Commercial & Headshots

Headshots for Dennis Prager, Conservative Talk Show Host & PragerU, Salem Radio LA

I recently photographed conservative talk show host, Dennis Prager on location at Salem Radio in LA. Dennis Prager is probably best known from his nationally syndicated radio talk-show, The Dennis Prager Show.

Many young people know Dennis Prager from his conservative educational site, PragerU, a resource of short, 5-minute informational videos that explain a myriad of conservative principles. You can search the site by subject or speaker, and see quick videos that explain the concept by experts in the field. And with over 4 billion views, the website has been incredibly successful in shaping young minds.

Prager has also written a number of books that I can’t recommend enough, including Bible commentaries from a Jewish perspective, called “The Rational Bible.” I even had him sign one for me after the shoot.

Like Dennis, most of my clients are successful and extremely busy, and that makes it hard to take time away for a photoshoot. So I make headshots easy, by coming to you and setting up a studio where you work. It means you only have to stop working for a short amount of time. No travel back and forth to my studio. Instead, just step across the hall.

For Dennis Prager’s portraits, I flew to LA and set up my studio at Salem Radio where he broadcasts. I have powerful lighting gear that’s also compact, and I can fly with it wherever is needed. We were able to find an open area at Salem Radio to set up a small studio setup right there on site. In a short amount of time, we had various angles, backgrounds, and options created for him. From there, we picked favorites, and finished those and delivered them back to him in various formats, ready for whatever he needs.

And because he often needs an orange or blue background for PragerU videos and graphic layouts, I created variations with his specific shades of orange and blue, ready to go.

If you’re unfamiliar with Dennis Prager, here’s an example of one of his short videos from PragerU. You may recognize him and his voice in this video because he’s been broadcasting since 1982.

I really enjoyed my time with Dennis Prager. He loves photography and owns great cameras and gear himself. We talked lenses, gear, and even some Biblical Hebrew. He’s very personable and kind, and his smile was full of life every time.

If you need some new business headshots, give me a call at 801-728-3317. And if you’d like to see more commercial portrait samples, check out my commercial portfolio website at BryCoxPro.com.

And until next time, America.

Headshots for Larry Elder, Conservative Talk Show Host, Salem Radio LA

I recently photographed conservative talk show host, Larry Elder on location at Salem Radio in LA.

Larry Elder is probably best known recently from his nationally syndicated radio talk-show, The Larry Elder Show. You’ll often see him on national news shows debating politics, he’s a best-selling author, and previously he hosted the television show, Moral Court. He also just released a new movie as the executive producer. It’s a political documentary called, Uncle Tom – An Oral History of the American Conservative.

Most of my clients are successful and extremely busy, and that makes it hard to take time away for a photoshoot. So I make headshot shoots easy, by coming to you and setting up a studio where you work. It means you only have to stop working for a short amount of time. No travel back and forth to my studio. Instead, just step across the hall.

For Larry Elder’s portraits, I flew to LA and set up my studio at Salem Radio where he broadcasts. I have powerful lighting gear that’s also compact, and I can fly with it wherever is needed. We were able to find an open area at Salem Radio to set up a small studio setup right there on site. In a short amount of time, we had various angles, backgrounds, and options created for him. From there, we picked favorites, and finished those and delivered them back to him in various formats, ready for whatever he needs.

Larry Elder was incredibly personable and kind, and I think that really shows in these images. We had a great conversation during this shoot and I am honored to have met him and to be able to create these portraits for him. He’s smart, quick-witted, and has a strong and powerful personality. He’s very inspirational, and I love how these images turned out. I hope these work well for his various uses.

Using a commercial white background is always a great option too. It means I can create a clean extraction and replace that white with various colors, tones or backgrounds. Here I replaced the commercial white with this soft, fashion gray. Or logos and design can be added. Having a clean and sharp portrait means it can be used in lots of ways in the future.

