Here was a very fun photo shoot I did of two cute little boys…brothers! They were so cute and lively, and absolutely full of personality. Here’s one of the two of them together. I like this image, because it shows how much energy the older boy had and how chill the younger boy was. This was true of the entire shoot. So cute!
Here are some alone of the older brother who laughed and laughed at all my tricks.
And here are some of the younger brother who was just chill and content. He just wanted to study me and figure me out, and I think get away and go play as well.
I love their outfits and how their hair is nicely combed. Both boys have such beautiful blue eyes, which seems to be true of their whole family.
After going through the images, I took the favorites and designed up this nine-square composite and framed it in black.
I absolutely love photographing kids. They are so fun and their personalities are very transparent and cute. And I love how this particular piece turned out. There are so many looks and expressions, that it makes up a small story of these young brother’s lives at this point in life.
One of my favorite recent appointments was of these little adorable triplets! They were so fun, and so expressive. Not to mention, incredibly difficult! 🙂 Photographing little babies is a hard task, but three little babies was like spinning plates. I’d get one set up, have another under an arm, and look for the third to see him or her now escaping clear across the room!
How fun for these parents to have THREE little adorable babies to chase around and raise. They were so fun and did such a great job! The entire photo session, and not just the time I was creating images, was an adventure!
Here are some of my favorite images for the session. First the individual portraits…two of each baby…a boy, a girl, and a boy.
Here is one of the groupings of all three babies. Just looking at it makes me laugh! I should post some of the images where the grouping didn’t work out, where the kids were all over each other or crying, or escaping.
So with these individual portraits, I created this composite for their wall at home.
And one of my favorite’s of the little baby girl, giving her mom a big hug at the end! Look at her little smile!
These babies have the most beautiful eyes and faces. Lighting adults is hard enough, but lighting babies that squirm and wiggle and look all over the place is even harder…but lighting triplets, even when I’m focusing on just one (and trying to keep the other two babies close and out of trouble) is very, very hard.
Looking at these images, I am excited by the beautiful expressions and the exquisite light in their eyes. Each image makes me feel like I know these babies and their little spirits. I am excited to watch them grow and do more portraits of them over the years.
I have a new portfolio DVD for 2009, and it is all finished and ready for you! It is formatted for your large widescreen home theater so that you can view the images large and in the comfort of your own home.
Bry Cox – Portfolio DVD
This DVD includes specific slideshows on weddings, bridals, families, children, high school seniors, models, as well as some entire wedding albums so that you can see how I might tell the story of your day from start to finish. You can order one for free right off my main website, here. (Click on Free DVD on menu.)
You can watch it on any DVD player or computer, both Mac and PC. The music is amazing and was all written and recorded by my sister, Elise. Each music score was specifically chosen for each slideshow to accentuate the mood of the images. It is a wonderful DVD and I know you will all love it.
————————————————————————– Note to photographers: I can understand how other photographers may want to frequent my site, and I appreciate that. However, I received thousands of requests from photographers for my last portfolio DVD, photographers not wanting to hire me but to get ideas for themselves.
If you are a photographer, please understand that I spent a lot of money and time producing these DVDs and am happy to give them for free only to clients and potential clients. I cannot respond to photographers requests for free DVDs, but you can certainly order them for a cost (along with many other photographic items) in the store part of my photographic workshop site. Thanks for understanding.
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I just flew back from Phoenix and am glad to be home. I love flying and traveling because I tend to be more introspective than usual, being away from my daily routine. But now I’m home, and glad to be able to work again and get stuff done.
My trip started out a few days early by seeing my friend Collin and doing some work for him. He is an amazing cosmetic dentist and I do a lot of the ‘after’ portraits for him after he fixes someone’s teeth. I started off by photographing his staff, his office and then doing some fashion images for his upcoming brochure.
The next day I photographed his family and his little kids at their Ahwatukee home. He has such a beautiful family and has adorable and cute little kids. It had been two years since I’d last photographed them, so the kids had forgotten me. It was fun to win them over, all over again.
I haven’t made my studio picks yet, but here’s a sample of images from the family session.
BryCox – Collins Family
Here’s their family above,…
BryCox – Little Leyton
…their little boy, Leyton, who is amazingly smart,…
BryCox – Little Emi
…and their little girl who has the cutest laugh.
PPA
After seeing Collin for a few days, I headed off to the national photography convention for the next few days, called the PPA convention.
