I taught a weeklong photographic workshop called ‘Evergreen’ outside of Seattle in a small town called Port Townsend. Here are some of the images from that event.
Usually as I travel and move, I create images — it’s like a part of my brain that doesn’t turn off. I see abstract shapes in everything around me.
For a while now, I’ve created some of these images on my iPhone because it makes it extra fun. You see, the iPhone in its simplicity, doesn’t have any exposure controls, so so I have to think around its limitations. That particular method of thought makes me think differently and I tend to create different images than I normally would.
While teaching, I demonstrate various types of equipment and techniques. All of these image were created in front of the group, from the initial creation, to the workflow and the final retouching.
We also used a minimal amount of equipment, staying as mobile as possible, and used backgrounds and locations right there within walking distance. When I’m shooting at a workshop, I specifically like to focus on teaching three things:
1) Make the most of what you’ve got. For instance, instead of wondering if there’s a better place nearby, instead ask yourself how you can make a particular area work as a cool background?
2) We don’t want just good images, we want to create fantastic images that have punch and emotion.
3) We want all the work to be done in camera so that we don’t have to fix anything later. The images should be perfectly exposed, have the perfect color balance, have a strong emotion and believable expression, and be lit with control from the right angles. That way anything we do to the image later will be for fun instead of to fix it.
Most of these images have very little work done to them, and what work was done was done quickly in front of the class using special techniques and some of my specific products. In fact, using these techniques it seems that it actually takes more time to pick favorites than it does to finish them up.
So these girls told us that a lot of local photographers use the area for senior shoots, so we really wanted to create unique images, find cool nooks, and use the area in new ways.
I think you can tell that the shoot was a lot of fun for everyone.
Hopefully you can see that we really created a lot of variety, and used all sorts of areas to our advantage. We wanted to create a lot of different looks as quickly as possible, and make something wonderful from each spot.
That night after dinner, we invited the girls to come meet us in town for some night shooting. Instead of the normal dark or flat images that are typical at night, instead I showed how to create depth and how to get perfect exposures while working with various off-camera flashes.
The challenge here was to show that no situation is difficult when we really understand light. Below, is a mulit-light setup using a streetlight for interest. I angled her so that the wind was working with her hair, and I really like how these turned out.
And finally we took our model Lane, out on the pier, looking out towards the water. The first image is a photograph, and the second is a painting that I created from another photograph in the series.
If you’re looking to attend one ofmy photographic workshops, please check out my workshop site, at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com. There are new ones being announced all the time. I hope to see you at one soon.
I recently got back from speaking on the East Coast in New Hampshire. While teaching, I demonstrated some various techniques on making women look great in photographs. Here are some of the images I created that day.
These images don’t have any finishing touches on them yet, and that’s because I was showing that they should look great right out of the camera. Any final enhancements later should only be slight as the images should be ready to print without them if you did everything correctly.
Some people think that great images come from having a good camera. That’s like saying good songs are only written on good guitars when the truth is it’s the artist using the camera or guitar. Any good musician can write a great song on any guitar, and any great photographer can create great images on any camera.
Another misnomer is that that great images come from having beautiful models. This is also incorrect. A great photographer understands exactly how to make everyone look better and an average photographer will make even the prettiest person look worse.
I love teaching workshops because I really like helping photographers do better, plus it helps to raise the level of quality in the industry.
In New Hampshire, I was teaching how to create great images with any camera, and how to make all women look better using specific lighting and posing.
Here are two portraits of the same pretty girl in the same beautiful location. I shot her two different ways to show that a camera in the right hands will make her look better, and in the wrong hands she will look worse. Look at the two images and see if you can see all the differences.
In the first image, I used custom lighting and posed her specifically in a way that would be more flattering for her and her outfit. I took control of all aspects of the exposure which means her skin tones have great color right out of the camera. I separated her from the background and sculpted her using directional light at particular angles. Everything was set up and shot manually, nothing left to chance or to Auto functions.
Then I did another image of her the way most photographers would, with no specific poses, no control of light, and shooting the camera on Auto.
Notice how flat this second image looks. Her skin tones are green, the light on her face is coming from the sky rather than from any controllable or directional source, her eyes are dark, the background is too light, and the wrong camera angle and lack of posing and lighting make her look thicker. Again, NO woman wants to look thicker or heavier, and fixing it later on the computer isn’t the same as shooting it right.
