Engagements, Announcements

Mark & Kendra’s Airport Engagement Portraits

My friends Mark and Kendra recently got married and I wanted to share their gorgeous engagement photos. Because Mark is a pilot, this couple wanted some fun engagement portraits at the airport. It was the perfect location and very creative, even down to the details of their costumes.

I love how these turned out. and always love to do location photo shoots, especially when the location incorporates something about the client’s personality. Everything in a photo should tell a story about you, and not be random. So being at the airport was the perfect choice for these two.

It was a cold winter day and they were short on time, so we had to work fast. To compensate for the difference in elevation with the couple standing on the wing, a ladder was needed to get the angles just right. And being winter, the sky, coloring, and natural light of the air was gray and drab. So a studio light on location was needed to really make the colors and the sky pop and create shadows and dimension. The results are wonderful skin tones and gorgeous colors.

 

We had a lot of great choices and I love them all, especially this one of these two running off together. One idea for their invitation was to have the images as old snapshots. So I cropped them square and treated the images so that they had a faded film look. Here was one idea of them as a trio.

Here are those squares close up.

Their final invitation design was an airline ticket, and this was the back of the design. I shot this using the old wood on my coffee table.

Before ending the shoot and entering the hanger, I did a couple individual headshots of these two as well. Here are my two favorites of those, cropped as squares with an old film edge.

I’m so excited that these two are married. They’re both fantastic people individually, and both incredibly accomplished in so many ways. They’re really good together, and they both compliment each other as a couple. I know they’ll make a great team and I’m glad they’ve moved forward with engagement and marriage.

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Mark also had me come photograph their proposal too. They love to rock climb together and he’d arranged to have a ring at the top of the route for her to get and bring back down. He told her that she was going to help him in a high-level training exercise and that she was to retrieve the “objective” from the top. She had no clue he was proposing and when she repelled down, he was on one knee.

To explain me being there, he told her that I was just in the area doing a shoot and thought it’d be fun to get some climbing photos. But I was really there to capture video and some photos of the proposal. She was completely surprised and you can see the immense sense of joy, relief, and surprise.

If you got engaged over the New Year and need some fantastic photographs for your engagement, bridal, and wedding, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something wonderful for you too. And here’s a link to some wedding info too.

And until next time, America.

Elyse’s Gorgeous Studio Engagement Shoot

Elyse is a beautiful and upbeat woman who is very well-known and a friend to everyone. And she’s getting married. Though she and her fiancé live in California, we did a studio engagement shoot while they were here in Utah. And the images are gorgeous! I’m really excited to share them with you.

In fact we just finished her portrait inserts for her announcements, and I’m excited for people to get them in the mail. She posted one of the photographs on Facebook yesterday and it quickly garnered over 700 likes in just a few hours (it’s now over 850). It just shows how much she’s loved and how excited her friends and family are for her upcoming wedding.

Here are some of my favorite images from our shoot, designed up as a framed square wall collage.

I love how beautiful they look in each of these images, and how great they look together.

After shooting some on a light fashion gray background, we changed up the lighting and background and went with darker colors behind. Here some of our favorites.

I took a few portraits from the brown series and designed this framed trio. It’s a beautiful way to show a story between the images.

I’m very excited about this engagement shoot and for their upcoming wedding. I know it’ll be a gorgeous and blissful event.

If you’re getting married, I’d love to create some amazingly gorgeous images for you too. Here are a few links for info…

I’m a Utah based photographer, and do work all over the USA, and sometimes abroad. Give me a call and let’s talk about your dream portraits.

And until next time, America.

Kara’s Engagement Portraits

I just photographed a beautiful winter wedding for Kara which I may share later, but I first wanted to share a couple of her gorgeous engagement portraits. Winter is a great time to shoot inside in the warm studio, but the studio is also a great option any time because we have full control of lighting. It makes it easy to change clothes and shoot in multiple outfits if you’d like, we can quickly setup to shoot in both color and black and white, plus studio engagements are especially classy in black and white.

Kara and her husband are great together, treat each other beautifully, and they look beautiful in these engagement portraits. These were the favorites, and we used these in her wedding announcements, as larger wall prints to be displayed in their new home, and on display at the wedding reception.

This was such a fun shoot and I’m so happy for these two finding each other and getting married.

If you’re getting married, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to photograph your wedding and create some amazing portraits for you to be enjoyed for years to come. I’m a Utah based photographer, and do work all over the USA, and sometimes abroad. My studio in Davis County, Utah is a great place to start if you don’t have a location in mind. It’s especially great for engagements or portraits in the winter, but I can always travel to you too to create images on location too. Give me a call and let’s talk about your dream portraits.

And until next time, America.

