LES MILLS INTERNATIONAL – GLOBAL FITNESS BRAND PHOTOGRAPHY
150 images in 8 hours. Corporate culture + fitness energy. 24-hour delivery for global recruitment.
CLIENT: Les Mills International (via agency partnership)
PROJECT: Employer Branding Photography & Culture Storytelling
LOCATION: Les Mills Chicago Headquarters
ROLE: Solo Brand Photographer
DELIVERABLE: 150 edited images in 24 hours covering corporate culture + fitness classes
OUTCOME: Images are live on lesmills.com and across global recruitment platforms. Client received comprehensive brand photography blending corporate culture and fitness innovation in one cohesive shoot.
the stakes
About Les Mills International
Les Mills International is the world’s leading provider of group fitness programs, with over 20,000 clubs in more than 100 countries using Les Mills workouts. Founded in New Zealand in 1968, Les Mills has revolutionized the group fitness industry with science-backed programs like BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, BODYSTEP, and RPM, transforming millions of lives through the power of group exercise.
This isn’t just a fitness company: they’re a global movement dedicated to creating a fitter planet. Their mission combines exercise science, music, choreography, and community to deliver life-changing fitness experiences. With a culture rooted in passion, innovation, and collaboration, Les Mills attracts world-class instructors, trainers, and fitness professionals from around the globe.
What this means:
When you photograph Les Mills, you’re not documenting a gym. You’re capturing a movement that operates in 100+ countries and influences how millions of people experience fitness worldwide.
THE BRIEF
Les Mills International needed fresh, authentic photography to power their employer branding and recruitment initiatives.
The core objective:
✓ Brand awareness across global markets
✓ Culture storytelling that communicates Les Mills’ values and work environment
✓ Employer branding for recruitment, attracting fitness professionals, corporate talent, and innovators
✓ Deliver 150 usable images in 24 hours for immediate deployment
The unique challenge:
This wasn’t just “take some nice photos.” Les Mills has a unique culture: fun, autonomous, easy-going, yet intensely passionate about fitness. The photography needed to capture both their cutting-edge fitness innovation AND their collaborative corporate culture in a single day.
I was hired through an agency that had worked with me previously on sports and gym photography projects. They knew I could deliver authentic, high-energy content with fast turnaround.
THE CHALLENGE
Capture Fitness Passion + Corporate Culture in 8 Hours
The project brief required accomplishing something difficult:
Showcase global team culture
Highlight the people who make the company exceptional: instructors, trainers, corporate employees, innovators
Capture authentic fitness energy
Real classes in action, real participants, genuine sweat and passion, not staged “stock photo” vibes
Tell an employer brand story
Photos needed to attract talent by communicating: “This is what it’s like to work at Les Mills”
Deliver 150 usable images in 24 hours
Fast turnaround for immediate use across website, marketing, and recruitment campaigns
Blend corporate + fitness aesthetics
Office collaboration shots needed to feel as energetic as fitness class shot, one cohesive brand story
Why This Was Complex
A. Capturing Movement & Energy in Fitness Classes
Les Mills classes are high-intensity, dynamic, and full of motion. Participants are lifting weights, jumping, punching, moving constantly. Capturing that energy authentically, without blur, without losing the emotion, requires technical precision and an understanding of fitness environments.
B. Balancing Corporate + Fitness Aesthetics
One moment I’m shooting employees collaborating in a bright, modern office space. The next moment I’m in a dimly lit gym capturing BODYPUMP participants mid-squat. The photos needed to feel cohesive despite radically different environments.
C. Lighting in Gym Environments
Gym lighting is notoriously difficult, often dim, with harsh overhead fluorescents or dramatic colored wash lights. Capturing clean, professional images without killing the atmosphere required careful technical execution.
D. Authenticity Over Perfection
Les Mills specifically wanted to avoid “stock photo” vibes. They wanted real employees, real classes, real sweat, real passion. That meant documentary-style shooting with minimal direction, capturing genuine moments rather than staging perfect poses.
E. Coordinating Multiple Locations in 8 Hours
One building, but multiple spaces: offices, fitness studios, common areas, outdoor environments. With only 8 hours to capture 150+ usable images across all these spaces, efficiency and prioritization were critical.
THE APPROACH
How I Solved It: Documentary-Style Solo Shooting with Technical Precision
This project required comprehensive brand photography, blending corporate culture storytelling with dynamic fitness class coverage, all executed solo in a single day.
Phase 1: Pre-Production Strategy
Before the shoot, I worked with the agency and Les Mills’ team to understand:
The story they wanted to tell:
“Les Mills is a global fitness innovator with a fun, autonomous, passionate culture where people love what they do”
Priority moments:
What mattered most? (Class energy, employee collaboration, facility atmosphere, motivational branding elements)
Logistics and flow:
Class schedules, employee availability, which spaces to prioritize
While I was executing Les Mills’ creative vision (not directing the concept), my experience with fitness photography allowed me to anticipate the right moments and technical requirements.
Phase 2: Solo Shooting Strategy
My approach:
Blend documentary authenticity with technical excellence.
