BryCox.com – Celebrity Style Imaging, Inc.™

Oh wow!  I’ve missed some blogging.  But what a great way to get caught up, then with this post!  I recently taught a photographic workshop and created some very fun and fantastic images!  Here are a few of them…

This first set of images was to teach and demonstrate how to photograph women, how to light them, how to position them, and how to get great expressions that are real and exciting.

I then showed everyone how to post-process the images with some of my custom-made effects and edges.  I really liked this model.  I specifically picked her because she was fun and flirty and had a great look.  I loved her eyes and cheek bones.  We really got some great images!

This image was a great one for demonstrating how to create a real and custom painting, using a photograph.  I love how the dress and the background all work together.  The texture in this is awesome up close!

This image demonstrates my new ‘Holga’ Photoshop effect.  I wrote this effect to mimic the look that comes from using the old 120 plastic Holga camera.  It even mimics light leaks and lens aberrations too!  Very cool!

Same image but using another one of my custom-made effects.

For this next shoot I demonstrated making use of various types of experimental lighting.  Lighting should always compliment the subject, and always be under control, no matter what you’re using: sun, flash, reflector, softbox, umbrella, etc…  There’s never an excuse when you’re a professional.  Light should always compliment and work for the image, and not just be there to create an exposure.

So for this shoot I showed that no matter what we used for light, even using new and experimental equipment, the results should always be the same!

We demonstrated all sorts of different lighting equipment, both inside and out.  This image of her was taken outside using the hotel as a background.

This last photoshoot was done on the last night, very late at night after everything was over and done with.  It was actually a non-official shoot that we did on our own.  I wanted to do something down on the strip of Vegas, and found out that this model was LDS like me.  We sort of bonded for that reason and she was cool coming with me and a few friends to the strip at about 1:00 am in the morning in the pouring rain for a few last images before we all quit.We went to the Paris area because it had overhangs to block the rain and was also the least ‘cheap’ looking place in town.

This next image was shot down low using a very wide lens which elongated her legs, making her look taller.

These were taken just before we got kicked out of the area by casino security.  Apparently we can take all the photos we want with dumb cameras, but when you have a good camera, some gear with you, and a bit of an entourage, it suddenly is forbidden.  But that was fine.  It was late, cold, rainy, and we were getting tired.

On the way back to the car, we grabbed a couple more images in front of the fake Eiffel Tower.  This gal was a great model.  She really seemed to gather a crowd while we were photographing on the street.  We had a good time and had a great adventure.

Thanks to all these models for working with me, to all the photographers who came and supported the event, and thanks too to my friends for hanging with me and making the event so fun.

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.

Well 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 BryCox.com/blog).

I just got back from speaking at SYNC, held at St Pete’s Beach, Florida.  It’s a gorgeous location and an incredible event run by some wonderful people.  I was very impressed by the incredible turnout.  My room was setup for 550 people and was packed!

I asked my “out-of-town-girl-buddy,” Angelina to come help me run my table, and I’m so glad I did — we were swamped.  We ended up needing even more help, and other photographer friends that were there came and chipped in to help me fulfill all the orders.  So thank you to Angelina, Travis, Troy and Teri for your much needed assistance.  I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you all.

Afterwards, Angelina and I went out on the beach to take photographs and had a great time.  It’s exhilarating to just create photographs for fun, outside of any job.  The sunset was awesome and I even shot a little video.  Here’s a 1 min collage of clips I shot that day.  I edited it to look like 8mm film.

Here’s how the sunset looked that night.

And one of Angelina doing a self-portrait with her camera phone for one of her personal art projects.

A day or two later, we went back out to the beach and just played, creating fun images again.  Here’s a sampling of the images I created that day.

One of me because I seem to always come home without photographs of myself.

A fun one together…

Angelina is a great model.  She’s got a great style and she moves very well.  I’ve actually used her as a model now many times on shoots, even when I have officialmodels on site, because she’s usually better than they are and more fun to photograph too.  Take a look at some of these images and see if you can see what I’m talking about.

These are all shot with no particular purpose in mind, just having fun on the beach with our cameras.

And then the light started to go.  The sunset wasn’t as dramatic this night, but I was still able to use it for some great portraits.

And then one closing image of some palm trees.  This is a true motion blur, created by spinning my camera as I shot.  I took one blurry and one straight, and I like this one much better.  The blur adds some great interest for sure.

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.  Call me for more details.

Well 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 BryCox.com/blog).