James & Stephanie’s Engagement Portraits

My friend James Conlee is engaged and his wedding is coming up. If you know me or follow my blog, you know that James is a long-time friend plus I’ve designed a lot of music CD covers for him over the years.

Well I’m excited for his wedding and it was great to meet his new bride-to-be, Stephanie. They look great together and we had a wonderful shoot here at the studio, mixing indoor studio contemporary black & white with some fun outdoor images here in my studio gardens. This first portrait was one of their favorites and became their main image on their invitations.

And this trio is wonderful, showing them as individuals, and then hugging tightly in the middle.

Stepping outside the studio to the gardens we get even more variety. Right now is the perfect time for outdoor portraits because my place is just lush with layers of green. Here’s a painting of them walking, looking at each other. 

I love wedding and engagement shoots. There’s a real art to lighting, positioning, and getting true expressions. But in the end, all of that should come together for a great portrait that shows the closeness and romance that they feel. There should be true emotion and authenticity so that you feel what they’re feeling. And I love these images because I see that, and it makes me excited for James and Stephanie’s upcoming wedding.

If you’re getting married, give me a call, 801-728-3317. And let’s create some wonderful portraits for you. It’s the perfect time of year and I love photographing couples in love.

And until next time, America.

Jannette’s Snowy Mountain Wedding Engagement Portraits

Living near the Utah mountains, this couple wanted a snowy mountain look for their engagements. We were able to find some snow left to shoot these gorgeous wedding engagements at Log Haven up Millcreek Canyon, which is where their wedding will be later this summer too.

Here’s a video showing how beautifully their order of wall portraits and album turned out, best viewed in full screen.

And here are some of their images. We started on the deck of Log Haven because their clothes and colors worked so well with the deep, rich colors of the building.

 

We then ventured out into the snow to photograph against the waterfall and other snowy backgrounds. I love this tall image of the waterfall, and these two hugging and talking to each other.

Along the river we created this portrait, which became one of their framed wall pieces.  

Then a change of clothes and a change of scenery, looking out across this lake with a deep blue sky in the background. This long panorama of these two leaning together is killer in the album, taking up two page spreads for dramatic emphasis.

And this beautiful close-up was the other framed wall portrait, as you can see in the video above. 

Finally, some ending shots surrounded by the deep dark colors of the forest’s trees. These two look great together and I’m excited to be a part of their wedding coming up later this summer. 

If you’re getting married, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create something gorgeous like this for you.

And until next time, America.

Carly’s Gorgeous Mountain Engagement Portraits at Tibble Fork

Carly and her fiancé are somewhat new to Utah, and love the beautiful mountain ranges that are so close to civilization. For her engagements, she wanted a canyon with a view, so we shot at Tibble Fork. I love this area because you can see the back side of Mount Timpanogas in the background which has an elevation near 12,000 feet. The air is so clear and fresh in these canyons, and we started our shoot as the sun was setting. For the first set of photographs, I used Mount Timp as our backdrop, framed by the diagonals of American Fork Canyon.

I created a trio design based on these first set of images because they looked so great together as a set.

And with some easy, short walks we were able to get a variety of mountainous backgrounds for Carly. Here we used the trees to frame them, creating a vivid green background.

Or showing the water as the sun was setting, framed in by vertical tree trunks.

And as the sun set, the cool canyon air mixed with the water and turned a gorgeous misty blue in the distance. That lone tree in the background made for a great balance point for this set of romantic images.

And notice that no matter the time of day or angle to the sun, this couple always looks gorgeous and their backgrounds look gorgeous. Utilizing master lighting techniques means that they have great skin tones, eyes that pop, and the background is vivid and real.

Sadly, other photographers may use great locations too, but because they use “natural light” (which is haphazard), their photos turn out with blotchy skin, dark eyes, and their backgrounds and faces are often washed out (a modern trick to save poorly shot images). This is sad because photography is the one thing we keep from our wedding for our entire lives.

Hopefully you can see the difference. I work to create true heirloom quality photographs that your kids will fight over once we’re all dead. And the secret starts with great lighting, mixed with great chemistry and body language, to create a shoot with tons of wonderful images to choose from.

Before we left, we did a casual clothes change to get more images with their cute dog. This was one of my favorites. They look great, the dog is perked up and happy, the lines and colors of the background are awesome, and the mist is peaking through the trees creating even more dimension so that it feels like you’re there in the canyon.

Finally, I took some of my favorites to create this 9-up collage. I love the variety and personality in this design.

And of course at sunset I couldn’t help but shoot one photo of Mount Timpanogas off in the distance, lit by the setting sun. I love the mix of warm and cool colors in this.

If you’re getting married, give me a call. Let’s talk about creating some gorgeous photographs for you, 801-728-3317. We can do engagements (like this shoot), bridals, the wedding day, or any combination.

