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Stranded in Maine and Photographing the Nubble Lighthouse

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

On my way home from New Hampshire, I had trouble with my out-going flight at the Boston Airport and got stranded for the night. They said I needed to fly out the next morning so I took the extra free time to rent a car and drive up to the Cape Neddick or “Nubble” lighthouse. I love lighthouses and this one was new to me. I arrived by late afternoon went up to scout out the place for later. While there I immediately created a panorama, then came back later at twilight, then the next morning at sunrise as I drove off to the airport.

This first one was when I first arrived. I really loved the blue sky, green grass, and the beautiful waves and color of the water. Having a bit of a trip beard, I did a self portrait of myself as well.

I then left the lighthouse to find some food and get a place to stay for the night, but I returned at twilight to create this image below – my favorite from the trip.

Then the next morning I got up at around 4:30 am to get the sun rising in the distance. I shot it a few different ways, first with nice sharp edges…

…and then with soft blurry edges. I really like them both for different reasons.

As I was heading back to my car I created this image of a bench with my same soft lens.

Here’s the place where I stayed the night. I talked to a local who recommended it. They had small one-room cottages in the woods that were quiet and perfect. They also had a very tiny and amazing ice cream shop across the street as well located in the town’s old post office.

My cottage was elevated and up a short hill. It made for a very quiet and quaint night. I wish I had more time to stay there. The place and the entire town was just cool, calm and relaxing with a very fun main street. There were plenty of things to do at night just walking around. Next time I’m out that way, I’ll be sure to go find my way to this fun town.

After leaving the east coast I immediately went to the west coast and found more lighthouses. I’ll post about them in upcoming blog entries.

Well, until next time, America. 🙂

New Hampshire Shoot

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

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.

Bry Cox on the Back of Zion’s Bank Community Magazine

Posted by BryCox (Admin)

Hitting 60,000 mailboxes right now is the Sep-Oct Edition of Community Magazine by Zion’s Bank. On the back is a full-page Pictureline ad featuring me and one of my favorite images.

There is a caption next to my photo. It’s my testimonial of Pictureline that reads:

When I started my studio seventeen years ago, pictureline was there to support me. The store is clean and aesthetically pleasing, and the staff is very knowledgeable. They’ve made my business and priority, and because of that I consider them friends and I value their advice.

There’s nothing that compares to holding and trying new cameras or equipment out first hand, and buying locally will ensure that I get the very best quality and support possible. We’re lucky to have pictureline in our backyard. – Bry Cox

The image chosen for the ad was from a fantastic and exciting shoot that I previously posted here on my blog, and below here is a video showing the entire shoot. You really need to see this video. Every single image is amazing.

If you get this magazine, make sure you turn it over and take a look at this. I really love this photograph and it was a real honor to be asked to be apart of this ad. I love photography, the entire photographic industry, and Jens not only has an amazing store, but he’s a great supporter of photographers and the industry. I really appreciate being associated with Pictureline and I hope that this ad does well for them.