I just watched Larry Elder’s new film this week, Uncle Tom – An Oral History of the American Black Conservative. It’s an incredible and very powerful movie that ends on a positive tone. I highly recommend it. Here’s a link to the website.

Thanks again to Larry Elder for a great photo shoot. I wish him well with these images and all of his various endeavors.

And if you need some new business headshots, give me a call at 801-728-3317. And if you’d like to see more commercial portrait samples, check out my commercial portfolio website at BryCoxPro.com.

And until next time, America.

Joe McQueen Passes Away at 100 Years Old

Famous Utah sax player and friend to many of us, Joe McQueen has passed away at 100 years old. Many musicians of course know Joe here in Utah. But those who follow my blog may know him from these recognizable portraits I’d done of him a few years ago.

For his 100 year birthday, I’d recently helped his Baptist church congregation in putting together a book on his life. And they had me play sax at his birthday party too. For that event, I made up these two videos.

Here’s the video clip of performing at his birthday party in June.

Recently, my dad and I had dinner with Joe and some other friends of his from church. He was in great spirits and has kept a busy schedule gigging, even at 100. He was always blessed with health, talent, and was a friend to so many people. At his last birthday, it was inspiring to hear so many people talk about how their lives were changed by Joe.

I’m grateful for the time I had to get to know him. He inspired many people in many areas of life, and his friendship has led to other dear friends for which I’m grateful.

I know he’s playing his sax and feeling young and free in heaven.

It’s my Birthday & Time for an Updated Portrait

After years of being a photographer, one of the biggest hurdles I’ve noticed for clients is that they stress about getting new portraits done. I understand that. Everyone has the same excuses to put off professional photos: I’m getting older, I don’t like how I look right now, I don’t have time, it feels vain, I’ll do it later, etc.

So to set the example, and for the mental exercise of doing it, I update my portrait each year. I use my use my birthday as the reminder and catalyst to create something new. I think it’s important to keep your portrait up to date, no matter what.

Many times a client will show me their website, and their business headshot is 5-10 years old. It looks dated, and nothing like them. And I speak and train photographers around the country as a PPA Master Photographer / Photographic Craftsman. Even amongst photographers, it’s not uncommon to see them using old headshots. So of all people, we as photographers should get and show updated portraits.

So for my new portrait, I wanted to try something new this year. I decided to do everything the opposite of my last one. Normally I’m smiling in my images, so I instead I’m serious. Normally as people get older, I photograph them with softer light to hide wrinkles, so for this I did sharp specular light to highlight wrinkles, lines, and textures. Normally headshots are close up, and so this time it’s full length. And normally I do a clean white or fashion gray for headshots, so this time I used a dark, hand-painted, Oliphant-style background that I got in California from DBC Backdrops. Normally a headshot is bright and airy, this time it’d be darker tones and moody.

After setting up the equipment and metering the lighting, I shot a few options both standing and sitting using a hand-held remote to fire the camera. These were my favorites. The artistic side of me often has to live with something for a bit to see how I like it, and so far I am really liking these. They are completely different from my last ones.


And I have another self-portrait to reveal on my birthday. I wanted to do a fun image of me, riding my motorcycle by standing on it, while driving through an exposition, shooting a gun, and waving the American flag. It would be over-the-top enough to be funny and entertaining, but also artistic and well-done down to the tiniest details. I’d do it just like a commercial art piece for a client.

For commercial work, sometimes a shot is impossible to get. In those cases I’ll create illustrative composites – multiple images combined into one impossible-to-create image. These digital composites are surreal worlds that don’t really exist. It’s a complex process, but first the idea is mapped out, then a series of photographs are created of each piece matching lighting throughout, then those parts are painstakingly blended together into one final art piece.

I love how it turned out. It’s comical and fun, but the attention to detail (like the shadows, lighting, and blending) all look great, especially up close.