And until next time, America.

Amber’s Spring Engagement Shoot, Outdoor & Studio

I’ve been really excited to share the engagement shoot of these two. They are great together and make a wonderful couple. A few weeks ago in early spring we did this incredible shoot for their engagements. We did a mix of studio and outdoor portraits. And later I’ll have to share images from their wedding reception this weekend at the beautiful Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club because it was all just magical. But first, we need to see these from their engagement shoot.

This first photograph was one of the top favorites, and part of their wedding invitation design.

And this painting was finished as a canvas for their reception display, and will go above their fireplace in their home. 

I love these paintings. You really have to see them in person to see how wonderful they are. But here’s a shot of it displayed at their Utah wedding reception.

I love these outdoor photos. The gorgeous colors and dramatic sky really pop with master lighting techniques on location. And you can see how great these two are together. Their expressions say it all.

This next image with mixed lighting creating the dynamic shadow lines, was one of the top picks and part of the invitation design. 

And here are few more favorites from the studio, with a change of clothes and lighting styles for more variety.

This trio was one of my favorite things from the shoot. 

I hope you can see how great these two are together. I’m honored to have been a part of their wedding and wish them decades of future happiness together. And don’t worry, I will for sure post some of their wedding reception images too. You’ll want to see them, but I do have a bunch of other fun shoots that I want to share with you first.

In the meantime, if you’re getting married there is no better wedding investment than your photographs. Of all the things you spend on, well-made photographs are the only thing you keep after the wedding. So give me a call and let’s talk about creating your dream portraits, 801-728-3317.

And until next time, America.

Audrey’s Studio Engagement Portraits

It was a joy to photograph Audrey and Juan together in my studio for their wedding engagement photos. Their wedding will be here in the Salt Lake City area, and engagement shoots are perfect for wedding announcements as well as beautiful displays to be shown at their wedding dinner and home later. Here are some of our favorites from the shoot. First, their double-sided wedding announcement portrait.

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And this wall collage is great because it shows a lot of variety and personality without taking up a ton of wall space. It’s designed with visual balance and to keep your eye moving around to each of the images over and over.

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And these trios are stunning. They tell a story in a beautiful, framed design that is perfect for a table easel or wall. And see what I mean about these two being great together? 🙂

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I’m very excited to photograph these two on their big day coming up. They’re a wonderful couple, they’re very photogenic, and I look forward to meeting and photographing their families and being a part of their big day.

If you’re engaged and would like some wonderful images, photographs that you will love your entire life, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to create some beautiful portrait heirlooms for you.

And until next time, America.

Alex and Kali’s Wedding Engagement Shoot

This week, Alex and Kali were married. But before their wedding, they came in for a really fun and romantic engagement shoot so that I could produce their wedding announcements and display portraits.

Here are some of their favorites. We started in the studio creating some really fun b&w images. This was one of my top favorites and theirs too.

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We also shot outdoors in my very green and lush studio gardens. (Note: if you want to shoot outside, we only have a couple more weeks of this deep green look before the colors turn to fall.)

I like giving people a variety of looks, both inside and outside, and even changes of clothes. It means that my clients have more choices, but the variety also works well when designing composites and other products as you’ll see. My Utah photography studio location makes it easy to shoot both indoors and outdoors quickly.
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And here are some more beautiful studio images. I shot these in color but imagined them b&w. But in the end, I think they looked even better in color.

The studio look is very hot right now. Yes, lots of people ask for outdoor because that’s all they see on social media – mostly because new photographers don’t have studios, plus lighting people is incredibly difficult especially indoors.

But I can offer clients a mix session of outdoor and indoor and see what they like. And it’s always amazing that people’s favorite images are mostly close-up studio images. I personally think it’s because there’s an emotional punch and a timeless appeal with such an image. And it’s also completely different from everyone else’s images. Most photographers are new and cheaper, and they’re learning as they go. They don’t have studio gear so they shoot on location in a beautiful location that catches our eye, but their lack of lighting causes dark and often blotchy faces which they hide with filters. Comparing that to great lighting that makes skin glow, and perfect expressions, you can see why people are asking more and more for a studio portrait.
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Here is a composite design I made up for their wedding reception…
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…and two gorgeous trios. These come in various sizes and are framed, ready to hang on your wall. Trios are great for telling little stories in three images.brycox_alex_engagement_01
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And to end, here are two gorgeous photos of these two in dark colors on a dark background. They look happy to be together and I wish them lots of success and love in their marriage.

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If you’re getting married, I’d love to create something wonderful for you, outdoors or in my studio. Give me a call and let’s create your dream portrait. 801-728-3317.

Unconvinced? Here’s a 1-minute video on why you’ll look even better when I photograph you, and why my studio is named, “Celebrity Style Imaging™.”

