Ashley Caligueri: Fashion Meets Fitness Studio Shoot / Miami Fashion Photographer Crafts Sexy, Edgy Portraits

Ashley Caligueri walked into our Miami studio in Summer 2024 with the calm confidence of someone who knows her body and her purpose. This was a fashion-meets-fitness studio shoot to document her journey to the WBFF stage, featuring feminine beauty paired with sculpted muscle, runway-ready angles, and content for social media, pageant prep, and brand-building. We worked with Ashley to create sexy, edgy looks that read strong on camera and translate directly to portfolio, sponsorship decks, and stage visuals.

Concept & Goals: From Gym to Glam, Designed for the WBFF Stage

The brief was simple: show Ashley as both soft and formidable. Think high-fashion drama with fitness utility, editorial silhouettes, sculpting shadows, and tight crop images that highlight muscle lines without losing femininity. We aimed to produce content she could use as a model portfolio, photoshoot reference, social media pillars, and a stage reference for pose and presentation.

Why this matters: a model or pageant competitor needs images that do more than look pretty; they need images that define a moment in the narrative. For Ashley, those images needed to prove she belongs on the WBFF stage and in brand conversations.

Studio Location: Miami, FL (Summer 2024)

Shooting in Miami during the summer brings a vibe you can’t fake: humid streets and neon energy outside, extraordinary precision inside the studio. We kept the session indoors to control lighting and maintain a punchy editorial look, while still referencing Miami’s high-contrast, fashion-forward attitude in styling and color choices.

If you’re searching for a South Florida photographer or a Miami fashion photographer for studio work, this session is an excellent example of what focused, high-end studio production looks like.

Lighting & Gea: Bold, Punchy, Editorial

Gear we leaned on:

1. With the Sony A1 and our go-to 24-70 GM and 70-200 GM lenses, the mix gave us versatility from full-body editorial shots to tight, muscular detail shots.

2. Profoto- and Godox-style strobes (we built cinematic light with complex modifiers and softboxes as needed).

3. Light shaping: rim lights for separation, short-duration strobes to freeze muscle tension, and hard key lights to sculpt forms.

Lighting choices:

1. Heavy contrast with deep shadows to define muscle lines and create that sexy, edgy vibe.

2. A rim/hair light to separate Ashley from a dark background and emphasize silhouette — vital for pageant prep and stage-readability.

3. Soft fill on face frames to keep the look feminine and approachable while still editorial.

This is the bold, punchy editorial lighting South Florida fashion photographer clients hire us for, the kind of imagery that performs for brands, Instagram, and contest portfolios alike.

Posing & BTS Direction: How We Moved the Session

Ashley brought a calm and confident energy that made direction a joy. Our approach:

1. Warm-up: quick movement sequences to find range of motion, simple lunges, and slow torso twists to showcase muscle in motion.

2. Cueing: we used concise, image-driven directions, “lift the sternum, relax the jaw, tilt the hip,” rather than lengthy explanations. That keeps models in a performance mindset.

3. Micro-adjustments: tiny shifts in hands and chin made the difference between a strong image and a great one. With the 70-200 GM, we compressed the frame and intensified the form, so each small change mattered.

4. Energy control: for a pageant-bound athlete, we alternated high-energy, pumped-up sets with calm, poised sequences to reflect both stage presence and composure.

Behind the scenes, Dennis and Tessa handled tech and mood in tandem: one shaping light, the other coaching expression. That dual focus is why elite models and influencers book a South Florida fashion photographer who understands both fashion and fitness.

Key Moments & Highlights

• Feminine muscle meets beauty: shots that show delicate features against harsh lighting; the contrast reads powerful.

• Calm confidence: Ashley’s relaxed energy translated into images that feel effortless but intentional.

• Versatility in a single session: editorial gowns next to performance bikinis for an instant portfolio refresh.

• Gear payoff: the Sony A1, paired with our GMs, delivered rich detail and dynamic range, preserving skin tones and highlight detail even under punchy strobes.

No significant challenges, studio control, and Ashley’s preparedness kept the shoot flowing. The final deliverables included a mix of headshots, full-body editorial plates, and content-ready verticals for social.

Why Professional Photography Matters for Models & Competitors

A model portfolio photoshoot with professional lighting, gear, and direction transforms how you present to agents, sponsors, and judges. Commercial clients and fitness athletes need imagery that reads across platforms, including websites, social media, press materials, and stage materials. Hiring a high-end commercial or fitness photographer in South Florida ensures your visuals are editorial-caliber and strategically useful.

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

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

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

Book your South Florida photoshoot at https://www.dstnctartmedia.com/contact.

Want the Same Look? Here’s How We Work

If you’re a model, pageant competitor, fitness coach, or brand in Boca Raton, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm Beach looking for a high-end experience, here’s the playbook:

1. Pre-shoot consult to define story and wardrobe.

2. Studio or location options tailored to your objective (editorial studio days for WBFF prep; beach/resort for swimwear).

3. Full production: styling, hair & makeup partners, and on-set direction.

4. Fast-turn delivery so you can use images for booking, branding, and stage prep immediately.

We’re Dennis & Tessa, photographers who direct like creative directors, light like cinematographers, and treat every shoot as a mini-campaign. If you want to level up your portfolio with a Miami fashion photographer who knows both editorial and fitness, let’s plan your session.

Book a date and make images that work as hard as you do. Models, influencers, fitness athletes, and lifestyle brands in South Florida, this is how your next chapter gets visualized.