One fun way to shoot outside in the colder seasons of Utah when nothing is in bloom is to shoot downtown in the city, using the textures and buildings as a background. Of course that only works for certain kinds of shoots and all the elements have to work together for an artistic theme, which is why this is such fun shoot to share. I think it is a great shoot where all of this works perfectly.

First, Andraia’s clothing choice of warm and black tones not only blended well with the colors of the city, but it also made her stand out and created a fun style for this fashion shoot. And secondly, she moves really well and takes direction perfectly which is really needed because lighting people in a city takes a bit of work. I need to light her to compliment her and also light for the background to create depth, and all the while be non-intrusive with the various stands and pieces of gear I’m setting up so that people walking by don’t trip or break my stuff. Yet the look is that no one is there and the whole image pops.

I like these long lines of the pillars with her standing full length. The straight lines of the pillars and the angles of the steps are a nice juxtaposition against her curves and her stance. Plus it’s fun to have that splash of blue up in the far corner for balance.

Below, Andraia’s serious expression and the perfect material of her outfit is all contrasted against the old ragged stone.

Down an alleyway, some elements and lines in the wall worked great for visual balance for this photo.

But the overall look and pose make me think of a painting too, so I took some time to create one of my unique paintings. I have creative ideas before I start but the painting process makes me change my mind and therefore I never really know what I’ll end up with. Here I ended up completely changing the background to a more abstract and textured background and I love how every part of this turned out.

In this area, I really liked the gold railing and set up using an angle that made for a nice complimentary background while also hiding a lot of distracting things as well. But here we were more exposed to the street because we were right on the sidewalk. That meant getting a lot of distracting attention from passerbys who would stop, gather around, watch, or even yell questions to us. We even got some whistles. Yet, Andraia was a pro and wasn’t distracted, and continued to take great direction, move well, and even throw me a genuine smile for this shot.

It is always a pleasure to shoot Andraia, and this shoot provided too many great images to choose from. But these are some of my favorites.

Warm weather is coming, and it’s a great time to make an appointment for your photo shoot. But no matter the weather, I know just how to create some great images for you. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and also check out my portfolio website at BryCox.com. My studio is located in Utah north of Salt Lake City, and I do shoots everywhere – inside my studio, outdoors in my studio gardens, all over Utah, Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo, to jobs out of state as well. My skill is making you look great and doing it with lighting. That means I’ll make you look great and I’ll capture you in unique and fun ways that others can’t copy.

Until next time, America.