Photo Finish - Michele Cogger & Amber Davenport

This morning I had the pleasure of shooting two up and coming figure competitors that each won their class at the 2005 NPC Border States — Michele Cogger and Amber Davenport. The shoot was actually part one of a two part photoshoot mini-series, with the second half wrapping up later on this week at an outdoors shoot, just before the two step back on stage for the Tournament of Champions.

For never really talking to Michele before the shoot, besides a quick handshake and some random comments to let her know how much of a dork I am just before the Border States, she was awesome to work with. Studio shoots are always a bit tough, because there are less props to lean/lounge/lay on, but Michele took to it right away. The photo seen below is one of my all-time favorites.. Michele did a great job of contorting and twisting to give the appearance of a back a linebacker would be jealous of. She also has WAY too much energy for someone who is supposed to be carb depleted the day after a show, which was evident by her constant dancing behind my back. If she's this amped up after a show, I'm scared to see her in the offseason with some sugar in her system.



Now Amber I had been talking to sporadically for a bit via email, but hadn't really seen her before, unlike Michele who is a local competitor. So when she peeked her head through the front door of the studio and waltzed in, I thought to myself, "holy crap, this girl is pretty!" It was also a pleasant surprise to find out that not only did she look good — but allow me to use a cliche — she knew how to work it. Amber had a knack for matching her face with the pose she was hitting, which helps to bring out more emotion in a photo. Like Michele, she picked up on the posing right away, so the shoot went smoothly on all accounts.



I look forward to our next shoot in the coming days, which should produce some very different photos than the ones captured in the studio today.. and I'll be sure to share.