We walked away with images that looked like marble statues brought to life. So, if you ever get the chance to work with an athlete of her caliber, do yourself a favor: warm up the oil, grab a soft brush, and get to work.
Here is why the decision to oil up Ashly Anderson turned a standard shoot into something editorial. Ashly trains hard. You can see the separation in her delts and the striations in her quads. But dry skin eats light. No matter how many $2,000 strobes you set up, matte skin looks flat in two dimensions. oil up ashly anderson
When the creative director first said, “Let’s oil her up,” I hesitated. In the world of portrait and fitness photography, “oil” can go one of two ways: cheap and greasy, or sculpted and divine. But with Ashly’s particular muscle definition and skin tone, this wasn’t going to be a gimmick. It was going to be a necessity. We walked away with images that looked like