This is why most photographers shoot so many images – they hope that with the law of averages they’ll get something decent that they can then spend tons of time on the computer fixing and covering with various effects.
This is why you need to hire a really good photographer with credentials – and why photographers need to get continual hands-on training from Master photographers.
So with a change of clothes, I continued to teach and shoot this model, walking around the town, making sure that each pose and lighting set up made her look great.
We ended up at this cool bridge which gave me some cool leading lines.
Well, if you’d like some great portraits, I know just how to make you look great, plus now is the perfect time if you like the fall leaves. Give me a call and book your appointment at 801-728-3317 and lets create something amazing for your wall.
I love doing fashion work because I get to be more edgy in my creative approach, and I get to make women look great which is what portraits are all about.
For this shoot, I had a very fun and beautiful model named Molly with very pretty eyes. We set up multiple lights and other equipment to create some really unique looks quickly on our outdoor location. I especially love the balance of this first one, with her to the far right side, lit from a strong angle, thoughtful expression, and hair blowing back into the image.
Another one of her with hair blowing. I love her eyes in this image, and the toned b&w treatment.
I love this next one of her smiling. Though many of my favorites (as you can see here) were serious expressions, she really had an infectious and genuine smile, and this image shows that.
Here’s one of my favorite mid-lenths of her, a fantastic and sassy image with Molly framed by the trees.
And this close-up of her was in the same group of trees. I love the lighting on this, as it really accentuates her expression and her hair softly falling across one eye. All of these images also are finished with my new line of custom edges that I have created and sell to photographers all over the country giving images a unique finished look.
All around this was just a great shoot that produced some great images. If you’d like some great images of you or someone in your family, now is the time to book an appointment and come in. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s talk about your dream portrait.
I love photographing high school graduates. The seniors are so much fun to work with, and they love my fashion work so I can really go crazy! Here’s what we created for Sammi. This first one is one of my favorites. It gave me the opportunity to show off her sparkle, while also using many of my overlays and edges for a really unique piece.
Sammi is a dancer, and that’s a big part of her life. It’s important to show that off in an artistic and unique way, and it gave me a chance to create something that’s difficult to do, but looks great – a collage of different dance poses. Here’s the end result.
And a square collage is always a favorite and a fun way to show different looks and personalities, smiling and serious, dressy and casual, inside and out.
Sammi was a student body officer, so we needed to get something unique of her in her sweater too.
And finally, one of her favorites that we used for her graduation announcement design.
If you’re an upcoming senior, summer is a great time to get your portraits done. Give me a call and let’s create something amazing for you! 801-728-3317.
And browse this blog for even more examples of senior and fashion portraits, as well as my main website too. BryCox.com.
I’m so excited about these images and can’t wait for you all to see them! This is an outdoor commercial shoot that I did for Katherine Nelson. You may recognize Katherine as the actress that played Emma in the LDS Church film, “Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.” That movie plays daily at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and she was also in the movie “Emma Smith: My Story.”
Katherine is also an accomplished singer/songwriter, winning all sorts of awards for both her solo work as well the work she’s done with various groups like the Nashville Tribute Band and Kenneth Cope.
For this project, she had a specific need and concept, so I chose one of my secret locations that matched what she wanted to create.
I set up all sorts of lighting equipment imaginable to take control of the scene. Lighting this scene was difficult, but it needed to be specific and controlled in order to create images that pop, while still being real and natural. The results are phenomenal! I was especially excited that a storm had gone through earlier, giving us great storm clouds to work with. I love a sky with drama!
Katherine is a fantastic model and a joy to be around. I find her easy to photograph, easy to direct, and she really had great expression. She even did her own styling and created her own clothing, accoutrements and flag for the shoot. It all worked together so well. I flipped out when I initially saw her and the details of her outfit. It was all so perfect. I especially love her red skirt against the green grass.
We really had a fun time at this shoot. Looking back over it, two of our initial favorites were the image above and below. I love the sun shining through the clouds in the photograph above, and in the image below, the flag blowing against the awesome storm clouds with a little bit of blue peaking through, really makes this sing!
And this next portrait below is one of my all-time favorites from the entire shoot. I love the stance, the directional lighting on Katherine, and the color harmony with the dominant blue sky. The clouds have wispy pink highlights painted by the sun that has now set. This image is at twilight, and has such depth! I actually put this up on my website’s main splash page today, cropped square.
