Sunrise on the Bridge: A Fitness Shoot With Aicacia Young in Austin
A sunrise portfolio shoot in Austin with an athlete I love working with, from flare and product placement to a Heroes on White portrait in a parking lot.
Working with talented models and athletes is a lot of what makes photography fun for me, so when one reaches out to work together again, it makes my day. Aicacia was no exception. As soon as I heard from her last fall, I jumped at the chance to head to Austin and get her back in front of the lens.
The plan
We didn't have a specific directive, so it was free game. Aicacia needed new work for her portfolio, and I had a few ideas from shoots I'd seen while browsing other artists on Behance. I wanted to push what I'd done before with color and tonality in Photoshop and learn techniques I might use on a commercial assignment. Always keep learning and building, right? After some back-and-forth and a few tear sheets for Aicacia to weigh in on, we had a plan.
We met at sunrise at the pedestrian bridge just south of downtown Austin for a shoot focused on fitness modeling rather than a specific sport like running or climbing. We both had plenty of those images already, so we wanted something different we could both show future clients. I also knew I wanted at least one image for my Heroes on White project that highlighted her ability to scale walls like a ninja.
Clean backgrounds, warm light
Dawn was not exactly warm, but we had a plan and Aicacia is a pro, so we got set up and jumped in. I wanted lots of clean backgrounds, so I shot most of the session from low, which wrecked my legs for the rest of the day from holding squats and lunges and looking like a crazy person behind the lens as usual. I used the blue sky and bits of the cityscape as backgrounds, switching up positions and poses as we came up with them.
After a few warm morning-light frames, we shot Aicacia adjusting her headphones and getting ready for her workout. I loved the way the sun was flaring through the buildings and worked it into the background of a few images while keeping the focus on Aicacia and the products she was promoting.
Product placement wasn't always at the front of my mind on earlier shoots, but I've been working on it a lot lately, and it's fun to work it in subtly. I'd suggest trying it in your shoots. It's kind of the definition of commercial and advertising photography, so bring that mentality into the shoots you do for yourself, too.
Action
Next came the action shots. Aicacia ran some stairs and a few quick sprints around a loop of the running trail. These were the only top-down shots of the series, and I liked what I saw when I converted the stairs image to black and white. The harsh light cutting across the stairs made an effect that came through better in tones than in color.
The image I wanted to push
By then the sun was finally where I needed it for the image I wanted to play with more in post. Back on the bridge, with the sun as a rim light, I framed Aicacia against the clean blue sky. I wanted to play skin tones against an almost ethereal sky color, and her pink top was a perfect complement to that vision.
Clothing color can really affect the overall image, so pay attention to it. As photographers we often have to wear the hats of makeup artist, stylist, set designer, hair stylist and ten others along with photographer. Step out from behind the camera and engage in other ways throughout the shoot. It makes a huge difference in the final result.
Finishing the story
We wrapped with a few more shots to finish the story of an early-morning workout: tying her shoes and taking off on a run around the loop. Those made great fillers for the series. I ended up loving the shoe-tying shot, and I didn't realize until I got home how gorgeous the light spilling in from camera left was. I love little surprises like that.
A hero in the parking lot
Finally, I wanted that black-and-white Heroes on White portrait before we left, and I didn't have a studio. That's the beauty of the setup I've been using for the series: it works just about anywhere. We shot it in the parking lot between our cars, and it was perfect. Aicacia brought an intensity I loved, and using her climbing ropes and chalk as props added an element that, I feel, helps define the heroic sense I'm after.
The behind-the-scenes video is below.
The film
Watch the behind-the-scenes film
Originally published on the Ruddock Visuals blog, January 2017. Lightly edited in 2026.