Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nude Pole Shoot with Suzy (NSFW)

Suzy is an instructor at the Pole House, downstairs from my studio. We planned a cool shoot with her portable pole up in my studio. The goal with this shoot was to really show off her strength and flexibility on the pole. Keeping the shots implied was challenging but necessary. Each of up brought and assistant to keep the poses well managed. I’m really happy with the images we got and some of the inversions were insane.

Great core strength to hold this.

Flexibility and hand placement

Showing off the lats and hamstrings

Relaxing and laying back

Twisted up

More inversion

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Dave

I met Dave last year at a photoshoot and we ended up becoming good friends. He’s an awesome guy who has got super fit in his mid to late forties. Dave is one of the best people I know and does more charity work than anyone I know. He’s a great role model for anyone.

We ended up getting some awesome fitness and physique pictures; I’m very happy with the results.

Core strength

Arm vascularity

Quad, hip and oblique

Shoulder and tricep

Torso

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Dance Photoshoot with Ashlyn

Ashlyn got a birthday present from her parent in the form of a photo shoot with me. She’s a talented dancer and a really good kid to work with. She hit her poses beautifully and we had a lot of fun. She even braved the elements to get some pictures in the snow.

Ashlyn and her shadow jumping

Calm and quiet pose

Strength and flexibility

Behind my studio is a nice natural area

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography

- London Dance Photo - I am Mark Ruddick, an experienced photographer working in London, ON. I enjoy photographing dancers and really appreciate the athleticism and artistry involved. Coming from a fight photography background, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly moving subjects at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to capture my subjects at the peak of their motion in an artistic way.

Let me capture the photos that move you.


Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

9 Questions to ask your Fitness Photographer

9 Questions to ask your Fitness Photographer

  1. Do you have a style?
    Does your photographer have a style of picture they do best. Some photographers specialize in soft fitness boudoir and some are hardcore gym pictures. My own personal style is posed studio style with putting muscles under load. I really like to show off strength and athleticism using hard contrasting lights to carve out the muscle. I’m definitely able to shoot on location or outdoors for fitness.

  2. Do you shoot on location or in studio?
    Does the photographer have a studio, or a location they shoot in? I have a studio setup for fitness photo shoots, located inside of an 8000 sq. ft. fight gym which I have access to use as well. In addition I routinely rent out private gyms to photograph in and can always find the right location for our fitness shoot.

  3. What experience do you have? How long have you been shooting fitness / how did you start?
    Does your photographer know the best way to bring out your abs? Are they used to the different energy levels while in and out of competition? Do they have 100’s of fitness photo shoots worth of experience? I’ve been photographing fitness since 2014 covering 100’s of photo shoots during that time. I’ve photographed every type of athletic body out there and know how to maximize it in pictures.

  4. Are you good with posing clients / pose ideas?
    If this is your first shoot does your photographer know how to pose you? Can they isolate a muscle group with lighting and pose. Do they have ideas. I have 100’s of fitness photo shoots under my belt and am great at posing people to best show off their physique. Please look at my references.

  5. References?
    Does you photographer have references? What do people have to say about the pictures and the experience. I have dozens of testimonials and you’re always free to contact any client of mine you see on social media. I’m proud of the work I’ve done.

  6. Money back guarantee?
    Is the photographer you are using offer a money-back guarantee of their work? Are they confident enough in their skills to back it up? I offer a guarantee. “As a self employed photographer, I take great pride in my work, and I want to make sure you’re impressed with the service you get. In fact, absolutely delighted, with the final product. What does that mean? Simply this: If you aren’t happy with my work, I’ll give you a full refund. Many photographers don’t guarantee their work at all! But to me, nothing is more important than your complete and total satisfaction. I stand behind every photo shoot 100%. If you ever have any questions or concerns about my work, please call me right away.”

  7. Do they have insurance?
    Weights, lights, cords, equipment, motion, sure something could go wrong. Are you covered if something does? I carry liability, equipment and property insurance to make sure that my clients and myself are covered in the case of an accident.

  8. What images do you get / cost?

    How many / what images do you get for the money you are spending. I make sure to spell it out for my clients what they are getting in return for the photography fees. Don’t be surprised, ask.

  9. What are their turn around times?
    How soon do you get your images? I like to get you a teaser image the day of the shoot as I’m downloading the cards to my archives. You get your proofs within a week of the photo shoot and your edited images 2 weeks after you let me know which ones you would like edited.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Edge Lighting with Tiffany

Tiffany volunteered to help me with some single light bodyscapes using a single bare speedlight. She hit some very nice poses and helped as I was experimenting with the lighting. It is a finicky lighting setup where a couple of inches or degrees can really change how the light hits the body. I’m very pleased with the results and I have a few more experiment shoots planned to really refine the technique. I specifically stayed away from tutorials and how-to-videos so I could play with this on my own without having preset ideas and rules in my head.