I spoke at the national photographic conference, ImagingUSA in January, and had a jam-packed room!  It was awesome!  The event was held in San Antonio, TX and my hotel was just a block away from the Alamo.

I actually spoke twice, doing a lighting demo at pre-convention and then later on the main stage during the main convention.  The lighting demo was actually 3 classes repeated throughout the day.  Then later that week I spoke on the main stage.  Here’s a photo of the room looking from the main stage, as I was setting up.

I’ve spoken to some big groups before, but this is probably the biggest room yet!  The problem with a big room is that you can have hundreds of people and it will still look empty.  In fact some speakers that week only filled it half way.  But I was so happy to see it packed all the way to the back, with people standing too.

I was later told that I had about 1100 people — a full house!

The room was set up with four projection screens, 2 up front, and 2 half way back so that everyone could see, no matter where they sat.  My friend took this photo of me on her phone from the back of the room before it all started.

I like this photo because it shows the incredible depth of the room.  The brown podium and stage at the front of the room look so small and tiny from the back of the room, and here you can see all four projection screens.

While I was there, I also was presented with the national Photographer of the Year Award (silver level).  I barely made it in time for the group photo with the other Photographers of the Year.  I ran up on the stage just in time.  I’m on the far right.

On the national level, there can be more than one photographer of the year, and there are levels, bronze, silver, gold, and diamond.  I won the silver.  This is based on how well your images do in national competition.  I’ve previously won 2 other national photographer of the year awards too, in the bronze catagory.

On the state level, there is only one photographer of the year and one Master photographer of the year.  This year I am the Master photographer of the year for Utah, which you may already know from this past blog post.

So all around this was a great trip!  I packed my seminars, won more awards, and had a great time with my photographer friends from all over.

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 BryCox.com/blog).

Professional Photographer Magazine just came out, and I’m in it again!  They asked to use one of my images, which is actually one of my favorite images of all time.  It’s titled “Sax Man Joe” and is of an famous sax player from Utah named Joe McQueen.

Here is the page from the magazine (page 22).

It’s always an honor to be asked to be apart of this magazine, and I’m happy to have one of my all time favorite portraits in it too.

The subject of this photograph, Joe McQueen, is 90 years old and is still actively gigging.  During his life, he’s performed with jazz luminaries such as Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Paul Gonsalves, Lester Young, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, and others.

If you’re a professional photographer, you should get this magazine automatically.  Here is the cover so that you can spot it.

Thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or my blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader BryCox.com/blog).

Did you know that 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency?  I wonder if that means that women see color better generally then men?  I’ll bet that a lot of women already believe this is true.  Nevertheless, I’ve always thought that I could see color really, really well which is why I’m such a stickler about quality and my production methods.

Well now you can test your ability to see color.  There are a lot of photographers who follow my blog, as well as some designer friends too.  But really, everyone ought to try this and see how you do.

Here’s the link, X-Rite Online Color Challenge. It’s an easy test.  All you do is arrange the tiles in order of hue.  There’s no registration or email required, just a fun test to try.

When I did it, I tried not to take too much time, but just worked fast.  I think you’re better at seeing that way.  You can take the test over and over, and even try it on different computer monitors too.  However just see what you get on the first try.

I took it for the first time last night after a photographer friend sent it over to me, and here’s what I got — Zero errors — a Perfect Score! YES!

Bry's Results from the online color test

There’s a reason then that I do what I do.  Well thank you to X-Rite for putting this online.  X-Rite is actually one of my suppliers and they sell color profiling equipment for cameras, computer monitors, printers, and projectors.  I’m a stickler about color and profiles and have used their equipment for years, even back when the company used to be called GreTag MacBeth.  If you’re a photographer, I strongly recommend (as I always to when I’m speaking), that you have a color profile system in place for your workflow.

If you’d like to know more about my color profile system and workflow, come see me speak at a city near you.  To see my upcoming schedule, go to my workshop site, BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com.

And for everyone else, thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or my blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader BryCox.com/blog).

Merry Christmas and Happy Shooting!

I just got back from teaching at a photographic convention in New Orleans.  The event was for After Dark, which is a 3-day conference for professional photographers.

Here are some of the images I created while I was working there.  This first set of images were while I was teaching fashion lighting…

After a couple images, I thought some motion and action would be fun and add some interest.Another photographer, my friend Lori, took this of me while I was photographing this pretty little baby girl. I love this!

