After 7 hours of makeup and posing, we were finished.
It was Saturday, October 19th and while I was supposed to be competing at the 2019 Ultimate Grand Prix.
But I never made it…
Two weeks before I’d competed at a local Texas show to prepare the big show in Miami.
My immune system had other plans…
I have celiacs, and somehow I’d flared up my disease.
For most people a wheat allergy does nothing more than make their stomach hurt or make them bloat.
But for me, eating out is always a risk. And after my show in Garland, cross-contamination caused an autoimmune reaction in my body that left me a shell of my former self.
Within a day, the signs were evident. My body was swollen and puffy. My joints ached from fluid and I was sensitive to the touch.
I was overcome by exhaustion and a sense of lethargy.
Recovery is no simple thing.
I knew my run for my pro card in 2019 was over.
My body would need time to heal, however long that took.
“I’ll Compete if You Want To”
The thought of getting on stage in my condition was terrifying.
Imagine having the worst flu of your life and having to put a bikini on and stand in front of other people while they judged you.
But I wasn’t about to quit on Ana, who had been training for months for this and had signed up to compete with me.
Thankfully, Ana is pretty understanding and sees the big picture on health.
She advised we skip it.
I called the promoter of the Grand Prix and moved my entry to another show in May.
Rather than waste our already paid for tickets and hotel, we booked a photoshoot in Miami instead.
Granted, we had only planned to be in Miami for two nights, but we wanted to make the most of missing out on a contest.
Makeup is a lifesaver
We flew in Friday night and took it pretty easy.
We stopped for several of the local Florida specialties at Whole Foods including Yucca Fries and Fro Pros.
If you’ve never had a Fro Pro, they were invented by Matthew Williams of Delray Beach, Florida who couldn’t find a clean, yet satisfying protein snack.
Frozen Protein was born and they can be found all over gyms and Whole Foods in Southern Florida.
My favorite flavor is mint although the original is always an easy win.
From Ft. Lauderdale we drove to South Beach.
We stayed at the Catalina hotel, which seemed like a great deal.
The room was really nice. Great decor. Lots of space, and a comfy bed.
But here’s what’s weird.
Our room was located behind a full restaurant and bar.
Basically, we had to walk through people eating dinner to get to our room.
Bags and all.
WEIRD.
The other downside…
The whole place smelled musty. I imagine a lot of South Beach has been flooded at one point or another, so for the price and location, it wasn’t bad at all.
After checking in, we found a place a mile or so away to get a spray tan.
If you’ve never tried it, a spray tan is the ultimate “weight loss” tool. You look instantly thinner and I recommend it for every occasion you want to look your best.
The next morning, we woke up in South Beach looking like the farthest thing from fitness models.
Thank goodness for makeup.
We headed to Winwood where we had booked our photoshoot with Image 1rst Miami.
The have a great setup where they can get several different location shots all in the same sitting.
The owner Danny Gabriel had taken these shots of me a couple of years back for my fitness portfolio and I was eager to see what kind of photos he’d capture this time around.
We arrived in makeup around noon. It takes about an hour for each person to go through hair and makeup at a shoot but oh what a transformation it is.
We brought about six different outfits each including any accessories or shoes for them. Bright outfits always show up great in pictures. It’s a good idea to bring pictures of looks you like so your photographer can get an idea of what look you want to capture.
Celebrities like J Lo are great sources of inspiration. Fitness models like Lauren Simpson of Australia have great poses you can replicate. You simply find the photo you like, find a similar outfit and practice the pose before heading to your shoot.
Trust me, practice is key. A lot of these poses are hard to get into and even harder to hold. The more you practice, the easier this will be and the better the photos you will get.
Use a camera at home and take selfies of yourself holding the poses ahead of time.
If all else fails, a good photographer knows how to get your best angles. They will give you cues to get into your best poses.
Here’s a video I took from my shoot in December of 2017 to give you an idea of what your changing area looks like and where you will store your clothes.
Your photographer will look through your clothes to help you pick what outfits will “pop” the best in photos.