9000 photographers from all over the country as well as many other countries were in attendance. This is where photographers go to see the newest and greatest changes in the industry. Last year I spoke at PPA, and this year I received a free pass because of an award that I’d won. I also received a second award that I’m very proud of: a ‘Loan’ for my image of Joe McQueen. The Loan Print is the highest award a photographer can win, and the image will now go in the PPA Loan Book art book.
Last PPA I released my second book for photographers and this year I received a great compliment from a great photographer, Clay Blackmore, an industry legend.
While passing in a hall, he said, “Bry, your book is the best book on photography I’ve ever read.” I asked if he wouldn’t mind writing me a testimonial and he said, “That’s your testimonial. Write that down…the best book on photography I’ve ever read!” That really made my day to say the least.
I also love seeing all my photographer friends from all over the country. I should have taken more photos with everyone, but here are a few from the last couple days. A quick note: photographers where their credentials around their neck at events like this. It’s a way to quickly tell what rank everyone is.
PPA 2009 – Lori Nordstrom
My good friend Lori Nordstrom just came out with a new line of fashion camera neck straps that are very cool. I got one of course.
PPA 2009 – Jackie Palmer
Jackie Palmer assisted me at one of my workshops a few years ago and is now a good friend of mine.
PPA 2009 – Awards Ceremony
And here is a group of photographers in my MasterWorks group just after the awards ceremony where Karen received some new credentials.
If any photographers see this, I want you to know that it was great seeing you all. Seeing my friends at these events is what really makes these gigs fun for me. Take care and I’ll see you all at the next event.
It’s the time of year when we all look back on the past year as well as looking forward to the coming year to make plans and also wonder what’s to come.
In that line of thought, I own a lot of poetry books and love to read them, mostly because of the influence of my mom who was a renown author back in the day. My favorite poetry books I bought used after a lot of searching through an enormous used book store in Salt Lake called Sam Weller’s.
The artist in me gets inspiration and clarity from these books and I’ve been reading them even more intently over the last few days.
Here’s one poem in particular, called Survival by Margaret Moore Meuttman asking what will be remembered in 1000 years. Here’s just a piece — the last stanza:
Perhaps a prayer, perhaps a song,
Fashioned of love and tears,
But only beauty,…only truth
Will last a thousand years.
I love that last line, “only beauty, only truth will last a thousand years.” It’s hard to describe how much work goes into creating just one image, even though I work hard to make it look easy. Nevertheless, an enormous amount of time, talent, and love goes into every project so that you can enjoy your custom portraits now, for years to come, and also by future generations.
Over the holidays, many clients called me later to thank me again for their orders. That really meant a lot to me. I also want to thank you all again for hiring me as your personal family artist in 2008. I love what I do and appreciate that fact that you all love what I create.
I am so proud of the work I was able to do this year. I feel it was my best work ever, and I know I will create even more spectacular images for you all in 2009.
See you all soon!
Bry Cox - Mountain Tops
Because of the introspective nature of this blog entry, I thought it appropriate to post this image I created of the Salt Lake Temple, titled, “Mountain Tops.” The title is a reference to the Old Testament use of mountains as a symbol of the temple — thus the phrase, “Mountains of the Lord.”
Well that’s it for now. Until next time, America!
— Bry
I have been finishing some fantastic family portrait paintings for Christmas. This is one below that I’m working on right now. It is of my friend, Ryan Shupe’s family. I start by creating a photograph that is lively and has the emotion that I want. I then use that scene as a reference to paint from so that the perspectives are correct and realistic.
Ry
However, as you can see, I like these paintings to be abstract and surreal. I want them to feel dream-like and portray even more emotion, so that the image connects with the family. These are real works of art and look amazing when they are finished and hanging in your home as stretched canvases.
Another family portrait painting that I just finished is this one below.
Jason
While Ry’s family was created in the outdoor garden of my studio, this family family portrait was created in their own backyard. You may recognize this cute little girl in red from the portraits in this earlier blog entry. Both sets of images, the family portraits and the child portraits were created on the same night here in their backyard.
The net just doesn’t do these justice. You really have to see these large and up close to appreciate the magnitude and impact of the images, as well as to see and appreciate the detail work. So in order to show at least the detail work, I created this close-up view of the tops of the first set of trees on the left so that you can see the brush strokes and treatments at least somewhat.