Laying on her side, I did use 2 bare speedlights for this images aimed at the shoulder and glute

Single light, full length image. Just a single strip of lit skin.

Simple seated image with the light coming across her back

Lines of her raised back

Using two lights to side light the model

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Karina

Karina is a UFE competitor who came into the studio to work on my athletic nude series. She was off-season lean which meant lots of energy and big full muscles to work with. Karina brought a lot of ideas and really nailed her poses. It was a real pleasure working with her.

Single rear bicep in profile

Single rear bicep in profile

Simple push up shows clean lines

The rear double bicep - consistently a winning pose

Showing calves, quads, glutes, core and lats

A quiet seated pose

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Fitness Shoot with Josh Demelo and Tania Part 2

I’ve worked with personal trainer Josh Demelo many times before and this Sunday we teamed up again to photograph his fitness client Tania. In addition to the killer fitness images we got, Josh made a short video of the session. Josh always brings me the best clients. Thanks to ShowTyme Fitness for hosting the photoshoot.

Here are the rest of the images from the shoot.

Shoulders an biceps

Intense

On the cable machine

Josh and Tania

Posing against the red wall.

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography

- DEMELO FITNESS personal training is managed by Joshua DeMelo - a London native. He has a background in competitive bodybuilding, having placed 2nd in his first competition. He is moving on to the provincial level in 2017. Josh is also certified by the Canadian Personal Training Network and also has worked with some of the TOP coaches in the fitness industry. 

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Dance Photoshoot with Erika

Erika is a dancer in Toronto, we met on Instagram and decided to setup a shoot. The session was divided between the long exposure work and some dance / creative makeup. Abie supplied the makeup for both looks and it turned out great.

Creative makeup for the second look.

Erika jumping

Long exposure with 2 flashes

Multi dancer

Erika in a power pose

Resting in first position

- London Dance Photo - I am Mark Ruddick, an experienced photographer working in London, ON. I enjoy photographing dancers and really appreciate the athleticism and artistry involved. Coming from a fight photography background, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly moving subjects at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to capture my subjects at the peak of their motion in an artistic way.

Let me capture the photos that move you.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Lighting Experiment with Caitlin (NSFW)

I wanted to practice some edge light bodyscapes and portraits. I brought a model to the studio to practice with, Caitlin. Caitlin is a life drawing model so she’s used to holding dynamic poses while I moved and modified the lights. She was fantastic to work with and came armed with a series of her own poses. The goal was to create some dramatic, black and white, nude images. I mostly use 1 or 2 unmodified speedlights for the shoot. I want to get a couple of modifiers and retry again with more practical knowledge.

Lit with a single speed light.

Female bodyscape

2 side light dramatic picture

Lighting the back and the leg.

In profile

Seated

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Fitness Shoot with Josh Demelo and Tania

I’ve worked with personal trainer Josh Demelo many times before and this Sunday we teamed up again to photograph his fitness client Tania. In addition to the killer fitness images we got, Josh made a short video of the session. Josh always brings me the best clients. Thanks to ShowTyme Fitness for hosting the photoshoot.

Tania posing in front of a feature wall.

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Aerial Silks with Suzy & Dustina

I had to opportunity to work with two of the instructors from The Pole House, located in the same building as my studio. Suzy is a pole dance instructor and Dustina is an aerial instructor. Both ladies were really talented and this way my first attempt at shooting aerial silks so I stayed with a pretty safe lighting scheme. Afterward we broke out the fog machine for some more dramatic images. I think we got some good pictures. Thanks to Wendy for assisting that night.

Inverted Splits

Great flexibility and strength

A simple shape makes for great lines

- London Dance Photo - I am Mark Ruddick, an experienced photographer working in London, ON. I enjoy photographing dancers and really appreciate the athleticism and artistry involved. Coming from a fight photography background, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly moving subjects at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to capture my subjects at the peak of their motion in an artistic way.

Let me capture the photos that move you.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Rachel

I had a great time photographing Rachel who is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and a butcher. Her fight name almost writes itself. We got lots of good pictures and she was in really nice shape. Abs were brought out and photographed.

Thanks to my latest Fanshawe student Lisa for helping out.