Be Prepared to Wait
Side note: Photoshoots rarely finish when you think they will.
Bring food and drinks. There’s no time to leave the set.
This shoot, in particular, took over eight hours.
Bring a sweatshirt or blanket as well if you’re shooting in swimsuits because they may not have one provided for you.
Bring your sense of humor too because while people laugh that models have an easy life, your patience will be tested.
The poses are hard and the hours are long. The upside is,
Even if you’re a total newbie, a good photographer will help you look like a rockstar
We used our downtime wisely as you can see from this video.
We finished at 9 pm
We originally planned to finish by 5, have dinner with friends and go check out the South Beach clubs.
We didn’t get out until nine.
That’s because once you finish shooting, you have to go through the images and decide which ones you want to keep.
There could be more than 1200 images!
Needless to say, things take a while.
By nine we were starving. We way under planned on the snacks.
Luckily, SuViche, a popular Japanese and Peruvian restaurant, was steps across the street in Wynwood, Miami.
The food was quick, healthy, and delicious.
Where to Park
I love South Beach.
Back in 2012, I spent many weekends dancing the night away.
One thing I don’t love about South Beach, however, is the parking.
Valet parking could cost as much as $40 a night.
You may find a parking garage that looks as cheap as $20 a day, but read the fine print. The day usually starts over at 5 am and you’ll end up paying the cost of two days just for staying one night.
There are affordable places to park, you’ll just want to pinpoint them on a map before you head to your hotel.
By the time we found a place to park and got back to our hotel, it was 11 pm.
We took one lap through Lincoln road and went back and passed out at our hotel.
So much for showing Ana the incredible clubs in the area.
Our Last Morning
This trip was way too short. That was my first thought when I woke up Sunday morning.
My second thought was how much sleep I was going to need when I got home. I was still sick and the photoshoot had taken a toll on me (yeah, yeah, cry me a river I know). I know a lot of folks that on their death bed would suck it up for a trip to beautiful Miami.
FINALLY the Breakfast
We headed to a cute little place called The Daily Creative.
One of my dear friends from Romania heard from a friend I was in town and came to meet us. What a coincidence! She just happened to be there on vacation.
We also met a former Nascar driver that morning. That’s what I love about Miami. You never know who you are going to run into.
What about the beach?
My friend Erika and her husband booked a trip to South Beach to see me compete and celebrate her husband’s birthday.
The only time we got at the beach was the 30 minutes we stopped by to see Erika.
Talk about a short trip!
In hindsight, we would fly in on a Wednesday to give our bodies a couple of days to de-stress before the show.
Everyone bloats on a plane and coming in on Friday is a crazy idea.
Even if you’re just booking a photoshoot, the shoot will take most of a full day.
Before we headed back to Dallas we made one important pit stop in the A gates of the Southwest terminal in Ft. Lauderdale.
La Familia Tacos & Tequila
It was our first time, but the menu showed a Yucca Fries and Tostones Bravos, a pork carnitas, avocado-plantain dish that was to die for. (Editor’s note: they stopped selling both these dishes! What a tragedy)
With our bellies full we hopped a Southwest flight back to Dallas Love.
Within a couple of weeks we had access to our full image files.
Here’s a teaser showing off my massive booty gains in 2019!
And a fun one of Ana and I clowning around
To nail your first photoshoot, contact
Danny GabrielManaging Director
IMAGE 1ST MIAMITel: (305) 572-0201
You can see the diverse range of photos they take on their website, and also how they can edit your photos if you are worried about cellulite or not looking your best.
And tell them I sent you.
Now go get fit!
Talk soon,
Diana
P.S.
Really, the perfect kick in the pants to reach your fitness goals is to book a photoshoot four to six months down the road.
Make a vacation out of it and then sign up for a transformation plan to get you looking your best for the shoot.
Get your complete transformation blueprint inside my new book Three Weeks to Thin: The Emergency Fat Loss Diet.
You’ll also discover a little known secret to reaching ANY fitness goal.
Before I release it on Amazon, I’m giving away 500 free copies. All I ask is if the book helps you, you send me a testimonial.