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Vida Cayo Summer Campaign Photoshoot

I'm going to apologize ahead of time for this post but its going to make you feel really guilty about your current workout regime. Vida Cayo recruited some amazingly fit models to stand in their first ever advertising campaign and hiring me, an amateur fitness expert to photograph it. Walking on set, I found myself to be intimidated by the abs, pecs and glutes that were being paraded around but I stood confident in my Nike tank that I would use them to my advantage. The location was incredible and I was pretty happy with it having seen it a few days prior. I'd already mapped out the areas which I wanted to shoot against and the weather was perfect too. We had green grass, trees and a beautiful panoramic view of the beach.

But not to be outdone, I had a guest model that Id pose with my live models that was equally as fit and toned as they were. Her iron frame and wheels of steel were equally as sexy as her topless frame and all eyes were laid on this custom Jeep Wrangler once she pulled into the yard.

The shoot was "bananas" and tons of fun and these fitness models has an even better time than I did. With my MUA and Stylist working feverishly to ensure the models looked their best. I loved the jeep as Im a huge fan of the custom Wranglers. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect shoot, day or collection of diverse models at which to point my camera to. Please enjoy these images responsibly.

Photography: Scharad Lightbourne // Styling: Shan OliverMUA: Makeup by Vonz FergusonGrips: Gary Martin, Martin gray, Kenzi Thompson + Derek Adams // Video: Michael Cortez

Photography: Scharad Lightbourne // Styling: Shan Oliver

MUA: Makeup by Vonz Ferguson

Grips: Gary Martin, Martin gray, Kenzi Thompson + Derek Adams // Video: Michael Cortez

WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO

Carolyn Carter for Ale by Alessandra

I got an email from Carolyn late one evening introducing herself saying that she was in The Bahamas and wanted to shoot lifestyle swimwear images for her blog. She told me that she connected with Alessandra Ambrosio, former Vicky Secret model who was now going into her own line of swimwear and that she had a few of the pieces to shoot with. I always jump at opportunities like these because it allows me to work with foreigners and ultimately grow my network.

Carolyn and I met a few days after to discuss a concept for the shoot and to look at the pieces that we would use to style her in. She was very easy going and assured me she could do her own hair and makeup, meaning that I would be working with a smaller team. Of course I didn't mind this as it would cut down on prep time and allow me to focus on shooting. We planned for a sunrise shoot, scouted our locations at Albany Bahamas and even secured a few four-legged models for the set.

My team and I woke up around 4am that morning to make sure we would be punctual on set. We arrived only to be greeted with a spread of deli meats, fruits, pastries and beverages which would surely provide us with fuel for the shoot...which of course we did not turn down!

The shoot ran great, particularly, the lighting. I love using natural light where I can and the lighting was almost perfect all day. I was able to diffuse the bright sun, bounce the light, which lit my model beautifully. Additionally, using my NIKKOR 85mm f1.4 lens created great flares and bokeh frames and awesome depth of field compositions.

See images from the shoot below.