Four days. Two campuses. One brand.
A complete photo and video rebrand for UCSF FitRec, produced and creative directed from the first planning call to the final cut.
When one of the world's leading health institutions decides to rebuild how its fitness program is seen, a generic gym photo will not do. It has to feel as rigorous as the science and as warm as the community.
UCSF Fitness and Recreation serves the people who keep a world class university and health system running, across two very different campuses in San Francisco. Parnassus sits high above the city with views to the Golden Gate. Mission Bay is all light, glass and rooftop turf. When the FitRec team set out on a full rebrand, they needed one visual library that could carry both places, every program and every screen.
I produced the entire project. I led the planning, the locations, the shot lists, the casting plan, the crew and the creative direction for every frame of photo and video, across four days on set. My goal was simple: when a student, a physician or a new hire sees this work, they should recognize their own community, and they should want to walk through the door.
A full scale production, planned to the minute.
UCSF Fitness and Recreation, University of California, San Francisco
Millberry Union Fitness Center at Parnassus and Bakar Fitness Center at Mission Bay
Four days of brand photography and video for a full program rebrand
Producer, creative director and lead photographer
A retouched brand library and four brand films, cut for widescreen and vertical
- Planning consultations to map locations, programs, props and logistics
- Location scouting and a mood board for the full rebrand
- A shot list for every room, written around how FitRec markets each program
- Timed itineraries for each day, with calendar invites for everyone on camera
- A cast of FitRec's own directors, instructors, trainers and members
- A full crew on set, with a second photographer, a lighting and styling assistant, mobile studio lighting and video
- Facility and aerial imagery of both campuses and the city around them
- A proofing gallery for the team's selections, then the final retouched library and films
days of photo and video on set
campuses, one consistent visual brand
studios, floors, courts and spaces photographed
brand films, cut for every screen
Energy is everything on a fitness set.
Instead of long eight hour days, I proposed focused half days built around how real classes actually run. Each day had a timed itinerary, room by room: yoga, then reformer, then F45, then the pool and the roof. Every person on camera had their call time on their calendar before we arrived.
That structure is what let us move fast without anyone feeling rushed. Instructors taught the way they really teach. Members laughed because they were actually having fun. My crew arrived hours early to light every space, so when people walked in, all they had to do was move.
Real people, real classes, directed with intention. That is what makes a brand library feel true.
Where the community trains.
We began at Parnassus, on the cardio floor and in the cycling studio, then moved through strength, group classes and the basketball court. I wanted the UCSF identity to live naturally in the frame, on the walls, the shirts and the equipment, so every image reads as UCSF without a single word of copy.
The portraits were just as important as the action. Trainers and members became the faces of the program, lit with care and photographed like the people they are.
The Parnassus Film · Widescreen
Vertical Cut for Social
Studio to rooftop, pool to skyline.
Mission Bay was the most ambitious day of the project. We moved from yoga in Studio 2 to the reformer studio, into F45, then out to the rooftop turf, the training rig and the lap pool, all against the San Francisco skyline.
I planned the shot list around what makes Bakar unforgettable: the UCSF logo on the roof, the city in the background of every lift and the pool seen from above. Those are the images that stop someone mid scroll.
The Mission Bay Film · Vertical Cut
The joy of showing up.
Day three was about momentum. Group fitness classes jumping in sync, indoor cycling, personal trainers coaching one on one and the strength floor in full motion. These are the moments that sell a membership, because they show what it feels like to belong.
We closed with hands in and high fives, real reactions from a real community, and the kind of images a recruitment page or a campaign can lead with for years.
The buildings, and the city around them.
A rebrand needs more than people. It needs the places themselves, clean, inviting and ready for a website, a brochure or a facilities tour. Our final day at Mission Bay belonged to the spaces, and across the whole project we documented the gyms, the strength floors, the cycling studios and the rooftop from every angle.
From the air, we captured Parnassus with Sutro Tower behind it and the city stretching to the bay, imagery that places UCSF exactly where it belongs, at the heart of San Francisco.
One producer. One vision.
When you hire me for a project like this, you are not coordinating five vendors. You have one partner who carries the vision from the first call to the final file.
Discover
Planning consultations to understand the rebrand, the programs, the audiences and how every image would be used.
Plan
Scouting, a mood board, a shot list for every room and timed itineraries for each day of the shoot.
Produce
Four days on set with a full crew, directing photography and video together so every asset shares one look.
Deliver
A proofing gallery for the team's selections, then a retouched library and films cut for widescreen and vertical.
From a health system to a fitness app.
The same process that served UCSF scales up or down. Whether you are launching an app, opening a new location or rebranding a program that serves thousands of people, I build the plan around your audience, your channels and the story only you can tell.
Health systems + universities
Multi location fitness, wellness and recreation programs that need one consistent brand across every campus.
Fitness tech + apps
Lifestyle imagery and video of real people using your product, made for app stores, ads, onboarding and launches.
Gyms, studios + clubs
Yoga, Pilates, cycling, strength and boutique studios that want their classes to feel as good online as they do in the room.
Connected equipment + apparel
Product in motion, styled and lit for campaigns, ecommerce, retail and social.
Corporate wellness
Programs for teams and employers that need imagery to recruit, retain and show what their culture feels like.
Coaches, trainers + founders
Personal brands in fitness and wellness who are ready to be seen at the level they are operating at.
Planning a fitness brand shoot?
What does a multi location brand shoot with Katie Monroe include?
Every project begins with planning consultations, location scouting, a mood board and a shot list built room by room. On set, Katie directs the photography and the video, with a second photographer, a lighting and styling assistant and mobile studio lighting as the project calls for. Afterward the team chooses favorites from a proofing gallery, and the final retouched library arrives with films cut for widescreen and vertical.
Can you photograph and film a fitness brand on the same days?
Yes. For UCSF FitRec, photo and video were captured together across four days at two campuses, so the stills and the films share one look, one cast and one story.
Do you work with fitness apps, fitness tech companies and online fitness brands?
Yes. The same process works for a fitness app that needs lifestyle imagery of people using its product, a connected equipment brand, a boutique studio, a corporate wellness program or a university and health system with several facilities.
How do you plan a shoot across several facilities?
Katie builds a timed itinerary for each day, room by room, with a shot list for every space and calendar invites for everyone appearing on camera. For UCSF she proposed focused half days instead of long eight hour days, because energy is everything on a fitness set.
Who appears in the photos and videos?
Whenever possible, a brand's own people. For UCSF FitRec the cast included its directors, instructors, trainers and members, which is why the imagery feels like a real community and not a stock gym.
Where is Katie Monroe based and does she travel?
Katie Monroe Brand Photography is based in Sonoma County and works throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area, Napa, Marin and Northern California, and travels for larger brand and commercial projects.
Let's build something this complete.
UCSF trusted me with two campuses, a full cast of their own people and every program they offer. Whether your brand is one studio, one app or a whole institution, I would love to hear what you are building and help you show the world what it feels like.
I've got you.