We were having so much fun that even after the sun set completely, I continued to shoot and create in the dark, using all artificial light. However I did it in such a way that it looks like real sunlight. The scene in these next images was actually dark to the eye at the time, but with the right techniques the scene glows and feels like sunset.
Then to end the shoot, I finished up with some close-ups, again with all artificial light because the sun had set at this point. The idea was to create a fake sunset but with the control of darkness, and these images are some of my favorites! (That’s one of my lights as a fake sun in the image below because it’s actually dark outside.)
You really need to see the entire shoot, but there’s not room enough on the blog, so I created a slideshow set to music. Start it up and enjoy.
It seems funny, but anytime I post a shoot like this, I get a lot of emails and phone calls asking where my images were taken. When I suggest that they hire me and I’ll photograph them there, some will admit that they just want to go to the same spot with a cheaper photographer – as if my locations are what yield great results. This is of course untrue.
Being in a great location with the right gear and a beautiful model certainly doesn’t hurt, but the real key to creating great photographs (whether it be outdoors, in sunlight, at twilight, sunset, or even after the sun has gone down) is specific control of lighting. And lighting people specifically and artistically is my unique skill.
I sometimes point to my list of awards and credentials, not to brag, but to show that when you hire ME, you’ll get something completely unique and personal, you’ll get phenomenal photography.
No matter who you are, I will make you look great, real, and natural, and generations from now people will still love your portraits and appreciate your purchase.
Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment. I’m sure it’s time for a new family portrait, and high school seniors are getting ready to graduate. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.
Kendra Lowe is an accomplished and fantastic musician, composer, event director, and the only person I’ve met personally with perfect pitch. She needed some new photographs for her musical bio, and wanted images that were unique, had pizzaz and sass, while at the same time having classic appeal. Because of that, she came to me and we had a blast creating these.
Kendra not only sings, but also plays many instruments: piano, banjo, violin. She performed with the Utah Symphony at age 6, was the Assistant Executive Director of Utah’s Stadium of Fire show, toured with David Archuleta (of American Idol fame), is a constant studio musician, while at the same time composing in her MIDI studio. She needs great images to match her talent.
I love how these all turned out. Kendra was such a stunning model. The images are sexy and classy, elegant and edgy, feminine and stunning! It was hard to narrow the shoot down to my favorite portraits.
I really love the stacking of warm tones in these too. They came together so well, and were created here at my studio where I have the ultimate control over the light.
We did also did some casual images as well, and this one with her tossing her hair was one of my favorites!
If you are in need of some new portraits for your business, portfolio, or anything else, and you require images of high quality to match the look of what you do, then give me a call at 801-728-3317. Spring is a great time to make your dream portrait happen! And browse my main website if you’re new to my work, BryCox.com.
I did some great portraits of Joanna. She is so fun to photograph. Take at look at some of the images from her shoot.
I really like this first image, the eyes, the expression, and the diagonal line of her hair. It all works so well. And the three images below work great as a series. Every image is captivating, beautiful and real.
And here’s one in color using one of my new custom edges that I’ve been working on. All of these were created in the studio, with specific fashion lighting specific for her. That, combined with her expression and the images really glow!
If you’re in need of some really great portraits, either for portfolio work or just for fun, give me a call. 801-728-3317. And check out my main website too if you’re new to my work, BryCox.com.
Carmen Rasmusen has recorded a new project for Desert Book, a talk on CD! For the project, she came in for a fun photo shoot to get a great image for the cover of the CD. This was the favorite and ended up being the cover.
It was a fun shoot and we created some amazing images – some smiling, some serious, some color, and some black and white. Here is another one of my favorites.
But in the end, the top image won out and the CD is now finished and on shelves. Here’s an image I took with my iPhone while strolling through the store.
You can get the CD here from the official Deseret Book shopping site, deseretbook.com. Also, check out Carmen’s commentaries as a blogger for the Desert News. Good luck on your new CD, Carmen!
I loved meeting and photographing Rachel. She was a blast!
We may have had a short shoot, but the images were fun to create and she looked so great! This first image utilizes my own custom made edges and overlays. That is the only image with any enhancements, by the way. The rest of these are still un-retouched, but I like them as straight images. They have such a sense of reality to them without any retouching or effects.