Portraits should be fun. The creation process should be enjoyable and memorable. If you get them as custom wall art that you see every day, then those portraits should make you happy when you see them. We shouldn’t put off getting portraits either. I’m a believer that we should have current portraits that we love, whether you’re single, married, have kids or not, you should have a portrait that represents this time of life in a beautiful, artistic, and uplifting way.

If you’d like a new headshot or even some new family portraits, it’s a great time to come in. The studio gives us a lot of artistic options, but there’s still some fall left to do something outdoors too. Give me a call at 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand Concert Photos from Sandy Amphitheater

It’s summer and that time a year again for outdoor concerts and relaxing under the stars while listening to the music of my friends’ group, Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand. I love photographing concerts, and for this event also shot a music video. We’re still working on the video, but I thought I’d share with you some of my concert photographs from that evening.

As the night progresses, the energy from the show grows, and the band begin dancing around more and more.

 

I always like seeing and capturing in motion all the broken fiddle bow hairs flying around in the air as Ryan jams.

Ryan Shupe shows are a blast. They really are perfect in an outdoor summer setting, and I can’t recommend them enough. If you’d like to see one of his shows, check out his tour schedule on his website at RyanShupe.com.

If you need some cool photos for your business and branding, give me a call. I’d love to create something amazing for you. 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

iPhone Lanyard, Snowboarding Commercial Images for Black Rapid

I’m excited to share some of the digital composites that I’ve created for Black Rapid, a company that makes my favorite camera strap. And they’ve recently come out with a lanyard specifically for mobile phones that work with most phone cases. No need to buy a special case, you can keep your current case but add this lanyard for protection during various activities. It’s perfect for hiking, backpacking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, motorcycling, concerts, or any activity where you might drop and lose your phone.

To emphasize and show the story of how it works, I created some ad pieces showing the phone tethered to someone having a great time doing an activity where they might otherwise lose their phone.

This particular shoot is of a snowboarder using beautiful friend of mine as the model. She was perfect. Her expressions and movements were right on the money, and she’s fun to light. We got a lot of great images that I’m excited to share with you. I photographed her in the studio, and I captured the outdoor location exposures separately using my own Utah mountains nearby. I then blended it all together using some very time-consuming digital compositing techniques. But the results worth the investment. The finished images are eye-catching and stunning.

From this first ad piece, I also created a separate animation video called, “Adventure is Calling.” It starts with a phone call from “Adventure.” The camera zooms out as the phone buzzes to show it tethered safely to the snowboarder in action. The video ends with the company slogan and logo, along with a stop motion video that I shot here in studio showing how the lanyard works your favorite phone case.

It’s designed to be a short but effective ad, and it’s a square video for use on Instagram and other social media channels.

I have a friend who works at a local ski resort, and he says they pick up lost phones all year. By spring they have a box full of lost phones. People continually lose their phones on the mountain and can’t find them, especially when they’re on the ski lift. They want to check their messages or take a quick picture, and perhaps with the gloves and poles in their way or their cold hands, their phone just slips out of their grip and is lost. That’s why I’m excited for this cool product and to be a part of the advertising campaign. I myself have been testing early prototype versions of the lanyard and have taken it skiing, on airline flights, on my motorcycle, and have tested it in various other activities. I’ve really liked it.

And when I create some ad pieces for a company, I like to offer a variety when possible, even from one shoot. So here are some of the other options I created for Black Rapid for their various uses. Here, I’ve got our model jumping in the air with perfect expression and lighting.

And here she is stopping for a moment to check social media and messages.


As a fun image, we also did this of her taking a selfie while sailing down the mountain.

And here we’re showing that the lanyard it just the right length to do a selfie without having to take it off. And yes, that’s me. I jumped in on this shot.

The key to portrait photography and even commercial product photography is lighting – and that’s my specialty. I actually do quite a bit of commercial photography, though some of my clients don’t know that. Companies need their products to stand out, and having great lighting and production can make your brand and your product look like a million bucks online and in ad campaigns.