Showing core strength

Flexibility

Great back and lats

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Why I Assist Photographers

In the world of photography, assisting has been a time-honoured tradition to gather skills and contacts. It’s a smart move as you can learn a lot from a senior photographer. I also assist with less experienced photographers for a variety of reasons. In this post I’d like to get into my reasons for assisting. The local college has a 30 hour field placement requirement for their photography program. I’ve worked with six of their students in the last year and a half, student number seven starts soon, and it leads me to think about the importance of assisting.

You Can Learn a lot About Photography

An experienced photographer will teach you a lot on a shoot if you just keep your eyes open. From their setup to client interaction to workflow, there’s always something to see and incorporate into your work. I will sometimes make notes during the down time on interesting tips or tricks. Assisting allows you to see different genres of photography you might not do yourself, opening up new ideas for projects and business.

Even shooting with a less experienced photographer can give you insights into new ideas and techniques. Sometimes watching what goes wrong (and trying to help it not to) can provide valuable information that you can take back to your workflow.

Assisting allows you to step back and see the entire set for many different angles that you might not see as the photographer.

Humility is a Good Thing

There are many unglamorous jobs assisting such as getting food or coffee, cleaning the studio floor before the shoot and before anyone gets to the set. Choirs will not sing your praises for setting up the lights, or fanning a large piece of cardboard to move the model’s hair. That’s okay I’m there to learn, not be the star. Doing the menial task keeps you humble and that’s a good thing because as a photographer sometimes ego can get in the way of trying something new.

Meet New and Exciting People

It’s always a good idea to expand the people you know in the photography world. You can meet hair and makeup people, models, stylists, other assistants, photographers and clients. A lot of people have different skills than you. You never know when you might need someone last minute or if they need a photographer. (Please do not try and poach clients, it’s wrong)

It’s a lot of Fun

Assisting can be a lot of fun; everyone pulling together for a common goal, to achieve someone’s vision. I like hanging out with photographers and assisting is a great way to get to know them. Even long days are good when you’re sitting at a restaurant going through the day’s images. A major goal of mine is to make sure my set / studio is a fun, happy experience. As an assistant, I strive for the same fun energy. It’s nice occasionally to work at photography for a day and then go home with no editing required at night. (Same for second shooting a wedding.)

Thoughts on How to be a Good Assistant

  • Be early. If you’re on time, you’re late

  • If you notice something simple wrong, fix it

  • Ask how to dress for the shoot and then do it

  • Don’t hand out your business card at the shoot

  • No job is beneath you, unless you’re on a ladder

  • Debrief with the photographer after the shoot is done. Ask questions about what you did, what you saw

  • Have a positive attitude. There is nothing worse than an assistant who doesn’t have a passion for the work (photography - not getting the coffee)

Read More
Fitness Mark Ruddick Fitness Mark Ruddick

Photo Session with Canadian Olympian Kristen Bujnowski

Canadian Olympic bobsleigher Kristen Bujnowski needed images for promotion and sponsors. She came into the studio and we figured out the plan to get her the images she needed. In addition to being a world class athlete Kristen is also a mechanical engineer. It was a really treat to work with her. We captured a bunch of sponsor images and other promotional pictures. Below are a few of the images we made.

Makeup: Faces by Abie

Canadian Olympic Bobsleigher Kristen Bujnowski

Bobsleighs can travel at 140+ km/h, notice the scrapes on the helmet?

In her speed suit and spikes

- Mark Ruddick Photography is a full service London, Ontario photographer who specializes in fitness, bodybuilding and fight photography

Read More
Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Sonny

I had put out a call for participants in my Athletic Nude series and Sonny responded. He said he was moving to London the next week for a job. Little did either of us know at the time his job was in the same building as my studio, so that was a really funny coincidence. We only had a very short time to shoot but I think we will set up a part two of this shoot for the series.

Showing the core thickness

We always start with a good back shot.

Using side light to highlight the physique.

Full body picture.

Stretching out to show the hamstrings

Great way to display the shoulder thickness

Great way to display the shoulder thickness

- The Athletic Implied Nudes series is an exploration of the human body under muscle stress— understanding the body’s strength, flexibility, and power. Clean backgrounds, hard lighting, and black & white photography work together to eliminate distractions and highlight the muscle groups and figure of my subjects.

Beginning with Mixed Martial Artists and Boxers, I have developed my technique to capture rapidly firing muscle groups at high speed in front of the lens. The resulting instinct for timing fight photography has lead to an ability to freeze my subjects at the peak of their motion. Discovering a better understanding of the human form with this project has transitioned into my commercial fitness work, maximizing composition and positioning to best showcase the human form.

Read More