And here’s one of the images I took of this little girl.

This is Skye, one of our official models.  Some street musicians were singing on the street, and I borrowed their mic for a quick image, taken on the streets of New Orleans.

During my off time, I continued to see images in my mind and had to get them.  I ended up borrowing a photographer friend of mine, Angelina, and used her as a model for some of these ideas.  These were some of the images I created of her.

I also took some time to walk down to a local cemetery.  All of the graves were above ground because of the water table, and it made a great place to explore and create some art images.

One of me at the cemetery which is fun, because I don’t usually get photographs of me when I travel.

A street portrait of some musicians on their way to a parade.  Photographed with a shift lens (the blur is optical and not Photoshop).

And here’s a street portrait of a preacher.  I really like the hat and how all the shapes come together.

And I even had fun taking images with my iPhone.  Some of us had a little game going on to see who could get the best iPhone image.  Here are a few of mine.

And to finish up, I love this last image.  I love the abstractness, the interaction!  It’s just a cool image of me and Angelina before I flew out of town.

Well thanks for looking, and if you’re a photographer, check out my website for professional photographers, BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com.  There you’ll see my schedule of upcoming workshops in your area.  And please email me if you’d like me to set up something in your area.

And for everyone else, thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or my blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader BryCox.com/blog).

I’m asked to speak at a lot of photographic workshops around the country, and last week I was teaching and speaking in Portland, Oregon. This particular workshop travels the country to a new state every few months, and is called ‘After Dark.’  It is very hands-on for attendees, where everyone gets to directly interact and work with with me as I photograph all sorts of models in all various lighting conditions.

And here are some of the images I created while working and teaching how to use various types of fashion lighting.

But I also worked inside and out with various models for a few days.  Here are some of those images.

And on the last night, I asked my photographer friend, Angelina, to pose for a few images.

And I finally got a photograph of me!  :-)If you’re a photographer, looking to learn more about how to really light someone in a spectacular way and make anyone look photogenic, then check out my speaking schedule at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com and come to an event.

Or if you’d just like some fantastic images of yourself that are really cool, funky, while at the same time classy and professional, give me a call at 801-728-3317.  And feel free to check out my main website at BryCox.com (or my blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed readerBryCox.com/blog).

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m in three magazines this month.  The second of the three is Gallerie, the official magazine of the Professional Photographers of Canada.

My article for them was about balancing the creativity with the technical aspects of photography.  The industry is swamped by new photographers and many of these photographers have creative ideas but are lacking in the technical areas.  These same photographers will say that they don’t want to learn the technical side of photography, because they fear it will make them boring.  This is because some older and established photographers may be very technical but aren’t very creative.  This group fears that more creative attempts will mess up the perfection of their techniques, which make them professional.

The truth is that everyone, all photographers in the industry need to properly balance both the creative and technical aspects to truly be masters of their art.

If you are a member of the Professional Photographers of Canada, this magazine should come to you automatically, and I hope you read and enjoy this article.

(Article published in Gallerie, the official magazine of Professional Photographers of Canada. Printed by Matrix Group Publishing Inc.)

And as soon as the Chinese magazine comes, I will post about it.

In the meantime, if you’d like to see more of my work, or commission me to do a photograph for you, give me a call at 801-728-3317 and check out my website at BryCox.com.

I am asked to write articles for various professional photographer magazines, and this month I’m 3 international magazines, all at once!

Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographers of Canada, and PhotoWorld Magazine of China all asked me for articles, and coincidentally, they all printed this month, August 2010.

All US professional photographers should get this magazine in the mail automatically each month, but in case you’re looking for it on newsstands, here’s what it looks like.

My article is on Fashion Posing — how to break the traditional rules of posing to create something exciting.  The basis of my article is that you have to know the rules of traditional posing in order to ‘break’ those rules and do something completely different, but that actually works visually and compositionally.

Here’s how the first page of my article looks (page 82-84).

I’m not only honored to be in this magazine, but feel it a special honor that I am in this magazine at the very same time they have a tribute to my favorite photographer and one of my ultimate photographic influences, Richard Avedon.  Avedon was one of the most influential and longest standing fashion photographers in the industry, and he passed away in 2004.

He really raised the bar with fashion and advertising and storytelling, and I have sought after all of his art books (which are very expensive).  I think I own almost all of them now.  His article is on page 22-24.

You can see parts of the current issue at the official website, PPMag.org.  And if you are a regular Bry Cox Blog reader, then you’ll remember I mentioned writing this article in a past blog post.