I loved Rachel’s genuine smile, the gorgeous shape of her eyes, and her long dark hair. She was such a great model! I feel like you get a sense of who she is from these images.
I used this deep, rich brown background to set off her blue outfit and added just a touch of rim light on her hair for dimension. I am so pleased with these photographs. They have POP!
And for this final image I added some heavier edge lights to set off her hair and collarbones. There is a lot of dimension in this and her smile and sparkle in her eyes is so genuine and real. I really hope that she loves these images. It was great getting to know her.
When it comes to portraits, everyone needs to be lit in a custom way for them. I’m one of the only Master photographers in the state and I know just how to light YOU and make YOU look amazing! So whether you’d like some images for your fashion or model portfolio or would love some kick-butt senior portraits, then give me a call. I have some specials running during November that you will love! 801-728-3317.
My shoots are so much fun and I know just how to make you look great, beautiful, feminine, and sexy — without being risqué or cheesy. And overall, you will LOVE your images!
Give me a call to schedule your appointment. 801-728-3317. And feel free to browse my main website, BryCox.com and my blog at BryCox.com/blog.
I had a blast photographing Bethany in the city of Atlanta at night. She was a beautiful and fun model who even had a few call backs with the TV show, America’s Next Top Model. But besides having a fun and beautiful model, creating high-caliber images in this type of environment is very difficult on many levels.
However, it’s that higher level of difficulty that makes the entire shoot extra fun for me because I feel a surge of creativity when things are technically difficult. That’s because I value photographs even more when I know that other photographers wouldn’t be able to create them standing in the same setting. Therefore creating superb images in difficult situations makes the images all the more valuable to me.
On this image above, I love the play of warm and cool tones (warm in the foreground and cool in the background), creating a lot of depth and impact!
Shooting in a city is fun at any time of day because I have to create backgrounds from the environment, and make them balance and play with the subject correctly. Everything in an image has to work for the portrait or else it works against it. Most photographers don’t take into account how lines, shapes, and colors in a background affect the foreground subject. But I am a stickler about the details and won’t take a shot unless everything looks great — including how the background interacts with the foreground. I will continue to change my setup until things work.
But then when you add night to the mix of shooting in a city, you add another layer of difficulty — LIGHTING! Lighting isn’t used to create an exposure, but rather to specifically sculpt a subject. Therefore it must be used specifically! It must come from a very specific angle depending on the model, despite any surroundings. And at the same time light has to balance with the background in both intensity as well as color temperature to avoid creating images that are too dark, flat, or dull looking. An image, even when created at night, should instead seem 3-dimentional and have pop!
So with that in mind, Bethany and I had a great time just creating images on this city block. Her style was cute and fun, and we got a lot of variety.
I love this smiling close-up above, and this serious expression in the image below. Both created in the same spot. The vertical lines in the background above play off her angle and her soft hair, while the curve of the sidewalk in the image below leads your eye back to her and adds balance to the left side.
I really like the shadow of a the figure off camera in this next image below. It helps create a mysterious mood. It was created by some stranger walking by, and I liked it and waited to take the shot once the shadow moved into the open space of the image where it wouldn’t visually touch and compete with the rail in the foreground.
I used the effect of light color temperature to create different moods and looks throughout the shoot. I love the color, the angle, and her expression and stance on this image below. The hair softly blowing at an angle really makes this image work!
I ended the shoot with a light up close, sharp, and at a hard angle to create deep shadows. The mix of vertical and horizontal lines of the background, and light and dark areas are all broken up by her pose — making it all work together beautifully!
It was really fun meeting Bethany and creating these images. We had a great time and I hope that she does well in her career.
If you’d like to built your modeling portfolio or just get some wonderful fashion portraits, or perhaps if you’re a high school senior and want a fashion style session for your senior portraits, then give me a call! NO ONE creates images like me! My shoots are so much fun and I know just how to make you look great, beautiful, feminine, and sexy — without being risqué or cheesy. And overall, you will LOVE your images!
Give me a call to schedule your appointment. 801-728-3317. And feel free to browse my main website, BryCox.com and my blog at BryCox.com/blog.
Senior shoots are so fun. I get to do all the fun fashion stuff that I love to do, and seniors love it! Dallin came in for senior portraits and here’s some of my favorites from the shoot. This first one is on my magazine background, and uses one of my custom pealed edges. It has a cool retro feel.
