1st Class Pole Fitness – Test Shoot

Preparation, so they say, prevents poor performance, so I’m off to 1st Class Pole Fitness in Melton to grab some test shots with Donna to get ready for a large group shoot at the studio.

Test shoots are a great opportunity to meet the instructors, scope out the studios and help explain how the main event will run, so it’s pretty much a win all round! It also gives me the opportunity to experiment a little with lighting, as there is normally a lot more time and a lot less pressure which provides ample opportunity to break the rules and try things out.

The studio space at 1st Class is fantastic, but as with a lot of old industrial buildings it’s plagued by beams cutting across it, often not more than 8ft up. This can present some real challenges when it comes to finding spaces and angles to shoot from that don’t obstruct lights, whilst maximising pole to backdrop distances and vertical height.

After some fettling and headscratching we finally settled on a lighting setup that we were happy to use on the upcoming student shoot – a mix of consistency and repeatability that would work in the space for a variety of performers!