Tag Archives: fitness photographer

Sunrise session with Whitney Lockwood at Hillier Ignite Fitness Park.

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My first time shooting at the Virginia Beach-based outdoor park at the Oceanfront.

Normally I hold my beach sunrise sessions somewhere other than at the resort area of our great city. All those hotel patrons coming out to the beach or watching from the patio of their rooms really adds to the pressure of someone trying to relax and get comfortable posing. I’ve had beach goers literally try to get in the picture with the clients, try to ask me photography questions when the lighting is peaking, or just stand there five feet away, ignore the sunrise, and stare at us.

But then there’s Whitney. Whitney is fearless. She’s a powerhouse of confidence and strength in a compact frame. She’s a powerlifter, personal trainer, and a fitness bikini competitor. So, she walks the walk and talks the talk. She would be just fine.

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Danielle’s Fitness Session in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

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She was in final prep for a local fitness competition plus she wanted to honor her mom.

Danielle was the second person involved in my latest duo super session, along with her friend Shelley. These are her images and story.

I love helping people see themselves in a new light. I truly believe we are our own worst enemies when it comes to our self image. When we look at ourselves in the bathroom mirror at 7 am all we see are the “flaws” and “issues.” We never see the truth, the good.

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Shelley’s fitness super session in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

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She was in final prep for a fitness competition.

Shelley was part of a duo session. She and her friend Danielle teamed up to do a super session as part of their work-up for a local fitness competition. Danielle’s images will be posted later. This is all about Shelley.

Therefore I’m going to let her talk first.

“I was absolutely blown away by Mark’s professionalism and amazing photography skills. We did the shoot one week prior to a bodybuilding competition that I competed in and it was the greatest confidence boost that I needed right before stepping on stage. Mark truly captured the rough and hard beauty for the fitness photos and then we ended our session at First Landing with the most unique sunset I have ever seen. I have never felt so beautiful, confident, and feminine. Mark is truly an amazing photographer and I would recommend him to anyone. I have already started to plan my next shoot with Mark!”

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Kristin Bauer is my WCW for today.

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You know the saying about the right people will show up in your life exactly when you need them? Kristin is one of those people.

We are going back to the beginning of my portrait career for this one. I won’t mention how long we’ve known each other but it’s been a while. I was a newbie to the game, a babe in the woods. I didn’t know what I wanted or how to do a thing. I just knew I wanted to be a portrait photographer.

She was a known NYC runway and fashion model who, from what I can tell, took pity on me as I had nothing to offer her in terms of quality images. She was born and raised in my area and would come home to visit from time to time. We linked up whenever she did.

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Welcoming Spring back to Virginia Beach.

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It’s been far too long since we last met. Here’s what’s in the works for the upcoming season.

In celebration of the death of Winter I’m posting some of the greatest hits from last year’s sessions. It is only a matter of time before we can head back outside and create even more magical images. I am not the same photographer that I was last season. I’ve grown skill-wise and want to stretch and use the new photographic muscles

On a personal level, I’m celebrating the impending arrival of a studio backdrop and other equipment in an effort to rebuild a small studio space at my place. I used to have one when I lived in upstate NY but it got destroyed in the move.

Having this small studio will allow me to create more fine art style images as well as fitness images, headshots, fashion and such. Recent forays into short video has shown a potential new route for me to take and this space will help with that. It also will become a default “Plan B” in case bad weather ruins a location session.

So, the future is looking bright. I hope you join me as I explore and grow.

Mark Knopp is a Virginia-Beach-based portrait photographer and teacher that covers the Hampton Roads community and beyond. Contact him today at mknopp1(at)cox.net for all your photographic needs.

Severine doing yoga silhouetted against the sunset at First Landing State Park.

Despite what the calendar says, location portrait sessions continue.

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There is no real “off-season” here in Virginia Beach.

The main reason I moved down here over eight years ago was the nice climate. Where I’m from snow flies before Halloween and lasts until May. Count it out on your fingers – that’s six months that snow could fall. And let me tell you, it falls. My hometown averages 140 inches of the white stuff every year.

Let me repeat that – averages 140 inches. 12 feet of the white stuff. We’d close up shop by late September and wouldn’t poke our heads back outside until at least mid-May.

Here is southeastern Virginia it really doesn’t get cold and it doesn’t stay cold for long. There are spans of time where it might only get to 50 but then, when the conditions line up right, we suddenly get a spat of 70-75 degree days. Thanks to technology we can see those days coming ahead of time and make plans.

Take, for example, Sean here. He reached out to me about doing a fitness session at the beach recently. A quick scan of the local forecasts showed that it would warm up over the coming weekend so we made plans.

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