What I Captured:
A) Corporate/Office Culture:
✓ Employees collaborating: Team meetings, brainstorming sessions, casual workplace interactions
✓ Office environments: Modern, open spaces that communicate innovation and creativity
✓ Leadership and team moments: Authentic workplace culture, not staged corporate headshots
✓ Candid interactions: Laughter, conversation, connection, the human side of Les Mills
B) Fitness Classes & Product:
✓ Group fitness classes in action: BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, and other Les Mills programs with participants mid-movement
✓ Instructors leading workouts: Capturing the passion, energy, and expertise of Les Mills instructors
✓ Participants exercising: Real sweat, real effort, real joy – the authentic experience of a Les Mills workout
✓ Gym equipment and branding: Context shots showing the Les Mills environment and motivational graphics
✓ Movement and energy: Dynamic shots that communicate intensity without blur or loss of emotion
Phase 3: Post-Production (24-Hour Turnaround)
After 8 hours of shooting, I delivered:
✓ 150 edited, high-resolution images: Color-corrected, properly exposed, publication-ready
✓ 24-hour turnaround: Fast enough for Les Mills to immediately deploy across website, recruitment campaigns, and marketing materials
✓ Consistent brand aesthetic: Cohesive visual style across all images despite different environments
Technical Execution
Lighting Strategy:
Office spaces: Natural light supplemented minimally delivering a clean, bright, professional look
Fitness studios: Working with existing gym lighting (often dramatic colored wash lights) thus preserving atmosphere while maintaining image quality
No heavy flash setups: Kept lighting natural to preserve authenticity and allow fast movement between locations
Capturing Movement:
Fitness classes move FAST. To capture sharp, dynamic images:
High shutter speeds to freeze motion without blur
Anticipating peak moments (the top of a jump, the intensity of a lift)
Positioning strategically to capture both individual participants and group energy
Documentary Style:
I didn’t direct the classes or heavily pose employees. Instead, I moved through the spaces capturing genuine moments and letting the energy, passion, and culture speak for itself.
THE DELIVERABLES
What Les Mills Received:
✓ Corporate culture images: Employees brainstorming, collaborating, innovating in modern office environments
✓ Fitness class action shots: Participants mid-workout, instructors leading with passion
✓ Motivational branding elements: Environmental graphics like “DON’T WISH FOR IT. WORK FOR IT. YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY”
✓ Diverse participants and employees: Authentic representation of Les Mills’ global community
Content Use:
Website: Primary images now live on lesmills.com showcasing company culture and career opportunities
Recruitment Marketing: Career pages, job postings, employer branding campaigns
Social Media: Content for LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook highlighting Les Mills culture
Internal Communications: Employee engagement, team celebration, corporate storytelling
THE RESULT
What makes this a “content engine” and not just “a photography project”?
Immediate outcome:
Les Mills received 150 publication-ready images within 24 hours. Images immediately deployed across global recruitment platforms and website.
The broader impact:
These images now tell the story of what makes Les Mills exceptional, not just as a fitness company, but as a place where people are passionate, innovative, and committed to creating a fitter planet.
WHAT THIS PROVES
Lesson 1: Versatility matters.
This wasn’t “just office photos” or “just fitness photos”, it was both, integrated into one cohesive brand narrative.
Lesson 2: Fitness photography is specialized.
Fitness photography requires: understanding movement, challenging lighting environments, capturing authentic energy and emotion, and
Respecting the intensity and passion of real workouts without disrupting the experience
Lesson 3: Solo efficiency enables fast turnaround.
Shooting solo allowed me to move quickly between office spaces, fitness studios, and common areas without disrupting workflows or classes.
Delivering 150 edited images in 24 hours
gave Les Mills immediate access to fresh content for time-sensitive recruitment campaigns.
This is only possible with 20 years of experience:
knowing how to prioritize, shoot efficiently, and edit fast without sacrificing quality.
WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF
Documenting a global brand’s culture:
Les Mills isn’t just big, they’re THE leader in group fitness innovation. Being trusted to tell their employer brand story was an honor and a challenge I took seriously.
Capturing authentic passion:
The energy in Les Mills classes isn’t manufactured for photos, it’s real. Instructors lead with genuine passion. Participants give everything they have. Employees are deeply invested in the mission of creating a fitter planet. That authenticity came through in every shot.
Working with a purpose-driven organization:
Les Mills’ mission “to create a fitter planet” isn’t marketing speak. It’s the driving force behind everything they do. Documenting that commitment to improving lives through fitness felt meaningful.
THE BROADER LESSON
Employer branding photography isn’t just about making a company look good.
It’s about attracting talent by authentically communicating: “This is what it’s like to work here.”
When you’re photographing for recruitment purposes, you need:
Authenticity (real employees, real culture, real passion)
Versatility (corporate + product + people)
Speed (fast turnaround for time-sensitive campaigns)
Global mindset (content that works across markets)
That’s what 20 years of experience delivers: The ability to walk into an unfamiliar company, understand their culture in hours, and create recruitment-ready imagery by the next day.
Need employer branding photography to attract top talent or customers?
Whether you’re a fitness brand, wellness company, or any organization that needs recruitment-focused photography, let’s talk about how authentic visual storytelling can power your hiring campaigns.
No pitch. No pressure. Just a conversation to see if this fits your goals and your workflow.
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