A trail-runner launch shot in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
Client: Flux Footwear
Role: Photography, production, creative direction, model casting, styling
Deliverables: Campaign imagery across two concepts — lifestyle and performance — plus UGC and BTS content
Location: Flint Hills, Kansas
The brief
Flux Footwear asked us to create imagery for a new shoe release — a three-colorway trail runner. They needed assets they could use across ad campaigns, web graphics, and content for their channels.
We built two pieces: a lifestyle look — fun, hiking with friends — and a performance look, friends running together.
Flux was also interested in adding a retro film look for use in email assets and reels on social media.
The approach
We handled production, creative direction, model casting, and location scouting, and found some really neat environments in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
The timing was the key creative call. The Flint Hills run controlled burns in early April, so we planned to shoot just after them, during the first spring growth, to catch vibrant new color in the frames. From there we handled styling, model fit checks, and the team's travel to the location.
Alongside the campaign work, Flux wanted UGC and BTS, both of which we produced with our onset team. We used a Polaroid camera for the true film assets scanned with a local film scanning shop.
Problems to navigate
Every shoot has hiccups. On this one, the weather forced a reschedule — heavy rain was set to close down our scouted location, and our backup was getting rain too. We made the call to push the shoot, adjust with the models, and tighten the delivery timeline so Flux could still hit their release deadline.
Shoe-specific planning. Footwear has its own nuances. Fit matters more than it does with garments, and on a new release you can't just reorder from the manufacturer — lead times to receive shoes were long — so we carried multiple sizing options to cover it.
Trail logistics. Trail shoots add the challenge of simply getting on location. We mapped the routes we wanted, told the models to expect some hiking, and the team prepped to carry equipment in. (Everything feels a little longer on the trail with more gear and a team.)
Crossfit Games, athlete Focused
Client: Gym Reapers
Role: Photography
Deliverables: Campaign imagery across 7 athletes highlighting brand and athlete across live sports engagement.
Location: San Jose, California
The brief
Gym Reapers asked me to support their team at the 2026 Crossfit Games in San Jose, California. With 7 total athletes (2 from a recent acquisition), the goal was to cover them for daily social media posts alongside a video team. Team consisted of production assistant, social media manager, videographer, and myself.
The approach
Our approach was to stay ahead of all events/heats by constantly communicating event releases via the Crossfit Games app. Without a clear picture of which gear the athletes would be wearing, our goal was to cover the athletes broadly initially, and then narrow based on the GymReapers gear circulating in their events. Some events were more athlete focused (running) while others were more gear oriented (snatch).
Problems to navigate
Without access to the floor of the venue, we were navigating from the stands, same access level as fans. This took a lot of legwork up and down stairs, circling the venue for various heats, and tracking athlete heats closely but presented some really neat options higher up in the stadium and shooting down on the athletes where we found the venue mats, and setups to be clean, colorful, and minimal.
Heats frequently changed last minute or we’d have heats with multiple athletes so we were constantly strategizing on best coverage based on athlete skillsets.
Gym Realistic, Functional Fitness
Client: Flux Footwear
Role: Photography
Deliverables: Imagery for shoe color drop and update on existing model.
Location: A warehouse in Kansas City
The brief
We were asked to create some sort of studio or gym realistic imagery for a new color drop in XT Trainers.
The approach
The concept allowed us to be somewhat conceptual but we wanted to be gym realistic - being able to imagine an athlete actually working out in this space with rubber flooring and weights. We chose to go with a location that was outside of an actual gym (industrial space) but it would cater to our being able to build something in the space and leave it overnight. Gyms in the area are busy, distracting and a studio look wasn’t real enough.
Problems to navigate
Turns out gym flooring is quite expensive, even for a small 12×12 pad. We wanted something lighter as this is something that is not often seen and would contrast well with the shoes. We found materials that would allow for a sort of rental, and built the venue from there. Even with the bright neutral space, dark shoes are quite difficult to light as they are the furthest from light sources. This was another reason we wanted a lighter floor - to provide ubiquitous light bounce through the shoot. Industrial spaces are dustier than they appear during scouting so we were very careful to control foot traffic and dirt around the set.
