The first shoot of 2016 went off with out a hitch and had some literal ass kicking moments as we shot Tampa, Florida based MMA fighter Sarah “Chucky” Kleczka as she prepared for her upcoming title fight for World Class Fight League, one of Florida’s most prestigious amateur mixed martial arts promotions. It was also the first time doing a commercial promo shoot with the new Leica SL 601 system.
Sarah wanted to get some unique MMA style images for her fight banner and social media but also wanted to try something a little different and softer as well to show off a different side of “Chucky” that her fans are used to. So a combination of fitness and glamour photography was in order.
We scheduled two different locations for the shoot, the studio for the glamour photos and then her gym, World Class Martial Arts, for the action shots.
It was also time to break in the Leica.
I have been shooting with a Canon 5D MKIII for the past few years and have been on the Canon system since I started doing photography way back in college. While I know the Canon inside and out, the Leica is a whole different animal all together. It has a totally different menu and feel, while I had a chance to experiment a little with it, I was a little nervous about doing a promo shoot for a paying client with a new camera. I bought the Canon as a backup in case things weren’t working out, but it was never needed. The Leica performed like a champ. I tried several different looks, using both natural, ambient light, and strobes and it worked flawlessly. I was very impressed with the speed and focusing of the Leica and it delivered every time, even in low light when we turned off the gym lights for a more dramatic effect.
Overall a very productive shoot, we got great results, the client and her manager were very happy with the photoshoot and I am beyond pleased with the performance, look and feel of the Leica SL.
Cant wait for the next one!