Online customers search and compare products, and a business must visually tell the story though photographs of why their company is unique, and why their products are the best option for customers. Buyers make most of their buying decisions from the photographs of a product.\

Think about when you go on Amazon to buy something, you subconsciously compare and get your main questions answered by the photos of the product. You can also read the description for additional help, but beautiful and high-end photos that answer your questions are associated with high-end brands and make you trust the company and therefore buy the product. Superb lighting and storytelling is key.

 

I even have special mannequins for doing really clean body or floating-clothing shots like these, and I can white out areas to draw attention to your product and how it’s used.

I can also incorporate video work too to be used on your website or on social media. I’m in this video showing the new iPhone / mobile phone Wander Lanyard.

Check out more of my commercial photography work on my commercial site, BryCoxPRO.com.

And until next time, America.

Joe McQueen’s 100 Year Birthday

It is Joe McQueen’s 100th Birthday! I had the honor of being asked to play my sax at his birthday event, and I also helped for the last few months in the creation of his biography.

It all started with his church, the Second Baptist Church in Ogden, Utah, called me to see if they could use some of my studio portraits of Joe on the cover and inside the book they were compiling. And while I helped with that book, I made many new friendships which led to being asked to play the saxophone at his birthday party.

This video explains more…

And here’s a video clip of us performing at his birthday party on Saturday.

Here’s some snapshots from the birthday event. This first image is me, my dad, and my sister in the lobby of the church next to my portrait of Joe.

My dear friend Dr. Brenda Burrell put so much time into making this event extra wonderful. She also spent months interviewing Joe and countless hours writing and compiling his words into his new biography.

Here’s a quick photo with Joe at his party, looking great at 100 years old.

Many people close to Joe spoke at the event including Don Keipp, and Brad Wheeler. And the voice of jazz music in Utah also was there to speak, Steve Williams. Here’s a photo of my family with Steve.

Utah jazz musicians know him well, because he’s been the recognizable voice and nightly radio DJ of jazz here in Utah for decades. His current show on Sunday nights is called “Jazz Time with Steve Williams” on 88.3 KCPW.

Here is the cover of his new biography which is off to the printers. I’m excited to see the finished copies, both in paperback and hard cover.

And here are some of the studio portraits I did of Joe some years ago. I love each of these images still today.

It was a great honor to be a part of this event and to be able to help in so many different ways. I’m grateful for the friendships both old and new that surrounded this event.

And if you need some great portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something wonderful for you.

And until next time, America.

Headshots for Comedian Keith Stubbs

Winter is a great time to update your business headshots and website. A while back I photographed comedian Keith Stubbs because it was time to update his business headshots and we had a great time during the shoot. He’s a standup comedian and you’ll often see him online in photos with all sorts of famous comedians. And when he’s not doing standup, he’s running a comedy club in Utah with three locations, called WiseGuys. If you enjoy comedy and live shows, you should check him out and his clubs. He always has a number of big names coming into Utah to perform.

We shot for a high contrast black and white look, and got a lot of personality in the images. I love how these turned out. They’re tack sharp and have a modern, edgy look.

Here are some of the favorites, all uniquely different and interesting.

Here’s an example of how these images are being used by Keith online. I really like this blue texture behind him. It makes for a great banner on social media.

I’m a Utah based photographer, and depending on the number of people at your business that need headshots, I can often come to you. But you’re also welcome to come right here to my studio here in Davis County, Utah.

If you’d like some new headshots for your business, give me a call at 801-728-3317. And check out my commercial website BryCoxPro.com, for more examples of headshots and business images.

And until next time, America.

New Headshots and Fitness Portraits for Addie

Winter is a great time to update headshots for your business. And I just had the pleasure of photographing Addie for some new headshots and fitness images that she needed for work. Addie travels the globe running marathons (like Boston, London, Germany to name a few), and when she’s in Utah, she trains runners for Life Time Fitness.

We needed to create some beautiful headshots with a commercial white background, and also some fitness images that could be used for banners or social media. So we started here in my studio and got a lot of great headshots. Here are some of my favorites.