Close-up
There are many stages in creating pieces like this, and they take quite a bit of time, obviously. But of all the products and pieces I offer, I LOVE seeing these paintings when they are finished and hanging in someone’s home. They look absolutely stunning!
If you’d like something like this of your own family, please let me know quickly as Christmas is approaching fast! 🙂
Here’s one of the Christmas orders I’m working on today. It’s of these two beautiful little sisters, Eva & Saddie. I first designed up this treo below using the colors from the background and dresses. It’s a cute series showing each girl individually and then together.
Eva & Saddie
The design of that treo went quickly, and I had time to finish this composite too. Looking at them now, I love both designs. This composite really showcases these kids and shows off their happy personalities and inner sparkle. I really like the flow of the design as well.
Eva & Saddie
I have a lot of really cool orders I’m working on, and may put a few more up later tonight or maybe even tomorrow so that you all can see them.
I don’t photograph kids with cheesy props, but rather focus on their personality, letting them tell me who they are and what expressions they want to give me.
I love being able see kids grow and change over the years. The order I’m working on right now is of little Addison. I first photographed her when she was first born. Here she is one week old (on the left) and then later at six months old (on the right). I have a continuous album just for these types of sessions that show your baby growing up over time.
Addison 1
So now for Christmas I created some more images of her at her home. This one is of her in her backyard. I love the expression on her face, not to mention the cute little red coat, hat and purse. Hopefully you notice how well the images are lit and composed, which is not only difficult for adults, but especially for children who are constantly on the move!
Addison 2
Later, she changed outfits and I created the next two images of her in her bedroom.
Addison 3
She is such a cute and beautiful little girl, and so expressive! I love this one below too, with her hiding behind her crib. This image is also toned with a little selective color.
Addison 4
Well, that is it for now. I need to get back to more Christmas orders. If you need anything for Christmas, now is the time to call!
I’ve put it on everything from my website to my business cards for many years now, and sometimes I guess I just assume that the meaning is evident. Nevertheless, here is why I came up with that so many years ago and why it’s become a part of my business.
First of all, comparing prices amongst different photographers can be confusing. It is because the price of art is completely different than anything else out there. Normally when we shop, we look for the best deal. We all do it.
Art is completely different and is priced completely different. Artists charge based on what they are worth and what they put into a piece in terms of quality, materials, time, experience, expertise, and their heart.
The slogan is a reminder to not skimp on what matters. Your wedding portraits, your family portraits, and other timeless memories are heirlooms! They will be worth more and more as time goes on. You should have such amazing images that you love and enjoy them now and for your entire lifetime!
Just this week my parents wanted me to come over to their place. They had brought out all of the old 8mm and Super-8 movies of my sister and I growing up and wanted us to come see them. We went over and when it got dark, we set up the projector and watched some of them — just pieces and snippets of our past in little 3 minute reels.
I saw my early birthday parties, President Reagan coming to Hooper, and many other fun memories. Those movies are priceless! My dad invested in a Super-8 movie camera and projector back when few people had them, and I am so grateful now.
It was fun to see in those movies, the home decorated with photographs taken of me back then by my uncle Alan Gibby — a true master. In fact, one of the very few PPA Master/Craftsman in Utah. We still have those photographs and they put everything else taken at the same time, to shame.
Though I didn’t learn my trade from my uncle, he is the reason that I too am a PPA Master/Craftsman. I wanted to earn those same degrees and have those same national credentials that show clients that I really care about the work I create.
As I said earlier, artists charge based on what they are worth and what they put into a piece in terms of quality, materials, time, experience, expertise, and heart. An incredible photograph is an investment in the future and that’s why I say, Invest in Forever. Art is Forever.™
Here are some alone of the older brother who laughed and laughed at all my tricks.
I love their outfits and how their hair is nicely combed. Both boys have such beautiful blue eyes, which seems to be true of their whole family.
I absolutely love photographing kids. They are so fun and their personalities are very transparent and cute. And I love how this particular piece turned out. There are so many looks and expressions, that it makes up a small story of these young brother’s lives at this point in life.
These babies have the most beautiful eyes and faces. Lighting adults is hard enough, but lighting babies that squirm and wiggle and look all over the place is even harder…but lighting triplets, even when I’m focusing on just one (and trying to keep the other two babies close and out of trouble) is very, very hard.
