Children, Babies, Maternity

Heather’s Studio Family Portrait

For Christmas last year, I delivered this gorgeous family portrait to Heather and her family. Before delivery, I made this video showing the various finished pieces.

I love creating family portraits for clients, and I think delivering and hanging these finished art pieces in their homes is my favorite part of the process. I love seeing everything come together and the client’s expressions and happiness with their new art pieces on the wall.

Studio family portraits work really well if you want a clean and contemporary look, and it’s an especially nice option during cold or bad weather. A warm studio full of custom lighting gear means a worry free environment for clients, regardless of the rain or snow outside. With a large changing room, bathroom, and big mirrors, you can fix hair, and even change outfits for different looks and options. The studio makes everything easy, especially if you have little kids.

This family portrait was extra special. Heather has five children of various ages and sizes. The older kids get, the harder it is to get everyone together. We wanted to take advantage of the time together and create something beautiful for her wall.

With some color and clothes consultations over the phone, Heather found some beautiful outfits for everyone that showed both variety, but also worked together artistically and cohesively. The resulting portrait is absolutely beautiful.

Our favorite for the fireplace mantle was this image above with everyone standing. It has a long and tall feel that matches the space where it’ll hang, but it also shows all the kids and their individual heights and sizes at this point in life.

The closer image below was chosen as a smaller portrait to go elsewhere in the home. I love the triangle design and the lovingness of all the kids, leaning in together.

We also did some various groupings as well, like these of Heather and her boys and girls alone as close ups, as well as the girls and boys alone standing.

These kids were so adorable and great in front of the camera. I love creating individual portraits of kids. These can be displayed together as sets in a wall collage, and then later each portrait can move into each child’s room.

We finished up the session with this gorgeous image of Heather.

If you’re looking to update your family portraits, give me call. It’s a great time for studio portraits and I make the entire process easy. My number is 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

Anna’s Winter Outdoor Family Portraits

It’s winter here in Utah, and that means it’s cold and the trees are bare. My clients needed a new and updated portrait and wanted it outdoors. Showing bare trees in the background would have been the wrong look, so we used a location right here near my studio. It has lots of wide open space, and mixed with my studio lighting on location, everything turned out perfectly.

Here’s a video showing the finished and framed images before delivery.

With families, I like creating and offering a few variations. One particular image may move you the most, and that’s the best one for the wall art. Other groupings can always be ordered smaller for other parts of the home. This fist image was the favorite as the larger image for the wall, while the second was ordered for a smaller spot in the home.

When the kids and everyone smile and look great in every image, it’s often hard to choose a favorite. The colors, textures, spacing, depth, and overall feel of this first image made it stand out as the overall favorite.

With every family portrait, I love creating individual portraits as well. These can be finished in a number of ways, depending on need. For this family, we choose similar images of each child to be finished as square standouts. They look gorgeous!

Standouts are shown better in the video above, and can be displayed as sets in either a straight line trio, or in diagonals, or in other configurations. Here’s one idea for the three girls in a trio.

The first is of the youngest girl. She’s so cute and adorable, with the flower in her hair, hands on her knees, and smiling so perfectly.

Second, the middle girl sitting so beautifully. I love the light coming in from behind, lighting up their hair and the beautiful colors all working together.

And the oldest, looking mature and smiling beautifully with her long hair.

Of course we did a stand out of the three girls together too, as well as one of the parents alone.

As you can see, this family has changed a lot over the last few years. I think the parents look about the same, but the kids have really grown. Kids grow so fast, and it’s important and inspiring to have new and update family artwork on the walls.

Years ago, I also created this painted portrait of the girls walking. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown since.

I love delivering finished images to clients and seeing the portraits hanging in their homes.

I know it’s time to update your family portrait. I make it quick and easy, and I’ll help design it so it’s something you absolutely love! Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s create something beautiful for you.

And until next time, America.

Baby Ricky’s First Album

I love photographing little babies, especially over the course of a year as they grow and change so dramatically. I recently finished this beautiful album for Ricky and his family, showcasing him growing from 1 week old to 1 year.

You have to see his entire album, so I shot this video showing every page. You can play this in full screen and HD for more details.

For Ricky, we did shoots at 1 week old, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 1 year old. It’s amazing to see how much he changes in those short periods of time.

For his 1 week old shoot, we produced this wall collage for his home, with images specifically to show the attention to his tiny details: his little hands, feet, toes, and cute little body.

Over time you can see his face and expressions grow. And his big eyes and long eyelashes are so adorable.

Here’s just a few pages from the album. I love this pose with him hanging out with his arms in front.

And this little surprised look was a winner again and again. We kept coming back to it during the order and laughing.

