I just got back from teaching a workshop on creativity and fashion in Illinois. I’m so excited about the images I created there! They are awesome! I had fantastic models and a great location to shoot in too.
I created this short video for YouTube of the highlights. Check it out!
And here’s a separate link in case the video above doesn’t show up in your blog reader. Just click on this photo here.
I created images both outdoor on location in the city, as well as indoor in a studio. This is one of my favorite images from the shoot. I walked the model Kim in her high heels, out to the shore of the Mississippi River, where I could see a lighthouse in the distance.
I only knew that I wanted the lighthouse, but when I got out there, I found this big rope, and suddenly the image came to me. Fashion is about mixing opposites, suddenly I had the image in my head. This pretty girl all dressed up in cute clothes doing manual labor on the shore, pulling on this enormous rope.
I lit this and all of these outdoor images with one light, set manually — me personally holding the light in one hand, with my camera in the other. That’s the way I can control exactly where the light is going to hit her face as she moves and bends. Also, none of these images have been retouched or enhanced. The colors, contrast, cropping, smoothness of the skin, whiteness of the eyes, and even the color “effects” or anything else you notice, are all done in camera. This was part of the class, to learn how to create awesome images in camera, without having to “fix” them with Photoshop or other software.
I have a saying: “The trick to Photoshop is Photography.”
I was lucky that one photographer got some images of me working. Here you can see me working my own light with my free hand, adjusting as the model adjusts.
These next images I created in a studio that we set up in the hotel. The softness is not a computer effect, but done optically with a lens. The warm colors were created specifically from the custom white balance that I set while shooting. Again, no retouching or effects applied — just great photography.
Contrast the feel and look of these images above with this next image below, created in the same spot, but different lenses, different lighting.
I took this model also down to the docks and created these in a huge boathouse/warehouse. These first couple are shot using the setting sun coming through a window. One of my favorite things about this is shadow from the window panels on her. Again, no color or other adjustments. The idea of this workshop was to be completely creative while being completely technical — balancing the two halves of the brain in harmony.
I absolutely love these images using the window light, especially this portrait of the two of these girls together. It’s so mesmerizing to me!
Then switching up the lighting and lenses, I used the same room to create some completely different looks. Many photographers have or know only one style of lighting — all their images look the same. I believe that an artist should be versatile, being able to do anything they can imagine. Photographers need to be able to masterfully create images in all sorts of styles, using all sorts of lighting patterns and light sources — and the images should still be awesome!
I also created some awesome twilight images of this model using specular flash outdoors, using the docs, railings, and lights as leading lines.
And here’s one of my favorites of her friend, using the light from outside to wrap around and light her.
The idea of my workshops is to help photographers create great images on purpose, and not by accident. Many times photographers have the mind-set that if they just shoot a lot, that by the law of averages, some images will work out. I believe in creating the opposite way. I believe that if someone is hiring you to create amazing photographs, that your images should not be haphazard, but rather deliberate. They should be done right, and done on purpose, with intent, and with care taken on both the creative and technical aspects so that every image is good, and not just the lucky ones.
If you’re a photographer and would like to attend one of my events, please check out my speaking website for an updated schedule, BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com. Also, if a big event isn’t your style or if there aren’t any events in your area, you can host a small and intimate event at your place as long as at least 8 photographers attend. If you can get 8 or more there, you can attend for free! Call me for more details.
And if you’re a high school senior, model, or for whatever reason you need some dang awesome photography, give me a call 801-728-3317. Thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or my entire blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader like facebook BryCox.com/blog).