Dallin did the Senior Mix Session, which includes both Color and B&W, both indoor and outdoor portraits using a number of sets, and multiple clothing changes. We mixed looks and created images that show his interests and hobbies.
I love this one below of Dallin playing the guitar. I toned it with as a multi-tone b&w, and then added some light-leaks on the corners. Originally when I was shooting the image, I wanted it to look like a band poster. Now I can totally imagine text on it, advertising his next show.
We also did some cool black and whites in the studio, using some high-contrast fashion style lighting. This first in a casual shirt, and the second in his letterman’s jacket.
Then some dressy images in the studio and out. One of my favorites was this outdoor image, taken in my studio gardens.
And then finishing up with some cool images that use his various school jackets. This first was with his officer’s jacket and his guitar. I used a set that consisted all of browns, to match his clothing.
And this second with his leather letterman’s jacket and riding a motorcycle.
If YOU are a high school senior and would like a Senior Mix Session like Dallin that shows off you and your personality, give me a call to schedule your appointment. 801-728-3317.
You know that you are only a senior once, so don’t settle for photographers who try and copy my style and look. If you want real magazine-style images, remember that my images are used by Capitol Records, national and international magazines like Billboard Magazine and American Girl Magazine. I have photographed a lot of famous people like Lee-Ann Rimes, Olivia Newton-John, Mitt Romney, and the last four Utah Governors (to name a few).
I WILL do an AMAZING job for YOU, and YOU WILL LOVE YOUR SENIOR PORTRAITS!!
CURRENT SENIOR SALE!
If a Senior Mix Session doesn’t fit what you need, I have other options including a sale right now for only $199 which includes the session fee, 1 outfit, 2-5x7s, 8-wallets of your favorite pose, and a digital copy for facebook and your iPhone. Give me a call now to set up your time or call me to ask any questions you may have. 801-728-3317.
And visit the senior web page to be entered for prizes and to get more info.
Scott Foster is coming out with a new CD, and we created some awesome images for his project. We started in the studio and then moved to one of my favorite outdoor locations.
This first image is very captivating. The expression is great and the selective focus is real, created in camera and not in post-production. There’s something so great about true, organic, soft-focus and selective focus. This image is reminiscent to me of a Rolling Stone interview portrait.
Everything we created in the portrait studio was done with the mindset of being different and unique. A CD has to stand out and almost ask to be picked up, and the images have to do that. I used a very edgy fashion lighting style on these to create a different look, mixed with a unique stance and fun background.
We then switched it up to Scott playing his electric guitar, again with selective focus before moving outside.
We then went on location to one of my favorite places because it’s so far from anywhere. As far as you look on the horizon, you won’t see civilization. We are really in the middle of nowhere, and the colors and textures are so great! I really like the lines in this particular image, and how they all work with the guitar’s neck.
And here’s the same image in a multi-toned black and white version, because it just looks so cool! The textures really pop this way.
I love working outside and using the clouds and terrain in Utah. They add so much drama to an outdoor image if you know how to light it. Shooting in the desert with exposed sun is very difficult to do well — which is why I love it so much. Few people can create images like this in direct sunlight. There is a trend amongst new photographers to call themselves “Natural Light” photographers, because they don’t know lighting and can’t work inside and can’t work outside unless it is in shade or the sky is overcast. There is no control and their images all look flat and dull.
Contrast that look with these images. They have depth, they have real highlights and shadows, the colors are real and dynamic, and the sky and scene has drama, and all the lines and colors all work together. There is no “plastic” looking photoshop effects. Everything is real and because of that, you feel like you can step into these images.
We ended the shoot with Scott walking away, feeling that this could perhaps be the back of the CD or a foldout page inside. It gives room for text and design work.
And here is the same image, but in my special multi-toned black and white. Both are so cool! Which one do you like?
Well, I can’t wait to see the final CD design and hear all the new recordings that Scott has been working on. He is a great musician and a real artist and it was fun to be able to create this images for him.
If you’d like to check out his music and get his new CD, his website is TheRealScottFoster.com.
Well thanks for looking and if you need some new portraits for your project, business, or family, give me a call. 801-728-3317. And browse my main website, BryCox.com and my blog at BryCox.com/blog.