Then I had some fun shooting some black and whites with selective focus, like this image.

Then before going outside, we shot a few full body images in the studio. I think these look great.

For the outdoor images, we used a long empty road near my place and set up some lighting to give us a deep blue sky and to overpower the direct sun so we could shoot the directions we wanted.


If you’d like to follow Addie or run in her Run Club, she’s on Instagram as @addielillian. And you should also check out her health-food blog where she cooks new things, beautifully photographs the meal, and posts the recipe. It’s called Addie’s Pantry.

And if you or your business need some new headshots, give me a call, 801-728-3317. I also have a separate website for just headshots and commercial images at BryCoxPro.com.

And until next time, America.

Cool Video Promo for My Dad, JD Cox Music

I love how this video for my dad turned out. He’s a life-long musician and gigs regularly around Utah playing the saxophones, mainly the soprano, alto, and tenor. I do his website for him, and we wanted something for the site that showed who he is.

So I went and filmed him performing at an all-ages dance, then had him come in and talk about it in the studio. I cut that all together, and here’s the result. See what you think.

I think it’s a great promo video and shows his talent and personality. His website is JDCoxMusic.com, so if you’d like a live saxophone for your wedding or upcoming party, give him a call.

And if you need a great video for your website, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something wonderful for you and your business.

And until next time, America.

Fundraiser Portraits With a ‘Vanity Fair Backstage’ Look

This weekend I photographed custom portraits at a fundraiser to help raise money for our friend who is re-learning to walk after Lyme disease. The crowd was mostly friends and people I knew, and knowing that everyone would be dressed up, I thought I’d mix that dressiness with the cool tile of the location for a magazine styled shoot.

Along with offering some silent auction photo shoots that raised $600, I also did quick photo shoots of my friends there. I utilized one studio light with a small modifier to create custom but very directional lighting for lots of moody shadows and aimed just right for no retouching. I then posed individuals in unique ways as if it were a “backstage at the Oscars Vanity Fair” type photo shoot. I also created a film look that warmed the highlights to a nice golden tone that was applied to the images on my laptop as I shot.

I had a long line all night and photographed a few hundred people, averaging 2-3 shots per person. I then picked my favorite of each person right there off my laptop. After the event, I posted the portraits on Facebook and the results have been blowing up my facebook feed, so I thought I’d share them on my blog today so you all could seem them too. Here are just some favorites.

Yes, there’s even one of me. I shot it with a remote in my hand before people arrived. I wanted to double check the lighting and look of the tile and tones before we started. I really love the variety of poses and looks with everyone. I think the shoot went great.

With so many people, this is just a few. But all of the images are up on my Facebook page, and you can see them all if you follow me there.

If you work with a Utah charity and would like to talk about package donations to raise money, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to talk more about what you’re doing and how I could donate some packages for auction, or otherwise be involved in raising money.

And until next time, America.

Ryan Shupe Live Concert at Sandy Amphitheater, June 2018

Ryan Shupe just had his big outdoor summer concert here in Utah at the Sandy Amphitheater, and I was there again to photograph the event for him. His band, ‘Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand‘ puts on a great live show. The mix of great music, the cool night breeze, friends, laughter, and smell of popcorn and hotdogs from the concessions all come together for a wonderful night.

These images I shoot get used for his promotional materials, website, and even for album designs. The images I shot last year for him have been used entirely for his brand new album design, Live Volume II.

I hope you can feel the energy from the live show, just by viewing these images.

For one song, Ryan had me shoot some iPhone video for his Facebook live which included a wedding proposal at the end of the song. But during the song he has tons of children from the crowd come up and sing on stage with him.

Here’s the video. It starts with a few seconds of my face resetting the app, because the Facebook app crashed as soon as the song started.

And as the night gets later, the stage lights grow and you can see the energy on stage grow as they start rockin’ even more.

If you have a band or business or need some great commercial images to showcase what you do, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create some great images for you as well.

And until next time, America.