And until next time, America.

See Bry Cox’s Creative Wedding Approach, Images, Albums, and Finished Products

When I started full-time in my portrait studio over 20 years ago, I started as many people do – loving photography and wanting to offer people the best possible photographs for a better price than the competition. I was never the “cheap” photographer and I always felt my work was great, but I did shoot an average of 100 weddings a year in addition to other shoots too. I continued to shoot daily while also getting recurrent training to be a PPA Master and PPA Craftsman. Over time my skills improved, my equipment improved, and my mind was opened to new ideas and new levels of quality.

I realized that I could offer my clients something even better, something so incredible and amazing, something that just wasn’t available. I could offer them even more personal touches and connection for the best photography on their wedding day, as well as the art and design of the best possible album to showcase that incredible photography. But putting this much time into one wedding would mean limiting the number of weddings I shoot and putting a lot more time into each one. What I wanted to do meant a vast investment in time, money, and expertise.

It meant not doing what everyone else was doing. It meant not hiring teams of cheaper photographers to go shoot for me because no one can quite read the light or people’s personalities and bring out the best of both lighting and personality as I can. And for the finished product, it meant no peal-and-stick albums, no “drag-and-drop” or “auto-design” software, no cheap online books, and not sending the design off out of the country to some cheap designer that wasn’t at your wedding and doesn’t understand your personality. When I shoot your wedding, I get to know you and I also pick up on your inner-fears of what you like and don’t like about yourself. I know how to direct you and light you to make you look your best, I know how to bring out your true personality. And that personal one-on-one experience helps me know how to retouch you and design your book so that you absolutely love every single image and every single page design.

There’s a special skill in knowing how to make people look amazing in any condition, in any weather. And there’s another skill in delivering heirloom products to my clients. I work to provide the best of both. It means I’m not comparable to the cheaper photographers around, but I believe strongly in photography. Of everything we spend our money on in weddings (flowers, food, dresses, locations), photography is the only thing we pass down to our children. And I want to create something that you love your entire life, something that makes you happy every time you enjoy one of my images. And I want to create something that your kids fight over when we’re all dead and gone.

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I can help you over phone and answer most of your questions about your wedding day. Call me and let’s chat, and if it sounds good to you, then let’s visit in person too so that you can see my albums first-hand. Cox_Albums-119

When I shoot your wedding, albums are not an add-on – they’re included. I only shoot weddings when I can do them right, and part of that is finishing them perfectly for my clients. I have a number of wedding collections in varying price options, and larger packages include larger albums. Available in 4 sizes: 9½ x 13 (on the right), 12×16 (middle), 14×18 (not shown), and the largest 16×20 (on the left).Cox_Albums-117 Cox_Albums-115

To learn more about me, see lists of awards, or to see more images go to my main website, BryCox.com. And call me at 801-728-3317 to talk more about your wedding, get general pricing, and to ask any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

And until next time, America.

Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary to Brandi & Cory

Happy 9th Anniversary Brandi and Cory! It’s amazing how time flies, and I love being able to look back on the images I’ve created for people over the years. And on this day in 2007, these two got married and I wanted to share some of their engagement photos that I created for them back in 2007 in my Utah studio and outdoors in the studio gardens.

I know these two are having a wonderful life together and I hope your day today is extra grand. Happy Anniversary you two!

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And if you’re getting engaged and need some wonderful portraits, whether it be for your wedding invitations, your home decor, or your family history archives, give me a call. I’d love to create someone wonderful for you that you can look back on years from now and love. Give me a call at 801-728-3317, and until next time, America.

Matt & Treva’s Beautiful Engagement Shoot

This week I’ll be photographing Matt and Treva’s wedding. And recently I had the privilege of shooting their engagements and printing up their wedding announcements. Here’s some of their beautiful images.

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We created a variety both in the studio for some black & whites, along with some beautiful color images here in the outdoor studio gardens. They way my Utah studio is designed, we can do both quickly and easily, in one location. And both Matt and Treva were great in front of the camera, and we had a big variety of wonderful images to choose from.BryCox_MattTreva_Engagement_002

I took some of their favorites and designed up this wall collage to be displayed at their dinner, and it’ll look great in their new home. Collages like these are best designed with a variety of expressions and looks, while keeping an artistic uniformity. I love how this turned out.BryCox_MattTreva_Engagement_003

The shoot went great. We all had a great time, and their excitement and emotions about being together and getting married really showed in their images. I can’t wait for their wedding.

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If you’re getting married, give me a call. I’d love to create some wonderful and emotional images for you. I can shoot everything (engagements, bridals, and wedding day) or just some things – whatever you like. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 and we can discuss your dream portraits.

And until next time, America.