Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Naked Jiu Jitsu (NSFW)

Rachel came back for more athletic nudes and brought a friend this time, martial artist Nelson Sobral. Nelson is not only a martial artist but he’s also a really good musician. (Give him a listen) We had some fun playing around with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and trying to keep it implied. I think we all laughed until we hurt that night.

Thanks to my Fanshawe student Majid for assisting that night.

Every match starts with a bump

Defending the flying arm bar

Hip toss

Arm bar

Triangle choke

- 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.

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Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Fitness Day at Magnum Total Fitness

Melissa invited me to come to her gym, Magnum Total Fitness, to photograph the end of their 12 week boot camp. Magnum Total Fitness is in Kincardine, a great little town on Lake Huron. I also got to re-connect with one of my former work placement students, Justin, who assisted me that day. Setup time was 7 AM and the participants for the day were already starting hair and makeup. We got setup and were shooting just after 8 AM. We photographed in the gym and in the makeshift studio we setup all day. We wrapped up photographing just before 6 and were cleaned up and out by 7.

During the day I got to photograph a lot of genres. Fitness obviously, maternity, family images, group pictures and even a motorcycle. It challenging but a lot of fun. I met a lot of really terrific people on all different points on their fitness journey, it was nice to interact with them all. We shot about 1500 pictures on the day between all of the participants and the groups.

The pictures below are not retouched, the theme of the shoot was body positivity and we wanted to portray people as they are.

Body positive was the theme of the shoot.

Strong, like a mother.

Hardcore gym look.

We played a little bit with the lighting

Great couple, beautiful bike.

Everyone loves dead lifts

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

- Magnum Total Fitness - We are a fully equipped, friendly, and professional gym, located downtown Kincardine.​

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Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Yve

Had a great shoot with fitness competitor Yve right after her show. She was a great poser and had lots of athletic ideas to shoot. It’s always a pleasure working with someone creative like that.

Strength and flexibility

Classic rear double bicep

Posing with dumbbell

Chest press on bench

- 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.

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Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Athletic Nudes with Shane (NSFW)

I did an athletic nude photo shoot with Shane and his wife. Shane was super ripped and in great overall shape. We got a lot of creative poses and his wife jumped in for a few photos.

Classic pose

I actually convinced him to yell

Always good to have help on set.

Returning the favour

Posing with a plate

- 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.

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Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Amatuer Boxing at Warriors

The home gym (Warriors Boxing and Fitness) had an amateur boxing show last night sanctioned by Boxing Ontario. It was a good competitive show.

The Winners

The Action

The Corners

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Mark Ruddick Mark Ruddick

Fight Poster Design for PFC

I’m working my eleventh show with Jamie Champion’s Prospect Fighting Championships. In addition to shooting the fights I’m photographing the promo pictures. I also did the poster designs for this event. Great to work with the PFC team again.

Main Event

Not every fighter appearing on the posters will have a fight, we over shoot as injuries leading up to the fight often happen.

Announcing the event.

Early Bird Ticket Sales

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

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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.

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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.

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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.


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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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