehand. Let them know where you will be and what you will be doing during the workout. Do not put yourself in harm’s way. Anticipate how things could go bad and ensure you or your equipment are safe. For example, if athletes are swinging 64 pound kettle bells, it would be wise not stand or place equipment in the path of the swinging kettle bells. Trust me, c-stands are strong, but they do not stand up to flying kettle bells.

Hopefully this inspires you to go get some great photographs of crossfit athletes, or any athletes for that matter.