I thought it was great in the album contrasted next to Ricky with a big grin.

Ricky in his red pajamas kept me laughing. He was just fun and adorable, and he kept rolling around having a great time. He was so full of energy and smiles that day.

And near the end of the album at 1 year old, Ricky is standing and giving me all sorts of cute expressions.

These images with their soft, beautiful lighting, clean retouching, and overall just show the expressiveness and joy of being a new baby. These works of art are preserved in this gorgeous album for the family to enjoy for many years to come, as well as becoming an heirloom over time.

I love seeing families grow and love producing these works of art for my clients. And if you’d like some beautiful images of your baby, give me a call, 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something like this for you.

And until next time, America.

Fall Family Portrait Delivery and Install

I just delivered this gorgeous fall family portrait. It was created right here at in my studio gardens at the end of fall. My client was out of town for Christmas, but now that they’re back, it’s delivery day! This video shows how beautiful everything looks.

I love taking care of all the finishing touches for clients. That means taking the artwork and details past the shoot, and all the way through to the end. There’s a lot of work involved in making something perfect, but attention to detail at every step is crucial, including the individualized retouching, custom printing, surface coating, mounting, framing, delivery to the client, and wall installation.

I love the overall balance and grouping of the family, and how great all the kids’ expressions look. This really looks inspiring and beautiful on the client’s wall.

During a family session, it’s a great time to do smaller family groups too. Everyone can order their own portraits, plus they’re great too for smaller wall groupings and Christmas cards too.

Look at how cute all these kids are together. I photographed them about a year ago and it’s amazing how much they changed in that time. (I share those below.)

Sometimes we can end a family portrait session with just grandkids with the grandparents.

About a year ago I photographed just these four kids alone. Look how much they’ve changed and grown in just a year. It just shows how important it is to get portraits of family and kids regularly. Because they change and grow so fast, it’s wonderful to have professional portraits and wall art throughout their life. 

And during that shoot we also did individuals of each child too. These are great in wall groupings or in a child’s bedroom.

I love creating custom wall galleries and family artwork for your home. And I know it’s time for some updated family portraits for your family. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s create some wonderful wall portrait art for your home.

And until next time, America.

Two Siblings Get Adopted, Featured KSL News, & Get New Family Portraits

These two siblings get adopted, featured on KSL News, and get new family portraits — all on the same day!

Photographing families and relationships is probably the most important thing I do. I love that we can capture in a single art piece, the feelings of love and deep relationships. And this portrait shoot is extra special because it’s of a new family because two siblings were adopted.

But initially, this brother and sister were in the state foster care system and needed to be adopted. I photograph a number of children each year for the state that are in foster care. It helps them to have great professional portraits that are beautifully lit to show prospective parents, rather than the basic iPhone snapshots that would otherwise be taken by social workers.

That’s when I first met these two, and here’s the image I did of them when they came into my studio. Being brother and sister, I wanted too show the love and affection they have for each other, and how the big sister looks out for her younger brother.

Soon after, the local news station KSL News, featured them on ‘Wednesday’s Child.’ In that interview, the older sister’s leg wiggles nervously and she admits that they may never get adopted.

(Here’s a link to that story and the video of its broadcast.)

Then sometime later I got a call saying these two siblings were going to be adopted. I was invited to the courthouse to photograph the event and do some new family portraits. From those images, I created this gorgeous family album. And this young lady made be a beautiful handmade gift in return. It’s very thoughtful and you can see it near the end of this video.

Here are some of the portraits from the album shown in the video above.

On the evening of the adoption, we had coincidently the big yearly gala for the Utah Adoption Exchange’s Heart Gallery. It’s where the new portraits taken of foster children throughout the year are displayed and revealed to the children. Each portrait is framed and hung on easels around the Utah State Capitol’s rotunda, and the kids get to eat refreshments and see all the photographs.

Again, KSL News was there along with these two newly adopted siblings to showcase their story.

(Here’s a link to that story and it’s news clip below.)

Here are some stills from the broadcast showing my portraits on the monitor behind the news anchors.

Throughout the story, they showed a number of my portraits.

But the heart of the story was this new family.

And there’s a quick glimpse of my profile, as I sit waiting to present my portrait to the family.

It was a great evening and event, and a wonderful time to see families come together, and how portraits are meaningful in that process.

If you’d like some wonderful, updated family or children’s portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something inspiring for you.

And until next time, America.

Travis’s Fall Family Portrait Canvas and Standouts

At the end of fall, I photographed Travis and his beautiful family here in my outdoor studio gardens located right outside my Utah studio. Then later for Christmas I had everything finished and delivered their final order. The morning of the delivery, I made this video showing how gorgeous their finished products looked.

