Amber Jo: Fashion Meets Fitness Studio Shoot, Miami Fashion Photographer

Amber Jo came into our Miami studio in Summer 2024 with a mission: to document her WBFF prep, showcase the physique she’d earned, and channel the fashion-forward, sexy, and edgy persona she embodies. As a model, competitor, and unapologetic style lover, Amber wanted images that would serve her pageant journey, social feeds, and new portfolio work. We built a studio session that fused editorial fashion photography with high-impact fitness imagery, because in South Florida, you do both, intricate and glamorous.

Concept: fashion × fitness, dialed to bold

The creative brief was simple on paper: fashion meets fitness. In practice, that meant pushing contrast and attitude. We leaned into sharp silhouettes, glossy skin tones, and directional light that highlights muscle while keeping a runway-ready sheen on the wardrobe. Amber is a fashionista, and Tessa connected instantly with her styling instincts, so we mixed sport-luxe pieces with slick editorial gowns to create visual contrast: one minute fierce athlete, the next, high-fashion femme.

See more of our fashion photography at https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/fashion

Location: Studio in Miami, with a South Florida attitude

We shot in a controlled studio in Miami, but the session was anything but closed off. Miami’s energy, humid afternoons, art-deco edges, and that confident runway strut you hear on Lincoln Road, informed our pace and palette. If you’re looking for photography in Miami or a model portfolio photoshoot with local flavor, we bring those urban and resort influences into every frame.

Explore our Miami swimwear shoots at https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/swimwear

Gear & Lighting: Sony A1 + editorial strobes

We shot Amber on the Sony A1, rotating primarily between the 24–70mm GM and the 70–200mm GM for compressed drama and tight detail work. Lighting was a mix of Profoto-style punchy strobes and modifiers: beauty dishes for smooth cheek contours, hard rim lights for muscle separation, and a large softbox for runway softness when her fashion moments required it. Our lighting goal was cinematic and editorial, bright specular highlights, deep blacks, and a color palette that reads premium on feeds and print alike.

Why these choices matter: for fitness photography, the 70–200 mm lens is used at longer focal lengths to flatten and sculpt; for editorial looks, the 24–70 mm lens provides the flexibility to work with wide compositions and the environment.

View more commercial work at https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/commercial

BTS: how we got Amber warmed up and photo-ready

Amber arrived confident, but every great session needs a warm-up. Tessa began with movement drills, walking, short on-the-spot sprints, and shoulder isolations, to loosen joints and increase natural energy. We ran a few test frames with big, easy poses to settle lighting and to let Amber find rhythm. Then Dennis pushed micro-directions: “drop the chin half a beat, press the left hip, breathe out for tighter abs.” For pageant prep and fitness portraits, those small cues make body lines read stronger.

We also used quick music swaps to flip moods: house beats for athletic sets, slower, moody R&B for the fashion edits. Amber fed off it, which made transitions smooth and real.

Posing: the fine line between glam and power

Posing for fitness portraits requires precision. We coached Amber through tension points, flexing the quad, extending the clavicle, and anchoring the weight through the toes, then softened her face to keep the vibe sultry. For the fashion moments, we opened shoulders, extended limbs, and used the 70–200 to compress posture and add attitude. The goal was to create images that serve as both influencer content and competitive imagery for the WBFF stage.

Pro tip from set: when switching from an athletic to a glamour pose, have the model exhale sharply and hold, it flattens the stomach and sharpens muscle definition instantly.

Key moments: when sport met runway

1. The “Power Dress” sequence: a stretch gown snatched at the waist with a fierce, side-lit rim that read like a magazine cover.

2. The “Sculpt” series: high-contrast single-light setups that revealed every muscle plane, perfect for her fitness portfolio.

3. The hair-and-accessories flip: quick changes from minimal jewelry to editorial headpieces added narrative between sets and delivered social-ready content.

Amber had the fitness and the style. She's definitely a fashionista that Tessa vibed with; that chemistry translated into the kind of images that stop thumbs and convert followers into clients or voters.

Why professional photography matters for models and competitors

You can’t put WBFF ambitions, influencer growth, or brand deals on autoplay. A professional South Florida fashion photographer does more than point and shoot, we direct, light for print-impact, and design a visual strategy. For models and fitness athletes, images are your proof. They’re what casting directors, sponsors, and pageant judges file into memory. Investing in a session that combines fashion photography with fitness photography means every frame can serve a different commercial purpose: reels, editorial prints, sponsored posts, and portfolio-ready spreads.

If you’re a professional model, influencer, or fitness coach searching for a high-end commercial photographer in South Florida, from Boca Raton to Fort Lauderdale, we craft content that sells.

Book a session and make it count.

Want images that work on stage, social, and in print? Whether you need a model portfolio photoshoot, fitness lifestyle photography, or a complete branding refresh across Miami and the region, we’ve built the experience for it. Book your South Florida photoshoot at https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/contact

For headshots, glamour, and portrait work, check these services:

• Portraits: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/portrait

• Headshot photography: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/headshot-photography

• Glamour: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/glamour

• Lifestyle & Fitness: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/lifestyle-fitness

• Event photography: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/event

• Food & Beverage: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/food-beverage

Amber Jo’s session is a reminder: great images don’t just reflect the work you’ve done, they accelerate what’s next. If you’re a model, influencer, fitness competitor, or brand in South Florida ready for editorial-level photography and strategy, let’s make your next shoot impossible to scroll past.

Book your shoot now and bring your vision to life: https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/contact