As far as the the Chinese and Canadian magazines go, I have not yet received my copies, but will post about them when they come.

If you’d like to see more of my work, or commission me to do a photograph for you, give me a call at 801-728-3317 and check out my website at BryCox.com.

I just finished writing a magazine article for the US magazine, Professional Photographer on fashion posing, and am also writing an article for a Chinese magazine on weddings!

For the US article, they asked me to talk about breaking the rules of posing, and creating images where people don’t look stiff.    That article and magazine will be coming out in a couple months, and gets mailed to all professional photographers automatically.  It will also be on newsstands and I’ll let you all know when my issue is out for anyone else who wants to pick it up.
The biggest thing about a fun style of posing is making people look great, while at the same time making people look comfortable, natural, and real.  Care has to be taken on every detail, but the look is that things happened naturally.

The reason this is a hot topic, is because most photographers don’t understand posing, but want to create fun images.  However, just breaking the rules for the sake of breaking them (while not understanding them) really means awkward images where people don’t look their best, and many times even look heavy.  These photographers then cover the image over with computer effects so that the image looks fun or funky, but yet the person still looks awkward.

Creating sub-par images and masking them with computer effects should never be the result of a professional photographer.  Every portrait session should be about making people look amazing, no excuses!  And it should be done in the camera and not the computer.

This means then, understanding classic posing very well, and being aware of every detail in an image, but also being able to back off and let someone’s personality come into the pose for a spectacular, unique, and creative look.

For this article, I wanted some amazing images to go along with it, and chose some of these fashion images of Liz, because each of the poses from her photo shoot were spectacular, different, sexy, and showed her personality.

I turned in some other images as well, and we’ll all just have to wait and see how the article gets laid out in its final form.

The Chinese magazine asked me to talk about how weddings are photographed here in America.  Weddings are not only different in our two countries, but they are photographed completely differently.  My article for them, will hopefully give insight and ideas to Chinese photographers as well as satisfy curiosity.  I talk about equipment, approach, and reasons things are done as they are here, compared to how they are done there.

This article will be published in the same month as the US article, but will only be available in China.  The entire article will be translated and written in Chinese too, so I won’t even be able to read the copy they send me.  I just hope the concepts translate as I hope.

To see more of my images, browse my website at BryCox.com.

I just finished a job in Hyannis, MA on Cape Cod, and afterward decided to take a bit of time to myself to photograph a nearby lighthouse.  I don’t know what it is exactly that is so attractive about lighthouses, but I love to photograph them.  It is always so serene to be in these places.

I drove to the top of the Cape to a small town called Provincetown.  On the edge of town there’s a jetty.  I hiked across the jetty to photograph this lighthouse that was way out on a little piece of land.

Once on the other side, I hiked around in the brush to get just the right spot, where the sun would only be lighting the side of the lighthouse — creating some depth.  This was one of my favorites.

Then I decided to create some self-portraits because I have realized that when I go to fun and beautiful places that I only get great photographs of my surroundings, but never of me.  At some point in life I’m sure I will want to look back and see photographs of me on one of my adventures.

So I set up my tripod with a radio shutter release and went to get in the photo when I could hear the camera snapping photographs randomly and without my control.  I ran to the camera to stop it and as a result of my camera’s mishap, I got these two images which I really like.

The movement gives them a certain interest and life, which makes them more interesting than me just standing there next to the lighthouse.

After I got the release working I took some more on purpose, but kept the idea of movement in the images.  The running images made me think of Richard Avedon’s self-portraits that he did while in 1950′s Paris with the Eiffel Tower.  I used that inspiration and created this set of images.

It was so quiet and serene out on that little piece of land.  I tend to be more introspective when I’m out of town, and especially when I’m in a beautiful place creating a photograph just for me.

There’s something about just relaxing and getting away from the distractions of life, and just looking at light, and being creative … and just thinking.  It took me about four hours total to cross the jetty, take some photographs, and hike back to land.  A very fulfilling night!

On the walk back, I took this image, looking back towards the lighthouse.

And here is the jetty looking back towards Provincetown.  I wanted to get across before sundown while there was still light to see, and I just made it.

When I got back, I saw a quaint hotel right on the beach and I booked a room.  It didn’t have a restaurant, so I headed into town for dinner, but missed everything.  All the restaurants were closed.  I went to bed on a few candy bars, but felt very fulfilled!