It was great seeing Travis and his beautiful family again. His children are adorable and are growing so fast. I always like to photograph a few options for the large family group, and this was our favorite of everyone. Here at my Utah studio we can do either in-studio images or we can step out into the studio gardens and do outdoor portraits too. For this shoot we choose to shoot outside and take advantage of the last of the good fall weather. And having everyone sitting together on the ground close, was our favorite grouping of the entire family. Hopefully you see how beautiful this looks in the video above.

We also took time to photograph each child and then made up square standout portraits of each one. Doesn’t this little girl make you smile? She’s so cute with her long hair, crossed knees, and feminine pose? The rock stairway was the perfect spot for her individual portrait.

And each child has a perfect and genuine smile, each custom lit, each looking fantastic. These looked beautiful as finished, glazed, square wall pieces.

And to close the shoot, we did one wall portrait of all the kids together in one photograph. There’s a lot of personality in this image. And it’s a piece that they can all look back on for years to come and remember when they were all this age.

It’s always a wonderful thing to update your family portrait. And I know you probably need an updated portrait. We can mix it with larger family groups, or alone with your immediate family, then taking time with your children.

Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and let’s talk about your new family wall portrait.

And until next time, America.

Cute Little 2-Year-Old Twins

I had the joy of photographing these cute little 2-year old twins for their birthday portraits. They were so fun and expressive, that they had me laughing the entire time.

Before shooting outside, we started off in the studio on a clean white, to show off their fun, colorful, number-2 shirts. I have things that I do to get little kids to relax and open up with me, giving me great expressions. Right from the beginning, this little boy opened up and saw me as his buddy. But the little girl was a bit more apprehensive. She brought her favorite monkey, and held on to him for the first part of the shoot and started off with some cute scowls.

Before long though, they were both doing great and we got some wonderful smiles from both of them.

One of the games I play is to “get their toes.” In this photo, she’s poking her feet out to show me her toes because she wants me to get them again. It’s a good sign and shows she’s happy, open, and having a good time.

Then a change of clothes and a wonderful, somber expression from both of them. I love these outfits, and love how each one is standing. Their body language is perfect.

But then their moods swapped. She was happy and open, but he started to crash and cry. For comfort, he’s holding a toy car in one hand, and food in the other. And this little girl is calm with her monkey.

And then back to some fun expressions out of both of them again.

But when he started to lose it again, calling his aunt on the phone helped him settle down. And I love her expression, watching her brother.

Sitting down in the chair, she comforts him with an arm around him.

Using these favorites from the studio white, I designed up this 9-up portrait collage, ready for the wall in their home. It’ll be finished and framed, setting these images off.

Then stepping outside into my studio gardens for a change of scenery, we got this wonderful little kiss! They’re each turned perfectly so you can see both of them, neither one covering up the other. And I love their bare feet.

We also did some individual portraits of each of them. Here, she poses against a tree with her head cocked as the wind blows her dress.

And he stands in a nice, squared-off masculine pose, watching what I’m doing, a little worried and ready to be done.

These three images worked really well in this wall trio design.

Little kids grow so fast, and memories seem to be as fleeting as time. I love being able to create wonderful heirloom portraits like these, and I hope their family loves these, and that these adorable children will love them too when their older and can look back on their 2nd birthday together.

I love how these turned out and had a wonderful time with these two beautiful kids.

Summer is leaving us and the window for outdoor portraits is closing. Now is a great time to bring your family or children in for some family portraits. Right here I can do indoor studio and outdoor portraits in the same place, or I can travel to special locations too. Give me a call at 801-728-3317, and let’s create something beautiful for you and your home.

And until next time, America.

Merry Christmas, Santa Pictures of My Nephew’s Kindergarten Class

Earlier this week my little nephew had a Christmas party in his kindergarten class. My sister was in charge of it and arranged for her husband to be dressed as Santa, and to show up during the games to read a story. She also arranged for me to be there with a full photo studio set up in the hallway, so we could do individual portraits of each child with Santa.

I created a custom layout of golden snowflakes along with the teacher’s name and year at the bottom, and we got some beautiful prints made up to present to each child the next day. It was a total hit. It was a fun way to donate some time and talent to make some kids happy.

During the party, the teacher would bring one child at a time into the hallway. Then they would each have a small but endearing conversation with Santa and then get their portrait done. In fact, kids from other classes got word that Santa was in the building, and many little faces continued to peak out from classrooms all down the hallway.

For privacy reasons, I can’t post the pictures of the cute little faces I photographed, but they were each adorable and the images turned out great.

So being Christmas Eve, I will share this one image I did of just my sister and her husband before I packed up all my gear.

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing holiday. And I hope you all can spend time with family and loved ones.

And until next time, America.

Kelly’s Beautiful 5 Month Old Baby (Part 2)

Here are some more favorites from this shoot with this beautiful baby girl. I shared earlier some images of her in pink, and to contrast those these are all in neutrals. I just love this little girl, her big eyes, sweet smile, and her cute little chin. We got a lot of wonderful expressions during this shoot. And those looks combined with master lighting techniques to make her eyes and soft skin pop, has produced a portrait shoot that I can’t stop staring at.

I love this smile above, but I also love this serious expression below too. The serious look shows off her features like her cheeks, little chin, big eyes, and cute mouth.

In one photo shoot we were able to get quite a variety of looks and expressions, and even different outfits and sets. The pink images are captivating and beautiful, but these images in neutrals are wonderful in their own way too. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite. But I will admit to coming back and looking at this shoot again and again to see this cute face.

All of these neutral images framed in a series would look great in a nursery or hallway.

Babies change so fast and now is the best time to photograph them. And I love photographing babies. If you have a new baby and would like some wonderful and captivating portraits, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something special for you for the holidays.

And until next time, America.

Kelly’s Beautiful 5 Month Old Baby (Part 1)

I photographed this beautiful baby yesterday, and she’s so adorable and captivating that I have to post some early favorites. I was going to share these in about a week because I have other images queued up to share, but this pretty little face has been on my mind all day, so she’s bumping the other shoots back.

Throughout the shoot she was so happy and cute, and just smiled and smiled at me. Her little face and big round eyes kept me gazing.

She came with this beautiful little pink dress so I set up this all-pink background and some custom lighting to make everything pop. I got a lot of great images in both this pink setup as well as other color schemes. I’ll for sure share some of the others soon.

I love these first three images as squares either on the wall separately as canvases, or framed together in this smaller trio design.

Finally, this one of her kicking her feet and smiling with her tongue is great as a longer stand-alone image.

I love photographing babies, so if you’d like some fantastic portraits of your little baby, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something special for you for the holidays.

And until next time, America.

Free Christmas Cards, Photo Ornaments, and Holiday Gifts

It’s time to order Christmas cards, and for the next while any wall portrait includes free Christmas cards. Get any wall size (like a 16×20 or larger) and get 25 free custom cards designed using a photo from your shoot.

Photography I believe is one of the absolute best gift ideas. A photo of a loved one is cherished for years, and I have some fun ornaments and gift ideas that you’ll love, like these beautiful Christmas ornaments.

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I have two types of ornaments. These first are printed on metal and are great for children or family portraits. They are $45, or free with qualifying portrait orders.

My second type of ornaments are small boutique framed images, ready to hang with a brown twine loop. These are great for your tree but also are good all year round, hanging on a wall. These are $69, or free with qualifying portrait orders.

BryCox_ornaments

Call me at 801-728-3317 and I’ll get your order going. We can use images from past shoots or current shoots, and I can also ship orders directly to you too.

 

Amanda & Brant’s Family Portraits

Amanda and Brant brought their beautiful baby boy to the studio for some family portraits. I love photographing children. I love playing with them, making a connection, and getting genuine smiles and laughs for their photographs.

This adorable boy woke up on picture day sick so he wasn’t his normal happy self. The family thought about postponing their shoot, but I convinced them to come anyway. Picture day always seems to be hard. Things come up, but no matter the problem, I can almost always overcome them in the shoot and get great results. Plus I know that I’m great with kids. No matter how they’re feeling, I can get them to smile and laugh long enough for great photographs.

And sure enough, when this little boy arrived, he was immediately happy. He laughed and smiled at my antics and the shoot went beautifully. In fact he smiled and laughed so much, we all couldn’t help but laugh with him. I really love this shoot.

These were all created outdoors right here in my studio gardens. I’ve designed the grounds to have layers of green, so that I’ve got lots of angles for outdoor portraits. So as another family option, I created this painting from one of the walking images. 

Here is a close up from that same painting to show more detail.

And of course we needed to get some individual portraits of this cute boy. This first one shows some size perspective so that later in life he can see how little he and his hands are in comparison to his parents.

And these are him hanging out, playing, and sitting outdoors, all with a huge, genuine smile.

These three images worked really well as a set, so we did this trio. It’s designed and framed, ready to hang on the wall.

Summer is almost over. It’s a great time to get in for some family portraits along with some of the kids. And if you don’t want to travel to distant locations, right here I can do inside or outdoors in the studio garden. Give me a call at 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.